Democracy: What It Is All About

Democracy: What It Is All AboutDemocracy is a word with many meanings. --C.D.Burns, Democracy (1935)Democracy has come to mean different things, some very hostile to each other, that it needs careful analysis if misunderstanding and idle controversies are to be avoided. Dr.FinerDefinition of DemocracyDemocracy is not a way of governing whether by majority or otherwise but primarily a way of determining who shall govern and broadly, to what ends. -Prof. MacIver

Modern political democracy is a system of governance in which rulers are held accountable for their actions in the public realm by citizens acting indirectly through the competition and cooperation of their elected representatives.Political power is a trust of the people in the hands of the government. It is the primary duty of the government to safeguard the rights of the people. There must be responsible and limited government. There must be free and fair elections, an independent judiciary, independent media and multi-party system (or at least two political parties) and pressure groups.

ElectionsThe existence of elections does not guarantee democracy.Merely holding elections does not guarantee political action into peaceful contests among elites and give public legitimacy to winners.But democracies MUST have electionsBetween elections, citizens may influence public policy through various intermediaries, such as interest associations, social movements, locality groupings, etc.

Modern democracy offers a variety of competitive processes and channels for the expression of interests and values associational as well as partisan, functional as well as territorial, collective as well as individual.Majority RuleDemocracy is viewed as majority rule. But is not the case always.The problem with majority rule arises when factional sizes conflict with intensities of feelings.Protection of MinoritiesWhen a factional minority feels very strongly and negatively about a decision that is adopted by a majority, successful democracies tend to modify majority rule to include the minority views and protecting the minority rights.The protection of minorities can assume a variety of forms.

RepresentativesModern democracies require representation due to large population sizes.Representatives tend to be professional politicians.Democracies need professional politicians.The question is how these politicians are chosen and held accountable for their actions.Robert Dahls 7-Point procedural minimal conditions for a democracy 1) Control over governmental decisions is constitutionally vested in elected officials.2) Elected officials are chosen in frequent and fairly conducted elections in which coercion is comparatively uncommon.

3) Practically all adults have the right to vote in the election of officials.4) Practically all adults have the right to run for elective offices in the government.5) Citizens have a right to express themselves without the danger of severe punishment on political matters broadly defined.6) Citizens have a right to seek out alternative sources of information. Moreover, alternative sources of information exist and are protected by law.7) Citizens also have the right to form relatively independent associations or organizations, including independent political parties and interest groups.

Schmitter and Karl added two points to Dahls list1) Civilian supremacy--Popularly elected officials must be able to exercise their constitutional powers without being subjected to overriding informal opposition from unelected officials.2) The polity must be sovereign (self-governing). It must be able to act independently of constraints imposed by another overarching political system.The basic premises of democracy are as follows: 1) Consensus on basic principles a) Popular mandate as the basis of government

b) Orderly change of government c) Role and functions of key institutions d) Civilian supremacy and no praetorianism 2) Institutional Arrangement a) Free and fair election b) Sovereign parliament c) Accountability of the executive d) Competitive party-system e) Independent judiciary d) Free press and media e) Vibrant civil society

3. Societal Framework a) Egalitarian social terrain b) Social cohesion or a sense of social solidarity of dominant social groups c) The presence of a large and stable middle class and its active commitment and participation in defending democratic order. d) No oriental or individual absolutismTheories of Democracy1) The Classical Liberal Theory of Democracy or Liberal Democracy2) Elitist Theory of Democracy3) Pluralist Theory of Democracy4) Marxist Theory of Democracy

1) Liberal Democracy There are four principles: a) Democracy is a government by consent. Rights of the people must be upheld. Rational consent of the people can be obtained by persuasion for which an atmosphere of free discussion is necessary. Discussion is usually held at two levels. --Discussion among the representatives at the legislature --at the public level, there is a direct communication between the leadership and the people.

b) Liberal democracy follows the principle of majority rule which means that the decisions in the legislatures, committees, cabinets and the executive or regulative bodies are taken by the majority votes. There is no discrimination on the ground of religion, race, caste, gender, place of birth, ownership of property or even education. c) Recognition of minority rights ( legal safeguards can be provided to protect the interests of the minorities. d) Liberal democracy is constitutional government which means a government by laws and not by men.

2) Elitist Theory of Democracy Government is run by a powerful group. According to Pareto, society is divided into elite and non-elite. The elite can be further divided into governing elite and counter elite. According to Robert Michels, iron law of oligarchy exists everywhere. His view was that whatever form of government is adopted, in practice it is inevitably reduced to oligarchy or rule of the chosen few.According to C.Wright Mills, power in modern society belongs to certain institutions which occupy pivotal positions in society. Those who occupy top positions in those institutions are the power elite. They move on to positions of power in the government.

According to elitist theory, the elite must have faith in democratic values and processes. They should represent all sections of society. They must believe in the politics of consensus and not of confrontation. There must not be too great ideological differences between the elites.3) Pluralist Theory of Democracy The pluralists maintain that power in society is shared by many groups and it is not enjoyed by any elite. The main contention of pluralist democracy is that power should be shared by all the groups of society and all organized groups must have a share in policy making.

All important decisions in social, economic, and political matters should be taken after due consultation with the groups whose interests are going to be affected by such decisions.4) Marxist Theory of Democracy According to this theory, liberalism is the philosophy of the capitalist class and liberal democracy serves the interest of that class. Therefore, it actually turns out to be Buorgeois Democracy. On the other hand, Marxism is the philosophy of the proletariat and the dictatorship of the proletariat is the democratic political system of the working class. Each of these theories has pros and cons and therefore the debate goes on.

