In the modern world, Democracy has become the cornerstone of many first world countries. Inalienable rights, freedom, and having the ability to have input in what one’s nation does and how it operates is undoubtedly why many first world nations are as successful as they are today. However, a huge portion of countries, not only first world countries, had to fight tooth and nail for these freedoms and democracy itself. The ability to comprehend how a nation became a democracy requires one to understand what the nation was experiencing, how they were suppressed, and how the authoritarian regimes were overthrown for the greater good of the people. Armenia, considered a “representative democracy” is anything but a democracy. Armenia is currently …show more content…
Having been governed by a single-state communist authoritarian regime for almost 75 years, the society had built its way of life and operation around the set restrictions. This has resulted in major corruption and awful methods of “democratic processes”. There are no political parties in which people can align with and find their political standing, as well as candidates not being able to run on a platform or gain support from fellow politicians. People are intimidated and pressured by the regime and certain candidates, or not to vote for certain candidates, which continuously results in low attendance rates for voters, as well as causes a lack of a “voice” in governmental decisions .Elections, one of the most popular problems in Democratizing nations, have been a clear struggle as well for Armenia to run in a non-corrupt manner. In February 2013, Pruir A. Airikyan, the opposing presidential candidate, was shot and wounded outside his home and announced that he was postponing his campaign (Herzenhorn, Wounded Candidate in..,) , resulting in the predicted and most likely planned re-election of the standing president Serzh Sargsyad. This particular quote from The Armenian Road to Democracy emphasizes the struggles of the nation, “This reality is an example of the dark side of representative democracy, revealing a clear democratic deficit”. (Friere and Licínia, The Armenian Road to Democracy, 5)
The results of recent elections in Britain raised many significant questions about current political situation in the country, particularly concerning electoral system. Therefore the problem of “crisis” in democracy of Britain was the subject of wide speculation among analysts and political scientists over last years. In addition it is widely recognized that the traditional electoral system in the UK-first past the post- is the main cause of that crisis and should be replaced as part of a plan to reconstitute the democratic culture (Kelly 2008). By longstanding critics of the system, opponents advocate the use of proportional representation (PR) for selecting MPs. Due to this problem it is going to be a referendum on changing the electoral system of the country's parliamentary elections. Arguments in favor of the adoption of proportional representation in UK have been made much more widely in recent years than in the case in favor of maintaining the current system of the majority vote. In this essay I would like to help restore the balance pointing out some misapprehensions in the critique of the plurality vote and to indicate some disregarded advantages of the present electoral system in Britain.
Throughout the years, there has been much controversial concerning the Electoral College and whether or not it should be abolished. There was multiple way that were being considered at the time of the Constitutional Convention of 1787. Some including election of the President and Vice President by the Congress, by the governors of each state, by the state legislation, and by direction popular vote. Each idea was found to have some flaw which then lead to the creation of the Committee of Eleven which was is currently known as the Electoral College. The Electoral College is defined as “a body of people representing the states of the United States of America who formally case votes for the election of the President and Vice President”. The process
The Constitution gave our country a frame work in which we have built into a great nation. Their idea is that the purpose of our system, meaning our democracy, is to protect an individual’s liberty. William Hudson tries to convince us that there should be a connection between the government we have today and the government in other countries, Parliamentary System. In chapter 1 of the textbook, Democracy in Peril, starts off by giving the reader background knowledge of the found fathers, signers of the Declaration of Independence and the drafters of the Constitution, which reflect as “democracy models” or “protective democrats.” What the founding fathers did not want to happen is for there to be a corrupt government which ignored the rights
Many Americans are proud to live in a country that claims to be a democracy. They are enlightened to know that “the people” have the power to actively participate in the decision making process of the government. They constantly show pride and faith on the principles of democracy everywhere they go. Yet, there are many who also seem to disapprove of the process that others so claim to be the best form of rule of government.
Direct Democracy vs Representative Democracy The term Democracy is derived from two Greek words, demos, meaning people, and kratos, meaning rule. These two words form the word democracy which means rule by the people. Aristotle, and other ancient Greek political philosophers, used the phrase, `the governors are to be the governed', or as we have come to know it, `rule and be ruled in turn'. The two major types of democracy are Representative Democracy and Direct
Thesis statement: The Constitution assigns each state a number of electors equal to the combined total of the state’s Senate and House of Representatives delegations; at present, the number of electors per state ranges from three to 54, for a total of 538.
A woman newly turned 18, the year in which adulthood begins, stands at a voting booth to make one of the most important decisions of the year: voting for a president. She runs her hands through her damaged, dyed hair and grins; she ticks a mark, voting for a female president. The young woman is unaware of the candidate's policies, her morals; she only knows the candidate is a woman, too powered by rage to even consider voting for a male. Unfortunately, this was not uncommon in our most recent election; many people voted for a president just based on something as trivial to the matter as their sex. Many people have been demanding change in our voting system due to the most recent election, but there are still many that do not know what the Electoral College, a key factor of the process, is or does.
The Electoral College is not actually a place; it is how we elect our President per the Constitution. The Founders created this system as a compromise between choosing a President by popular vote or a vote by Congress (“U. S. Electoral College, Official - What Is the Electoral College?). Although this system has been in place since the beginning of our country, there are both good and bad things about it. To understand whether this system should be kept or abolished, it is important to see how it works.
The electoral college is an important part of the United States government. It was first created by the founding fathers when it was written in the Constitution in 1787. It is a group of electors who represent the views of the citizens of the United States in voting to elect the president. The electors that belong to this system are chosen in every state: they can be chosen by the state government or elected by a popular vote. These individuals represent their state’s population when they vote for president. The electors that belong to the college meet in their assigned states every four years to vote. The electoral college plays an irreplaceable role in electing the president of the United States.
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
In comparing the average citizen in a democratic nation, say the United States, to that of a non-democratic nation, for instance Egypt, it will be found that the citizen in the democratic nation is generally better off – free of persecution, free from fear of the authorities, and free to express his opinions on governmental matters. And while national conflicts occur everywhere, incidents like violent revolts have shown to be more prevalent in nations where citizens are not allowed to choose who governs them. It is slightly paradoxical that democracy, so inherently flawed in theory, can lead to such successful outcomes in practice. The question, then, becomes: “If democracy has so many weaknesses, why does it work?”
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.
Zakaria, F. (2007). The Future of Freedom: Illiberal Democracy at Home and Abroad (Revised Edition). New York: W. W. Norton.
In today’s world, democracy faces everyday challenges. These challenges affect each and every country. Each country has a particular way of encountering these challenges in order for the citizens to have some type of voice. The voice of the people makes a stronger impact on using democracy as a means to challenge the government of their country. As we take a look at the countries in the world today, we will see the path towards the challenges to democracy.
Actually, democracy is deemed to be a difficult form of government regardless if it is favourable circumstances or not. It seems to be all the more difficult when society’s economic environment is weak, civil society is still developing, and finally ...