Democracy

Like a living organism, democracy must be born into a time where the parents, circumstances, are right to understand the potential of such a child, democracy, and the soil, society, may be described as the type of state that is ready to accept and nurture that child. Metaphors aside, democracy has been noted to provide a better opportunity for human development. Democracy is also commonly defined as a political system that is associated with free and fair elections. A democratic regime simply refers to a system of governance that places sovereignty in the citizen’s hands which allow them to contribute to the process of decision-making through their elected officials. Democracy is not as old as many may originally think. As recent as 1974, it has undergone a revolution in what is referred by Samuel P. Huntington as the Third Wave of Democratization. The wave of democratization was driven by many factors both internal and external. Larry Diamond identifies the internal factors are a result of intensified civil rights movements, the demand for reforms, liberty, and freedom by the general population. Majority of these internal factors are all associated with the economy, the structure and strength of the government institutions, the electorate, the civil society, the press, the demography, and the geography.

A state is identified as an entity that uses coercion and the threat of force to rule in a given territory. Larry Diamond agrees that all established democracies depend on some mix of legitimacy and force. This force is sometimes necessary to punish the behaviour directed against the system. Diamond believes that legitimacy is more important for democracy than for dictatorships. Democracy has a limit to how much force can be us...

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...ocracy requires equality among all individuals regardless of race, gender, or sexuality. In the Muslim states, women are not equivalent to men, and homosexuals are ridiculed in their society. These are only a few cultural reasons why democracy has a difficult time emerging in Muslim states. Another flaw in Diamond’s internal factors is not every country has an opportunity to be economically rewarded. Countries in Africa suffer from terrible weather conditions, and have many diseases which are out of the control of the citizens and the government. Since it is difficult for economic growth in these nations, regime changes are more frequent. For the majority of the world however, a high level of development has led to democracies and Diamond has portrayed this connection brilliantly. It is hard not to agree with the idea of economic development leading to democracy.