Notes: Democracy | Social Studies & Pedagogy Paper 2 for CTET & TET Exams - CTET & State TET PDF Download

What is democracy? Where did democracy come from? Why should we value democracy? Is representative democracy actually a good democracy? Is liberalism important for democracy? There are many such questions which need to be discussed to develop a better understanding of democracy and democratic processes.

Definition of Democracy

Democracy is a form of government, where people participate in the decision-making process directly or indirectly. In case of indirect participation, they select their representatives, who take decision on people’s behalf. It can be further explained as a governmental process where the government is elected by the people with majority and the highest power resides in the people of the nation.

• We can also say that democracy has some characteristics such as election, active participation, human rights, and rule of law. All these characteristics get combined and create a democratic way of governance.
• It is interesting to know that the term ‘democracy’ stands completely against the system of the rule of elites, where only a few powerful people of the state take all the decisions about the rest of the people. It is also important to know that an elite class has largely ruled and were enjoying the status of democratic citizens. Women and slaves were not included in this category. 
• It is also important to highlight here that democracy stands opposite to other kinds of governments such as monarchy or power enjoyed by one or a few. It is also a fact that in today’s world, democracy is mixed with monarchic and oligarchic characteristics.
• If we try to find out a common definition of democracy, we will not be able to reach any conclusion. Although, as has been said earlier on equality, freedom and rule of law are necessary characteristics of democracy. Democracy provides equal opportunities to exercise the rights and considers all citizens equal before law. A few examples are as follows: in democracy, every vote carries equal value, anybody in the nation who fulfils the minimum eligibility can become a representative and the Constitution and the judiciary enable accessibility of rights to all.
• Occasionally, democracy is used as a part of liberal democracy or representative democracy, which includes political pluralism, right to fight elections, equality before law, due process of law, human rights, civil rights, and so on.
• If we have a look at the various nations across the world, we will be able to make more sense of democracy and democratic governments. Let us examine the democracy of a few nations.
  • United Kingdom: It works on the Westminster system but the dominant way is parliamentary sovereignty, where judiciary plays an independent role.
  • America: Here, democracy works on the principle of separation of power. 
  • India: The Constitution of India provides legitimacy to parliamentary sovereignty and the Constitution is subject to judicial review.

Rule by majority is another important characteristic of the democracy, which somehow allowed minorities to be oppressed if some legal processes are not decided. These legal processes also ensure that legal help is accessible to all. The election should be procedurally acceptable. The term of a government should not be very less so as to restrict itself to take up any long-term reform. It should not be very long so as to make it authoritative. Providing voting right does not help much in democracy unless voters are educated and rational thinkers. They must have the capacity to use their votes appropriately and freely. Political collectivism and positive social constriction are two important features of a democracy.

A Historical View

Democracy is associated with Greek thought with reference to the city-state of Athens. It was a direct democratic process, which was working on two bases—a random selection of people on various governmental positions and legislative assemblies. There were direct processes of decision-making and law making. Everyone could speak and vote. It is also important to mention that women and slaves are not considered eligible citizens in Athens.

• It is interesting to know that democracy in Athens was purely direct as decisions were taken by assembled citizens rather than the court of law and were also directly controlled by the citizens. It is also important to know that individual rights are not safe or secured as we can see today, but it was ensured that one person cannot suppress another as decision were taken collectively.
• The Roman Republic can also be discussed here for their contribution to democracy. Here, a few were considered citizens who had the right to vote and got elected. Therefore, important posts are in hands of wealthy people or families. Rome was the first nation in the West to introduce the Republic form of government; however, it is important to understand that we cannot call it a complete democracy. Most nations relate their democracies with Rome and Greece as power was used by people’s representatives and there was a nominated head of the state. 
• During the middle ages, there were various kinds of governing systems in place but only a few were enjoying their rights to participate in the processes. Various systems which prevailed can be seen in form of a vast range of initial changes in democratic processes. For instance, Norway was working with Frostating, India (south) was governed by Cholas, and so on. 
• The modern period offered more strength to democracy. The power of England Parliament increased. Various new legislations came into existence such as the Habeas Corpus Act 1679, which provides various liberties to people. A civil war occurred in England during 1642–1651 and the Bill of Rights was accepted in 1689. In Virginia (North America), representative government started in 1961.
• In 1707, the British Parliament was established when the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland got merged because of the Acts of Union. Here, it is important to know that only a few people—about 3%—participated in the election.
• The Corsican Republic (1755) is known as the first nation in modern history that engaged with the democratic Constitution and provided rights to all people to vote who were above 25 years of age. The Constitution has provided voting right to women. America also adopted its Constitution in 1787 after the American Revolution. Their Constitution provided an elected government and protection to civil rights. However, voting rights were not given to all people but slaves system was ended. Voting rights were reserved to a few White wealthy people. For the first time, due to the French Revolution in 1848, universal male suffrage in France was given. 
• Liberal democracy came into existence as a result of various revolutions, wars, declarations, and so on. The First World War and the Second World War created a situation where women came out from houses, worked, and started contributing to the economy. However, the right to suffrage was not given to all women. In 1893, New Zealand was the first nation to provide the right to vote to women.

