Democracy

•What is democracy?

•Origins

•Participation

•Competition

•Liberty

What is Democracy?

• Tends to have an inherently positive connotation

• Result is that we use term subjectively

• US, Soviet Union both saw themselves as democratic!

Defining Democracy

• Greek: demos—the common people; kratia--power

• Definition: political power, direct or indirect, through participation, competition, and liberty

• Subjective definition—favors individual freedom over collective equality

• Term liberal democracy used to note this

Origins of Democracy

• Athenian democracy: direct participation, people functioned as the state and government

• Republicanism: Indirect participation, exercised on behalf of people

• Neither democratic in modern form—many or most excluded from participation

• But in both cases, the notion of larger group control over the levers of political power

England and Modern Democracy

• Seen as birthplace of modern democratic institutions

• 1215 Magna Carta: Rights of King John are curbed by lower aristocracy

• Notion of the rule of law, that laws apply to all irrespective of political position

• Sets in motion notion of legal supremacy over people and political leaders

Why Democracy in England?

• Related to war-making and state-making?

• Great Britain as island—defense on the cheap

• Less need for large standing army

• Taxes lower

• State weaker, less need for repression of people (to collect taxes, wage war)

• Power remains more decentralized, can be checked by lower groups and classes

Participation: Voting and Elections

• Central to liberal democracy

• Suffrage: right to vote– Age, ethnicity/race, income? – Obligatory, voluntary?

• Electoral systems: How do we count votes? How do we waste votes?– Single Member District (SMD)– Proportional Representation (PR)

Single Member District: Mechanics

• Electoral system used in minorty of democratic countries, including US, Canada, Great Britain

• Constituencies as single-member districts: only one seat being contested per district

• Numerous candidates compete; voters cast ballots for one individual

• Candidate with plurality (largest share) wins seat. “First past the post”

• May not be a majority! Majority of votes could be “wasted”—not be cast for the winner!

Single Member District: Effects

• Large number of votes may be wasted• Share of seats may not reflect the share of

votes won• Small parties tend to do badly, unable to gain

first place in single member districts• Result is a two party system—people

unwilling to vote for small parties• One alternative is to have two rounds or other

mechanisms to ensure majority

Proportional Representation: Mechanics

• System used by majority of liberal democracies

• Attempts to make proportion of votes reflect number of seats won in the legislature

• Voters cast vote for a party (not a candidate), that compete in multimember districts

• Votes are tallied and seats divided by the percentage gained by each party

Proportional Representation: Effects

• Fewer votes wasted—small parties can win seats

• Elections not centered on individuals, as in SMD

• Parties control who will fill seats for their party, increasing party discipline

• Many more parties in legislature—may lead to coalition government (no one party has majority of seats)

Which is the More Democratic System?

• Attractions of SMD?

• Drawbacks?

• Attractions of PR?

• Drawbacks?

• Which is more democratic?Participation?

Efficiency?

Best of Both Worlds?

• Some countries use both SMD and PR: Germany, Japan, Mexico, others

• Some seats in legislature elected by one system and some by the other

• Voters get a dual ballot—cast vote for a single member district and for a party

• Can split your vote between two parties, save PR vote for smaller party, SMD for larger one!

Referendum and Initiative

• National ballot on an issue

• Referendum: top-down, binding on government

• Initiative: bottom-up, binding on government

• Countries vary greatly in how these are used– US and Canada: no constitutional provision – Switzerland: very common

Competition: Political Parties

Why have political parties at all?

• Bring together diverse groups people and ideas– Helps establish majority rule, prevents

fragmentation– But also heterogeneous—prevents tyranny of the

majority

• Way to hold politicians accountable– Articulates ideology that can be evaluated

Separation of Powers

• Democracies may diffuse power by giving branches the ability to check each other

• May slow politics as a result, preventing hasty decision-making

• These separate spheres of power must be institutionalized—written in constitution, accepted as legitimate

Executives: Heads of State and Government

• Executives carry out the laws and policies of a state

• Leads the country• Sets the national agenda• Two different roles here:

– Head of state– Head of government

• Reigning versus ruling• May be separate or combined

Heads of Government

• In charge of the everyday tasks of running the state, especially in making policy

• In many countries, this takes the form of a prime minister– Elected by the legislature

– Usually head of the largest party in legislatures

– Serves at their pleasure—can be removed by a vote of no-confidence by the legislature

– May be weaker or stronger, depending on head of state

Heads of State

• The institution in charge with symbolizing nation at home and abroad

• May be a president or a monarch

• Directly elected, indirectly elected by legislature, or hereditary (monarchy)

• May be weaker or stronger, depending on head of government

Parliamentary System

• Prime minister dominates as head of government

• Removed by national elections or vote of no confidence in legislature

• Head of state either a monarch or a president

• Head of state largely ceremonial—little real power (though may be indirectly or directly elected)

Presidential System

• Directly elected president

• President serves as both head of state and government—no prime minister

• Powerful, and cannot be removed other than by impeachment or election

Semipresidential System

• Combination of two systems

• Prime minister who is charged with domestic policy

• Directly elected president, who sets broader agenda and foreign relations, national security

Benefits of Each?

• Benefits and downsides of a parliamentary system?

• Of a presidential system?• Semipresidentialism?• Remember—this completely unconnected

from the kind of electoral system used for legislature

• Could have president with PR to elect legislature

Legislatures: Bicameral or Unicameral?

• Unicameralism:– Single chamber

• Bicamerialism:– Goes back to Britain, notion of different chambers

for different classes– Commonly used under federalism: one house to

represent local communities– And/or used to slow down democratic process

(separation of powers).

Constitutional Courts

• Grown in importance over time• Different forms of power: judicial review• Concrete Review

– Ability to rule on constitutional issues rising from cases brought before court

• Abstract Review– Ability to rule on constitutional issues without the need

of a court case

• Some countries have only abstract, some only concrete, some both

Civil Rights and Civil Liberties

• Substance of democracy itself

• Civil rights: promotion of equality

• Civil liberties: promotion of freedom

• Variation in range of civil rights and liberties– Free speech, movement– Privacy, religion– Healthcare? Education? Work?

• What rights should democracy guarantee?

Civil Society

• Public, civic—people checking the power of the state

• Civil society as organized life outside of the state

• Diverse fabric of organizations created by people to help define and advance own interests. Fuel of democratic pluralism

• Where does civil society come from? Unclear