Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Essay what is a democracy
The concept of democracy
Essay what is a democracy
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Essay what is a democracy
Democracy
When it comes to the topic of whether democracy is the best form of government, most of us will readily agree that in theory, a well-planned democratically elected institution should represent an accurate sampling of the general population which it has been elected to serve. Where this agreement usually ends however, is on the question of which particular form of democracy is the best overall representation of the concept in question, and as to whether or not this ideal representation outweighs any other type of competing institutional system. Whereas some are convinced that the US Constitution, and the federal institution created in its image are the perfect example of what a truly effective democratic process embodies, and that
As Julia Paley summarizes, “The most straightforward assertion is that democracy is a political form, differentiable from other political forms such as monarchy and dictatorship. Within that rubric there exists ‘different systems of democracy: advanced liberal democracy, parliamentary democracy, electoral democracy, socialist democracy”(Paley). In other words, Paley believes that democracy can be described as a generic terminology used to encompass any political system that involves a voting process. With so many different methods and regulations in practice regarding to the processes of electing legislatures, parliaments, presidents, and prime ministers, it becomes increasingly difficult to express the idea of democracy as a simple, all-inclusive
The People’s Republic of China underwent a Communist revolution in 1949, and has since then undergone several stages of revision in attempt to keep up with fluctuations in its population and regional distribution of revenue in contrast to industrialization and shifts in overall production. As a result, China has established economic dominance in the far east. The particular model of government utilized by China is not only unique in regards to its versatile design, it is also worth mentioning that on a national level, China is still a single party communist legislature. As Dali L. Yang states of scholarly attempts to classify China’s current political model, “They suggest that the Chinese economy has come under the thrall of a market preserving federalism with Chinese characteristics. Under such a market preserving federalist system, there is a clear division of authority between central and local governments, with the local authorities assuming primary responsibility and control over their economies”(Yang). Yang’s point is that with the liberty to implement specialized policy on a local level, party officials play the economic and political situation by ear, and adopt and abandon policy as is required. Emphasis of the overall level of effectiveness can be expressed with one simple statement. China is the currently the world’s largest
Before pondering the extent of democracy one must determine what the term “democracy” means. Democracy is a “means of selecting policymakers and of organizing government so that policy represents and responds to citizens’ preferences.”i[i] The traditional democratic theory further explains the ideas behind democracy. The five aspects of this theory are that one man equals one vote, there is good voter-turnout, citizens can obtain knowledge through free speech and press, the general public controls government agenda, and an extension of all rights to all citizens.ii[ii] From this, one could say a true democracy would submit every bill to the public for a popular vote, like the traditional town meetings of old New England where all eligible voters met to have their say in governmental agenda.iii[iii] One could also say that democracy implies protection of rights and equal rights for all. Or, as Abraham Lincoln said, a democracy is “government of the people, by the people, and for the people.”iv[iv] The people make the government, they have a say in the agenda, and the government governs by the people’s consent. This ...
Democracy has been a topic discussed for hundreds of years and a general idea of the topic would be the “governing of people by the people”. Many people have attempted “to sketch characteristics, or outcomes or preconditions, because democracy itself” (4) has been seen to be a difficult concept to define. In John L Anderson’s ‘What is Democracy?’ (2004) he takes an alternative approach to understanding democracy. Anderson explains that there is no “tidy set of ideas”, but rather “an indirect approach to defining democracy” (4) in order to understand and teach the concept of democracy. He states that there are four notion to achieve this: seeking the public interest helps us develop a morality based upon concern for others; governing others
The political culture that defines American politics shows that despite this compromise, America is still very much a democratic society. The very history of the country, a major contributor to the evolution of its political culture, shows a legacy of democracy that reaches from the Declaration of Independence through over two hundred years to today’s society. The formation of the country as a reaction to the tyrannical rule of a monarchy marks the first unique feature of America’s democratic political culture. It was this reactionary mindset that greatly affected many of the decisions over how to set up the new governmental system. A fear of simply creating a new, but just as tyrannic... ...
