What is democracy?

What is democracy?

The term ‘Democracy is derived from two Greek words “demos” meaning people and ‘cratia’ meaning power. Thus, democracy means “the power of the people.”

In a democracy, all citizens are free and have equal rights and duties. The fundamental idea of this form of government comes from ancient Greece. At that time, leaders directly addressed the crowd and the decisions about the laws were made in the assemblies. In today’s republics, the procedure is more elaborate and structured. Elections are held every four to five years in which the citizens of the country elect their representatives, who sit in the parliament and pass laws.

In view of the complications involved in understanding the concept of democracy, we focus on the basic features of democracy, which will help us in distinguishing democratic government from the non-democratic government.

To learn the basic concept of democracy we take an imaginary example:

Let us imagine a territory situated far away from the civilized world and populated by small size of population. People in the territory are living in disorderly manner. In such a situation each one will be thinking of betterment of himself and his own interests. There will be fights over the means of food, firewood, livestock of weaker will be snatched away by the stronger ones. Rule of “Might is Right” will prevail in the group. Conflicting interests will make everyone suffer. It will give rise to rivalry, competition and disputes amongst the people. People will need protection and internal order. When the internal security is endured, there is a fear of external aggression. So, people will need protection from foreign aggression as well.

This will make the people realize that, there are some problems which are to be solved collectively. So, they will come together and discuss their problems and the remedies to them. Gradually they will form themselves into an organized group. They will start thinking of the problems arising out of conflicting interests, problems of the group as a whole and also the ways and means of tackling these problems. Of course, this will not take place in one meeting. To begin with, all people of the territory will come together, time and again, sit together and will take collective decisions in the interests of the whole group.

Now the problem will arise as to, who will decide what is beneficial to all. Who will make the laws? Who will implement the laws? Therefore, for making and implementing laws which are beneficial to all, then government will become necessary. Besides, for maintaining internal peace and order and for protection from external aggression, a body called Government will be needed. People will have to decide questions like, how to create this Government? How will it function? This means, that now people will face issues like how to form the government. what rules this institution will follow, etc.

In the beginning all people of the territory will come together to take collective decisions to solve problems before them. But with the passage of time population will increase and it will become difficult for all people to participate in the decision-making  process. Even if they could, they will not have time, the desire and the skills to take part in all the decision. So, people will decide to send their representatives who can think, who can speak and express their opinions, who have necessary skills to tackle complicated problems and act on behalf of the people and work for the general interests of the whole group.

A few people who are representatives of the whole group will form a governing body and rule over the group. Thus, people will participate in the decision making, through their representatives and elect their rulers to implement the decisions. This will be a democratic system.

“Democracy is government of the people, by the people and for the people.”

 -Abraham Lincoln

Here we have described how democracy can emerge. But sometimes in the same society someone or a group that is very powerful may take advantage of the chaos in the society resulting into dictatorship of one or a group.

This was an imaginary example from which you can easily understand the process of formation of democracy or dictatorship.

 

Now, let us understand the meaning of democracy by studying some basic features of democracy: –

Features of Democracy

Elected Representatives of People and Final Decision-Making Power to the Representatives:

Rulers are elected by the people’ is an underlying thing in democracy. Not only that, but final decision-making powers are also in the hands of elected representatives of the people. That means in democracy real power rests in the hands of elected representatives of the people. There are countries in the world where elections are held but elected representatives of the people do not have final decision-making powers. For example, in Pakistan elections used to be held but there was a mixture of civil and military rule. Elected representatives had some powers, but sometimes final decisions were taken by the military officers. These military officers were not elected by the people. In communist Poland under influence of Soviet Russia and in Iraq under US influence, real power was in the hands of the external powers and not in the hands of internally elected representatives.

In the above example, it is realized that, apparently these countries had formal democracy, but there was no democracy in the real sense. This means that, in democracy people should elect their representatives and real power should rest in the hands of those representatives.

Free and Fair Election:

Source: Freepik

If any country is a democratic country, then the citizens of the country must have the freedom of electing their representatives. Elections in free and fair atmosphere are essential in democracy. In countries like China, elections are regularly held, but in respect of elections the conditions are not conducive to free and fair elections. In China, elections are regularly held after every 5 years for electing their Parliament. But only members of Communist Party of China are allowed to contest elections. So, government in China is always formed by the communist party.

In short, in spite of elections in China the people do not get real right to elect the representative. In Mexico, people seemed to have a choice, but in practice they could not exercise the same. In both examples, there was no way the ruling party could be defeated, even if people were against it. These are not fair elections. Therefore, these countries cannot be described as democratic countries. When people can contest elections fearlessly without any pressure, true democracy comes into existence.