How democracies differLevel of consensusExtent of peoples participationAccess to informationResponsiveness of the governmentMajority ruleParliamentary sovereigntyPluralistic natureDemocracies are not .Economically more efficient than non-democraciesAdministratively more efficient than non-democraciesMore orderly, consensual, stable, or governable than non-democracies

Key features of Parliamentary Democracy 1) The executive government should be answerable to and dismissible by the people of their chosen representatives, and should be subject to the law as interpreted by the judiciary. 2) Laws should be enacted by a legislature of one or more chambers in which members are elected by the citizens at regular intervals who exercise a preponderance of power.3) Parliamentary Committees must function smoothly and ensure scrutiny and accountability of the executive. 3) Elections should be freely conducted by impartial officials.

4) Citizens should be free to hold opinions without interference and to organize themselves into groups or parties so long as their purposes are not subversive or treasonable.5) The public service should be open to all, on the basis of merit and its task should not be to formulate policy but to advise the government of the day and implement policy approved by the legislature.6) Independent media and vigilant civil society.6) Rule of law should prevail everywhere in the society.

Political partyNecessity of Political PartyThe necessity of political parties can be understood by imagining a situation without parties. Every candidate in the elections will be independent. So no one will be able to make any promises to the people about any major policy changes. The government may be formed, but its utility will remain ever uncertain. Elected representative will be accountable to their constituency for what they do in the locality, but no one will be responsible for how the country runs.

The rise of political parties is directly linked to the emergence of representative democracies. Large scale societies need representative democracy. As societies became large and complex, they also needed some agency to gather different views on various issues and to present these to the government. They needed some way to bring various representatives together so that a responsible government could be formed. They needed a mechanism to support or restrain the government, make policies, justify or oppose them. Political parties fulfill these needs that every representative government has.So, it can be said that parties are a necessary condition for a democracy.

Multi-party System Vs Two-party SystemIn some countries only one party is allowed to control and run the government. These are called one-party systems. This cannot be a good option because this is not a democratic option. Its totalitarianism. Any democratic system must allow at least two parties to compete in elections and provide a fair chance for the competing parties to come to power.In some countries, power usually changes between two main parties. Such a party system is called two-party system. The United States of America and the United Kingdom are examples of two-party system.

If several parties compete for power, and more than two parties have a reasonable chance of coming to power either on their own strength or in alliance with others, we call it a multi-party system. Thus in Bangladesh, we have a multi-party system. In this system, the government is formed by various parties coming together in a coalition. When several parties in a multi-party system join hands for the purpose of contesting elections and winning power, it is called an alliance or a front. For example, in Bangladesh there are 14-party alliance and 18-party alliance. There are other alliances too.

The multi-party system often appears very messy and leads to political instability. At the same time, this system allows a variety of interests and opinions to enjoy political representation.Party system is not something any country can choose. It evolves over a long time, depending on the nature of society, its social and regional divisions, its history of politics and its system of elections. These cannot be changed very quickly. Each country develops a party system that is conditioned by its special circumstances. For example, if Bangladesh has evolved a multi-party system, it is because the societal and politically divergent views are not easily absorbed by two or even three parties. No system is ideal for all countries and all situations though.

Challenges to political parties: Popular dissatisfaction and criticism has focused on four problem areas in the working of political parties. Political parties need to face and overcome these challenges in order to remain effective instruments of democracy.Lack of Internal Democracy: All over the world there is a tendency in political parties towards the concentration of power in one or few leaders at the top. Parties do not keep membership registers, do not hold organizational meetings, and do not conduct internal elections regularly. Ordinary members of the party do not get sufficient information on what happens inside the party. They do not have the means or the connections needed to influence the decisions.

As a result the leaders assume greater power to make decisions in the name of the party. Since one or few leaders exercise paramount power in the party, those who disagree with the leadership find it difficult to continue in the party. More than loyalty to party principles and policies, personal loyalty to the leader becomes more important.Dynastic Succession: In many parties, the top positions are always controlled by members of one family. This is unfair to other members of that party. This is also bad for democracy, since people who do not have adequate experience or popular support come to occupy positions of power. This tendency is present in some measure all over the world, including in some of the older democracies.

Money and Muscle Power: Since parties are focused only on winning elections, they tend to use short-cuts to win elections. They tend to nominate those candidates who have or can raise lots of money. Rich people and companies who give funds to the parties tend to have influence on the policies and decisions of the party. In some cases, parties support criminals who can win elections. Democrats all over the world are worried about the increasing role of rich and businessmen in democratic politics.Being a Meaningful Choice: In order to offer meaningful choice, parties must be significantly different. In recent years there has been a decline in the ideological differences among parties in most parts of the world. In our country the differences among all the major parties on the economic policies have reduced. Those who want really different policies have no option available to them. Sometimes people cannot even elect very different leaders either, because the same set of leaders keep shifting from one party to another.

There are two other ways in which political parties can be reformed:1. People's Pressure: As per an old saying a public gets the leadership it deserves. Most of the people in Bangladesh have indifferent attitude towards happenings around them. Once public becomes aware and starts asserting its thoughts it will be easier to reform the political landscape of Bangladesh.2. People's Participation: If nice people continue to shun or avoid politics ,then we will continue to get bad leaders. Blind faith in bad leaders is not patriotism.

Pressure groups and political parties There are similarities and dissimilarities between a political party and a pressure group: Similarities: They resemble each other so far as they both seek to realize their objectives by influencing the decision-making agency.Dissimilarities: Political party seeks political office, contest election but pressure groups dont do that.Political party is generally a much larger organization than the pressure group.

The program of a pressure group is limited while the programs of political party are much broader, as the later represents wider sections of the society.One citizen can be a member of one political party only, but he or she can be a member of several Pressure Groups simultaneously. Political parties are active both inside and outside of the legislature, but Pressure Groups are active only outside of the legislature.