Since the inception of a democratic government in the United States’ early history, many have held that a liberal democracy should be the standard to which all other governments should attempt to emulate (CNN.com, 1). As the world’s leading super power, the United States sets an exampl...
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...
Democracy is robust, widely accepted and highly anticipated around the world. It is the triumphant form of government; dominantly used in Europe, North and South and America and becoming reformed and taking new roots in Africa and Asia. Although the term democracy is based on its Greek origin, demos kratos, meaning people rule, the term cannot be simply understood as such. Due to vast coverage, the adaptation of democracy has varied greatly, whether regionally, nationally, by state or through different branches of government. Perhaps this can be advantageous when the different categorizations listed above can use democracy to rule and suit themselves best, but other factors, such as globalization and neoliberalism, has caused the need for
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.
In deciphering what constitutes the brilliance of democracy then, we find that it is not citizens’ ability to make informed decisions or an unflawed and subtly manipulated election process, but the unapparent way in which democracy persuades citizens – informed or not - and leaders – corrupt or not – toward working to build better, more prosperous societies.
Governing China: From Revolution to Reform? New York City: W.W. Norton and Company. Lestz, Michael (1999). The Search for Modern China: A Documentary Collection. New York: W. W. Norton and Company.
Whereas China ushered in the 21st Century as member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and as an economic power, Japan entered the Asian Century with a stagnant economy. And as China transforms its economy into a ‘socialist market economy’ it is held that the attendant social, economic, and political transformations necessitate that its state controlled IRs system is decentralized and more so, it should be converge with international best practice IR sta...
Howe, Christopher, Y. Y. Kueh, and Robert F. Ash. China's Economic Reform: A Study with Documents. London: RoutledgeCurzon, 2003.
The topic of democracy in China is a highly controversial topic. Although China has not democratised, it has done well in the global situation amongst its democratic competitors. Since the path to democracy is different for each country, we cannot expect that China would follow the same path or same model of democracy as the western nations. This essay will look at what democracy is and how it can be placed in a Chinese context as well as looking at the proponents and opponents of democracy in China. It will also look at whether China is democratising by focusing on village elections, globalisation and the emergence of a civil society. These specific topics were chosen because they will help provide good evidence and arguments to the topic of democratisation in China. The main argument in this essay will be that although China is implementing some changes that can be seen as the beginning of a road to democracy, there contribution should not be over estimated. China still has a long way to go before it can be considered that it is democratising. The small changes are good but China still has a long road ahead of itself to achieve democracy.
Throughout history different types of instrumental regimes have been in tact so civilizations remained structured and cohesive. As humanity advanced, governments obligingly followed. Although there have been hiccups from the ancient times to modern day, one type of government, democracy, has proven to be the most effective and adaptive. As quoted by Winston Churchill, democracy is the best form of government that has existed. This is true because the heart of democracy is reliant, dependent, and thrives on the populaces desires; which gives them the ability for maintaining the right to choose, over time it adjusts and fixes itself to engulf the prominent troubling issues, and people have the right of electing the person they deem appropriate and can denounce them once they no longer appease them. In this paper, the benefits of democracy are outlined, compared to autocratic communism, and finally the flaws of democracy are illustrated.
In 2007, the principle of democracy was reconsidered - is it truly the most natural system of government? To examine this through a comparative lens, a crew of filmmakers conducted an experiment in the urban locale of Wuhan, China. In a 3rd grade class, three students democratically competed for the habitually appointed position of class monitor, an amalgamation of teacher’s assistant and class president. Despite not knowing the formal definition of democracy, once the idea behind it - “the right to express your opinions” - was elucidated, the students grasped its essence. Nonetheless, rather than being a natural state of existence, one’s chosen system of government is dependent upon cultural values and practices.
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.