‘A country is democratic if it runs elections.’
A country is moat certainly not democratic because it runs elections as the elections must be regular, free and fair, have a multi-party system and contain citizen participation. Democracy is defined as a ‘government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people.’
Firstly, for a country to be truly democratic the elections it holds must be regular, free and fair. In a democracy, the people are sovereign which means they are the highest form of political authority. The people have the power which means it then flows from the people to the government, who only hold power temporarily. The people are allowed to citizen the elected leaders and are supposed
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Independent observers must be able to observe the voting and the vote counting to ensure that the process is free of corruption, intimidation, and fraud. Any country can hold an election, but for an election to be free and fair requires a lot of organization and preparation. With that said a country known as North Korea claims to be a democracy according to the Constitution of North Korea. The constitution claims that North Korea is a democratic republic and the Supreme People's Assembly and Provincial People's Assemblies are elected by secret ballot. The ability to vote is guaranteed to all citizens aged 17 and over. In reality, elections in North Korea are non-competitive and feature single candidate races only as only one candidate appears on the ballot but if a voter wishes to he/she can cross off the candidate's name to vote against him/her, but must do so by crossing out the name in a special booth without secrecy an act which, according to many North Korean defectors, is far too risky to even contemplate. What this means is that North Korea claims to be a democracy but clearly violates some crucial …show more content…
Citizen participation may take many forms, including running for office, voting in elections, becoming informed, debating issues, attending community meetings, being members of private voluntary organizations, paying taxes, serving on a jury, and even protesting. Using North Korea again as an example of terrible citizen participation as in North Korea the people are not allowed to serve on a jury, run for office, don’t pay tax and as a matter of fact don’t participate at all when it comes to making opinions about their government. The only thing the citizens do is vote but even then they are only voting for one group anyway, and don’t have anything else to do with the government. Which violates an important part in a democracy and that’s that the citizens can’t be involved in the government or anything which is certainly not a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the
Before that can be established, I think a definition of democracy should be stated so that it may be called upon later in this essay. According to the American Heritage Dictionary, democracy is stated as "the principle of social equality and respect for the individual within a community" .
Officially and originally referred to as, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, North Korea has had a dictatorship since 1948. (DPRK) On September 9, 1948 the United Nations elected South of Korea to be the Republic of Korea. They then elected North of Korea to be the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea electing Kim Il- Sung as the Prime Minster. This started the dictatorship in North Korea that still reigns on today.
To begin democracy simply is defined as being for the people, but Zakaria explains how western countries governments version of democracy has meant liberal democracy, a system that has the qualities where there is not only fair and free election, but also constitutional limitation of power that the government has, separation of powers and protection of basic rights such as freedom of speech, assembly, religion and property. Liberal Democracy avoided civil war by providing protection of its citizens and their rights. This form of democracy differs from the historical and theoretical form of democracy. There are many different forms of government besides liberal democracy, in fact, many countries goes through many types of government before becoming a liberal democracy. Countries tend to start of with self-elected ruler that do not protect its people rights, this form of government is an Illiberal Autocracy, then they go on to become a Liberal Autocracy, still self elected but protects its peoples rights, and then finally become Liberal Democracy. Another form of government is illiberal democracy; this government is not free and fair.
No one would ever think that a small country could create a controversy known the world over, but North Korea has achieved this goal. The North Korean genocide has claimed 2000 people a day before and these killings are from starvation and beating. Many people think communism is better than a democracy but it has its faults. For example, North Korea is Communist and whatever the leader’s beliefs the Communist citizen has to believe. What is happening and happened is genocide.
Democracy is the structure of government still used today in many countries.The definition of democracy is a system of government where people who rule directly are freely elected representatives.In addition, democracy comes from the Greek word demokratia. Demo meaning people and kratia meaning power of rule. For instance, here is an example, Great Britain has a democratic government since elected officials and laws are voted on by the people and also the representatives they elect. Therefore Athens exemplifies a democratic government. “Athenians would meet and vote on a simple question …. is anyone becoming a threat to democracy? If a simple majority voted yes,then they dispersed and reassembled two months later,
Withnall, Adam. "North Korea Elections." The Independent. Independent Digital News and Media, n.d. Web. 15 May 2014.