Universal Adult Franchise with Each Vote Having Equal Value:

Holding elections is a necessary condition for existence of democracy. The principle of universal adult franchise is accepted almost all over the world. Every adult citizen must have ‘equal right to vote. Elections in democracy will be meaningless if ‘equal right to vote is denied to the citizens. Democracy is based on a fundamental principle of political equality. However, there are many countries where equal right to vote is denied. Such countries cannot be described as democratic countries.

For example, in United Arab Emirates women have no right to vote. In Estonia citizenship rules are framed in such a way that, people belonging to Russian minority find it difficult to get the right to vote.

“In a democracy each adult citizen must have one vote and each vote must have one value.”

Fundamental Rights and Protection of Freedom:

In democracy fundamental rights of the citizens are respected. Similarly different freedoms are given to the individuals. For example, freedom of thought, freedom of expression, freedom to form association, freedom to criticized, freedom to approach the courts for protection of rights etc. are same important rights. Similarly, all citizens must be equal before law. In a democracy government cannot do whatever it likes, simply because it has won elections. Though the majority rules in a democracy, democratic government has to respect the rights of minorities and guarantee their protection.

In Democracy, elected government has certain rights and responsibilities assigned by the constitution and the law. Government is accountable to the Parliament and finally to the people at large.

Thus, ‘a democratic government rules within limits set by constitution and citizens’ rights.”

From the above discussion we come to know that, democracy is a form of government in which:

1. Elected representatives of the people rule and these representatives have power of making final decisions.
2. Elections are conducted in free and fair atmosphere.
3. Adult franchise is provided and every vote has equal value.
4. Fundamental Rights and freedom of the people are protected.

Forms of Democracy:

Right from ancient times the system of democratic government has experienced various transitions. Therefore, we can divide democracy into two types, Direct democracy and Indirect democracy.

Direct Democracy:

Democracy based on the direct participation of citizens is known as direct democracy. It was in existence in Greek city-states, particularly in Athens (Fourth and Fifth Century B.C.).

In direct democracy, there is direct participation of citizens in the decision-making process. Greek and Roman city states were small in size. Besides, women, slaves, foreigners etc. did not have status of citizenship so citizens also were small in number. Public issues were also not as complicated as they are today. Therefore, citizens used to resolve public issues with discussions and mutual consultations.

In direct democracy people could directly rule over themselves. That means people were sovereign in real sense. In modern times, population has increased, similarly public issues also are getting complicated. Therefore, direct democracy has become impracticable.

Indirect Democracy

In modern nations, because of large territory and population, direct democracy could not survive. In modern democratic nations all citizens do not take active part in the affairs of the government. Citizens elect their representatives who can think, speak and act on behalf of the people and make decision and implement policies. The democratic form in which elected representatives run the government is called indirect or representative democracy. In states like England, the USA, France and India there is indirect or representative democracy. Representative democracy means a democracy in which government is formed from amongst the elected representatives of the people. Since citizens express their views not directly but through their representatives it is called Indirect Democracy.

Indirect or representatives’ democracy is of two types: Presidential Democracy and Parliamentary Democracy. In England and India, parliamentary democracy is in existence, whereas presidential democracy exists in USA and France. The problem with indirect democracy is that, a very few people take real interest in political affairs or study political and other problems. Most of the people have practically no interest in government. This is particularly seen in the case of developing countries. Even then participation of all citizens in governmental affairs is not possible today. Therefore, indirect/ representative democracy is inevitable.

Ways of people’s participation in Modern Times-

So far, we have studied two forms of democracy Direct and Indirect. In today’s situation, Direct democracy is impracticable but in Indirect democracy people do not have sufficient opportunity to participate. So, some countries, for example, France, Switzerland etc., have adopted some measures for couraging people’s participation. They are:

1. Recall: To call back the representatives:

In indirect or representative democracy people’s representatives are elected and these representatives’ rule for a specific period of time. But if any representative is not properly discharging his/her responsibilities, then he/she can be called back with the written request of specific number of voters. This is an effective way of putting control over the representatives. This method is adopted in Switzerland and in some states of America.

2. Initiative: Proposal of law through public:

Proposing and making law is a responsibility of the legislature. However, when citizens propose a law, it is called ‘Initiative’. In some countries, there is system that legislature must consider proposal, if supported by a specified number of citizens. This right is enjoyed by the citizens of Switzerland.

3. Referendum: To take opinion of people on public issues

This method is adopted to know public opinion on some important public issues and thereby include the people in the decision-making process. Decision is taken only after knowing the public opinion.

4. Plebiscite: People’s opinion on proposal of law

Many times, the terms, plebiscite and referendum are used synonymously. Opinion of the people on political, social or economic issues is taken through Referendum. However, method of plebiscite is adopted to get approval of citizens on the law passed by the legislature. This is called plebiscite, for example, in Australia plebiscite is needed for amending the constitution.

Conclusion:

Democracy provides equality, individual rights, and the rule of law, fostering social stability and accountability. While challenges exist, democracy remains a resilient system, continuously evolving to reflect the will and needs of its citizens.

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