Class 9 Civics Notes - Democracy in The Contemporary World

• The Polish United Workers Party, a communist party, ruled over Poland with strong support of the government of USSR. On August 14, 1980, the workers of Lenin Shipyard in the city of Gdansk went on a strike. 
• Walesa assumed the leadership of striking workers. Government was forced to enter into an agreement with the workers which came to be known as the Gdansk Agreement. 
• The agreement provided freedom to organize protest and express opinions. An independent trade union Solidarity was formed. It grew in strength. 
• In December 1981, under General Jaruzelski, Martial law was imposed. All the right granted in Gdansk agreement was withdrawn. Solidarity organized a series of strikes in opposition to government actions. 
• Another agreement was signed in April 1989, which provided for free presidential elections. Walesa was elected president of Poland in October 1990. Thus democracy came to be restored in Poland. 

Democracy

• French Revolution of 1789 did not establish a secure and stable democracy in France. Throughout the nineteenth century, democracy in France was overthrown and restored several times. Yet the French Revolution inspired many struggles for democracy all over Europe.
• In Britain, the progress towards democracy started much before the French Revolution. But the progress was very slow. Through the eighteenth and the nineteenth centuries, series of political events reduced the monarchy and feudal lords. The right to vote was granted to more and more people.
• The British colonies in North America declared themselves independent in 1776. in the next few years, these colonies came together to form the United States of America. They adopted a democratic constitution in 1787.
• In the nineteenth century, struggles for democracy often centered around political equality, freedom and justice. One major demand was the right for every adult citizen to vote. Many European countries that were becoming more democratic did not initially allow all people to vote. 
• In some countries, only people owning property had the right to vote. Often women did not have the right to vote. In the United States of America, the blacks all over the country could not exercise the right to vote until 1965.
• By 1900 New Zealand was the only country where every adult had voting right. Early democracies were established in Europe, North America and Latin America.

2. End of Colonialism

• For a very long time, most countries in Asia and Africa were colonies under the control of the European nations. People of the colonized countries had to wage struggles to achieve independence. They not only wanted to get rid of their colonial masters but also wished to choose their future leaders. Many of these countries become democracies immediately after the end of the Second World War in 1945.

• The big push towards democracy came after 1980. The period after 1980 witnessed to fast emergence of democracies in different parts of the world.
• Democracy was revived in several countries of Latin America.
• The Soviet Union disintegrated in 1991.
• As a result, Soviet influence over the former east European countries vanished; they changed themselves into democracies. The former 15 Republics of the USSR got independent and opted for democracy.
• In India’s neighbourhood, countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal made a transition to democracy. Besides the aspirations of the local people in all these countries, a major reason for expansion of democracy was the open support extended by the USA to such demands.

• The military leaders of Myanmar refused to step down and sis not recognize the election results. Instead, the military put the elected pro-democracy leaders, including Suu Kyi, under house arrest. Political activists accused of even the most trivial offences been jailed.
• Anyone caught publicly airing views or issuing statements critical of the regime can be sentenced up to twenty years in prison.
• Due to the coercive policies of the military-ruled government in Myanmar, about 6 to 10 lakh people in that country have been uprooted from their homes and have taken shelter elsewhere.
• Despite being under house arrest, Suu Kyi continued to campaign for democracy. Her struggle has won international recognition. She has also been awarded the Noble Peace Prize. Yet the people in Myanmar are still struggling to establish democratic government in their country.

Democracy at the Global Level

1. General Assembly

• 193 countries form the membership of General Assembly, also known as world parliament, every member country sends five representatives but is allowed only one vote. Its headquarters are located in New York.

2. Security Council 

• Most important organ of UN. It has 15 members-Five permanent (Britain, Russia, China, America and France) and 10 non-permanent members elected for 2 years each. Permanent members enjoy Veto power. 
• Security Council can impose trade sanctions on the warring countries and can take military action against them.

3. Economic and Social Council

• Economic and Social Council consists of 54 members and they are elected by the General Assembly for a period of three years. 
• This council is mainly responsible for solving economic and social problems of the world.

4. Trusteeship Council

• Trusteeship Council is responsible for supervising the administration of trust territories. 
• The Trusteeship Council consists of an equal number of administrating and non-administrating powers.

5. International Court of Justice 

• It consists of fifteen judges who are elected by the General Assembly on the recommendations of the Security Council for 9 years. International Court of Justice decides the cases between the states.

6. Secretariat 

• Secretariat comprises a Secretary-General and such staff as the organization may require. Secretary-General is the Chief Administrative Officer of the Secretariat.

➢ Is the UNO a Democratic Organization?

• Every one of the 192 member countries of the UN has one vote in the UN General Assembly. It meets in regular yearly sessions under a president elected from among the representatives of the member countries. General Assembly is like the parliament where all the discussion takes place. In that sense, the UN world appears to be a very democratic organisation.
• But the General Assembly cannot take any decision about what action should be taken in a conflict between different countries. The fifteen-member Security Council of he UN takes such crucial decisions. The Council has five permanent members-US, Russia, UK, France and China. Ten other members are elected by the General Assembly for two-year terms. The real power is with five permanent members. 
• The permanent members, especially the US, contribute most of the money needed for the maintenance of the UN. Each permanent member has veto power. It means that the Council cannot take a decision if any permanent member says no to that decision. This system has led more people and countries to protect and demand that the UN become more democratic.

➢ Is the International Monetary Fund a Democratic Organization?

• No, IMF is not working democratically.
• International Monetary Fund is one of the biggest moneylenders for any country in the world.

• Its 173 member states do not have equal voting rights.
• The vote of each country is weighted by how much money it has contributed to the IMF.
• Nearly half of the voting power in the IMF is in the hands of only seven countries (US, Japan, France, UK, Saudi Arabia, China and Russia).
• The remaining 166 countries have very little say in how this international organization takes decisions.

Democracy Promotion