One of the contemporary definitions of democracy today is as follows: “Government by the people, exercised either directly or through elected representatives; Rule by the majority” (“Democracy” Def.1,4). Democracy, as a form of government, was a radical idea when it manifested; many governments in the early history of the world were totalitarian or tyrannical in nature, due to overarching beliefs that the strong ruled over the weak.
More importantly, what is a democracy exactly? Some would define it as a form of government where the people rule, others as where the poor rule, and I would say it is where everyone contributes in how the government is ran but do not control the final decisions made. In Aristotle 's "Democracy and Oligarchy", he discusses the different kinds of democracies that exist and how equality plays a huge role in defining it. Without equality, or even limiting it, it can change a democracy into an oligarchy. He goes into detail about each kind there is and further analyzes how regardless of having similar elements, they are each unique in their own way.
Even some of the most authoritarian regimes around today allude to the fact that democracy is desirable. In the 2012 EIU's Index of Democracy, North Korea is ranked 167th in terms of level of democracy (the lowest ranked country on the index). Yet they mention democracy in their countries official name, “Democratic People's Republic of Korea”. Those outside of North Korea might look at this as some sort of sick joke, but it highlights peoples desire for fair and democratic process across the world. North Korea is an extreme case for lack of democracy, as well as an extreme case of government mandated censorship, but censorship is not limited to the low end of the democratic spectrum. It comes many shapes and forms and exists in some level in the majority of nations across the globe. This paper will outline and analyze ...
Democracy is “...the word that resonates in people’s minds and springs from their lips as they struggle for freedom and a better way of life...” (Schmitter and Karl, 1991:75). However, the word democracy has many different means depending on the country and context it is used in. “Every country has is own culture and comes by its political system through its own history” (Greenberg, 2007:101, cited in Li, 2008:4). Li, (2008) states that because of China’s political structure the usual road to democracy may be difficult for it to achieve. The western idea ...
Firstly, K. Isbester mentions that democracy has a different meaning for everyone, as some can define democracy as a good aspect for development, on the contrary other believe that it is nothing more than voting after several years. Although, Latin America see democratic g...
...ople define democracy. Not only does it bring up the complex question of what a democracy really is but also, depending on the definition of democracy, it question whether the theory is accurate or inaccurate. For instance, if one views democracy to be a system of government where there is equality and the people are free and autonomous, it could be argued that democracies go to war with each other and have in fact done so. On the other hand, if the definition of democracy is clear, straightforward maybe even restrictive, the truth of the theory comes forth. If democracy is defined as a political system where universal suffrage exists, then it really can be argued that democracies do not conflict with each other and no democracies have. This does lead to the conclusion, that for this theory to apply, countries considered to be democracies must really be democratic.
A memorable expression said by President Abraham Lincoln reads, “Democracy is government of the people, by the people, and for the people”. Democracy, is a derived from the Greek term "demos" which means people. It is a successful, system of government that vests power to the public or majority. Adopted by the United States in 1776, a democratic government has six basic characteristics: (i) established/elected sovereignty (where power and civic responsibility are exercised either directly by the public or their freely agreed elected representative(s)), (ii) majority rule(vs minority), (iii) (protects one’s own and reside with) human rights, (iv) regular free and fair elections to citizens (upon a certain age), (v) responsibility of
What is democracy? Democracy a form of government in which the people freely elect representatives to govern them in a country, democracy guarantees free and fair elections, basic personal and political rights and independent court of law. There are two types of democracy, direct and indirect democracy. Direct democracy or pure democracy is where there is direct participate of the people; people make decisions for them instead of letting them representative make decision for them. Indirect democracy the decisions are made by the representative on behalf of the people that voted for them. All over the world people are having different views with regard to democracy and how it operates. “It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried” ~ Winston Churchill, some have said democracy is the worst government form of government which I also think it’s! Due to the how it operates.
The foundation of the modern political system was laid in the times when the world was strangled in slavery. In those moments, enlightened minds in Greek came up with the new system that was there to remain for the next thousands of years. This system, now known as democracy, is a form of government in which supreme power is vested to the people themselves. People have the right to elect their leaders directly or indirectly through a scheme of representation usually involving periodically held free elections. A new democratic government is usually established after every 4-5 years, and it is trusted with the responsibility to cater to the needs of all the people irrespective of the fact that they voted for them or not. Although the minorities may not be very pleased with the idea of democracy, however, a democratic government is certainly the best because it establishes social equality among people, reduces the conflicts in the state to a minimum, gives the chance to vote repeatedly, and creates patriotism.