Past and Present of Democracy

Course Name: “Past and Present of Democracy”

Democracy is a form of government where the supreme power lies in its subjects, gaining authorization to exercise such authority directly or indirectly through regular fair elections. Active participation of citizens in the choosing the agents to exercise the authority on their behalf is a common element in true democracies. Citizens are all equal in the practice of law and its regulation having no distinctions or class privileges. Human rights protection is also another crucial element in democracy.
Freedom of choice is what democracy holds above everything else. Having equal rights for all citizens allows everyone to live freely as long they respect the rule of law. Leaders in a democracy can be judged by their action and hold power temporarily by the consent of the governed. Citizens are free to criticize leaders in a democracy. Freedom and multiplicity of the mass media is a good indication of democracy where the citizens can speak freely and express their opinions.
Democracy allows for freedom of religion. One can choose their faith and affiliate religiously to any denomination they perceive best suites them. Unrestricted movement is another fundamental aspect of democracy. People can freely move in and out of the country, assemble, or protest to their government as per their grievances. Having a right not be arrested without explanation and being legible to vote and be voted for in a general election of any sound citizen of age are also among the democratic rights. It is not democracy when the citizens lack the above freedoms. A country where there is no fair election and the government practices corruption is not a living democracy. The sorrowful part is that most countries claiming their democracy are only on the surface or what is called the empty democracies. Though a good number of countries today in the world have attained democracy, there are still many who just have the name but practice totalitarianism. There were many earlier theories of what makes a country democratic, some of which have not passed the test of time. Some countries that experienced democracy earlier than others have also been seen to struggle to the same hindrances of democracies decades after being declared democratic.
Everyone with a free mind and selfless motives would prefer democracy. I believe the world today does not have any better alternative to it. With the death of communism, traditional monarchs are heading the same path. Military rule is never an option until a corrupt ruler proves otherwise. Multi-party regimes have been a great step to democracy in most parts of the world.
Religions have been a scapegoat to those who want to retain their status quo in dictatorial ruling. Some Islamic states have been seen to have general election but still being ruled by a religious leader who is not accountable to the citizens. Iran features in these of theocracy. The hope of having the whole world democratic needs a change of thinking to every individual living in a country. A country can be democratic for a decade and flourish only to have those selfish and corrupt leaders with a base mind to enrich themselves and the countries goes back to former ways. Living democratically ought to be a fiber growing within every citizen and subsequent generation. Distribution of wealth in weak economies is poor; a sign of lack of democracy. Democracy cannot be realized if citizens are only known by name. We may not have democracy when those in the lowest class of society are not represented well in their voice. Politicians only appeal to their desperation when hunting for votes but they represent their own interests. Having a formal democracy of this kind where people are not free is common to the new democracies. World democracy may not be realized when these kind citizens view democracy with skepticism and contempt caused by the behavior of their leaders.
Having free and fair elections where those elected get real power to govern or exercise power on behalf of the people is crucial to achieving a world democracy. To the contrary, the elements of dictatorships and monarchy have filtered themselves into the new democracies. Today there is considerable abuse of human rights, discrimination, rampant corruption, curtailment of the freedom of the media, poor judicial systems among others in most ‘democracies’. While some started well as good democracies, others just took the name to cover them and credited their forms of governments retaining their status quo. A good example is Mongolia where the leaders say as if for the rights of its people but act the opposite. A democracy that applies only on the surface of the country but inside still a communist state that is still walking on its old path.
The hope of having a world democracy is diminished by the empty democracies that are monarchical and authoritarian regimes. Morocco and Jordan are examples of such. Most democracies experience many problems as their leaders lack the spirit of democracy. The problems may be there but democracy fails when elections are not fair as the citizens power to control their leader is lost or their destiny are abused. This is common in a number of African democracies. A good example is Zimbabwe where the opposition has been fought fiercely by the ruling government which has been remaining in power every subsequent general election.
It is true; when the economy of a country is improving democracy improves too. There is hope for a world democracy in these. To this fact, Mali has struggled to remain democratic yet poor. She is an evidence that faith and politics can be separated and justice be realized by the rule of law. Countries, which have subscribed to the international bodies like the United Nations and the International Criminal Court of Justice, seem to be on an upward front to achieving democracy than those locked to within. In the book “Spirited of Democracy”, Diamond suggests that democracy is not a luxury that arrives with wealth developing countries have attained democracies in Latin America and Africa where those that are wealthy are still struggling or going back to ‘formal democracy’ having achieved a real democracy. To realize a world democracy, people ought themselves as equal to others and not special. I believe that democracy can only flourish with honesty, integrity, accountability, and patriotism among other good virtues of good living. A leader with such qualities has the spirit of democracy as Larry Diamond suggests.
The world democracy has not been achieved much but it is still a realistic outcome that can be. According to the book (“SoD” ), hindrance to democracy lies on leadership. Selfish and corrupt leaders would always want to maintain a status quo. It is upon citizens to detect such leaders and reject those using fair elections. Failure to do so would lead them to losing faith in democracy, thus resulting no change.