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Democracy

In the dictionarydefinition, democracy “is govement by the people in which the supreme poweris vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their electedagents under a free electoral system.”

In the words ofAbraham Lincoln, democracy is a govement “of the people, by the people, andfor the people.” There is no clear – cut, universal definition of democracy.Most definitions of democracy focus on qualities, procedures, and institutions.There are many types of democracy and their varied practices produce similarlyvaried effects.

Democracy comes fromthe Greek words demos meaning ‘People’ and kratos meaning‘authority’ or ‘power.’

Prerequisites of Democracy

With an upsurge in the number of democraciesholding free and fair elections and declaring themselves democratic states,some theorists have developed a set of minimum requirements. Elections on theirown do not make a country democratic. The following list of minimumrequirements has been extracted by a study of democracies and by readingvarious theories of democracy. It provides both a good overview of whatdemocracy means and a standard against which to test whether or not a countryis democratic.

1. Control over govement decisions aboutpolicy constitutionally vested in elected representatives.

2. Elected representatives chosen in frequent andfair elections.

3. Elected representatives exercise theirconstitutional powers.

4. All adults have the right to vote inelections.

5. All adults have the right to run for publicoffice.

6. Citizens have the right to expressthemselves on political matters, defined broadly, without the risk of statepunishment.

7. Citizens have the right to seek outalteative sources of information, such as the news media, and such sourcesare protected by law.

8. Citizens have the right to form independentassociations and organizations, including independent political parties andinterest groups.

9. Govement is autonomous and able to actindependently from outside constraints (such as those imposed by alliances andblocs).

If any of those conditions is not present,political scientists argue that the country is not truly a democracy.