Types of Democracies

As discussed earlier, there is no common definition of democracy. One can find many kinds of democracies across the world—in theory and practice. However, it is important to keep in mind that all forms of democracy are completely different and exclusive from another; rather they share different characteristics under a larger umbrella called democracy. It is very clear that the two forms of democracy—direct democracy and representative democracy, also known as indirect democracy—work behind all other kinds of democracy.

• Direct Democracy: A political system where every person participates in decision-making personally is known as direct democracy. The Athenian democracy can be considered one of the examples of direct democracy. In direct democracy, people have voting rights for many decisions such as constitutional changes, reforms, laws, change in rights, and so on. There are still few ways used and can be called a part of direct democracy. These include initiatives taken by citizens, referendum, recall, etc.
• Representative Democracy: Representative democracy is a form of government where representatives are elected by the people. In India, we have representative democracy. Along with this, it is also a republic as it has the elected head of the state and not the nominated head as in Britain. This means that it is not necessary that democracy will always come with a republic system. These representatives are elected and represent a specific constituency or area. Even after declaring one representative democracy, it carries some feature of direct democracy such as referendum, and so on.
• Parliamentary Democracy: Parliamentary democracy is a form of representative democracy and can be appointed and dismissed; it is different from the presidential system. The power of the government is used by an executive body, which itself is subject to continuous review. The Legislature keeps a check on the work of the executive body. In a parliamentary system, the Prime Minister can be removed from his/her office by the Parliament on proving that the Prime Minister is not discharging his/her deities appropriately. This is done with a ‘No Confidence’ motion in the legislature through vote. This decision will be taken with majority. There must be a loyal opposition in every parliamentary democracy. The political party who gets the second highest vote will sit in opposition.
• Presidential Democracy: A democratic system where the President is the head of the state and elected through fair election is known a presidential democracy. The President is also the head of all the executive powers. The President can be on his/her post for a fixed period of time and the election will also be conducted on a pre-decided date. Cabinet ministers are also appointed by the President. It is important to know that the President is a very powerful person and cannot be easily removed from his/her position. Similarly, the President also cannot easily remove the members of the Parliament. Here, one controls the other. 
• Other Kinds of Democracy: Today, it is difficult to simply label any governing system as purely democratic, as there are various aspects that work together to run a system. These combined forms are called hybrid  democracies such as governing system of Switzerland. Inclusive democracy is another kind of democracy which argues to incorporate democracy in the dimension of live and not only in political processes. Such democracy will work towards a more liberal and egalitarian society. 
  • Today, in the globalised world, the idea of cosmopolitan democracy is advocated by many political theorists. It is also known as global or world democracy. The need for world democracy was felt because whatever decision taken at the national level has a direct or indirect impact on the world or citizens of other nations. They are not party to it as they have not voted for/against it. Therefore, it was thought that the democracy is a global phenomenon than a very local one. 
  • However, it is a reality that not such system is in place which can ensure a cosmopolitan democracy approach. Though some agencies are created, it is also a fact that they are also working under the pressure of the First World nations. The idea of creative democracy is favoured by John Dewey. The fundamental idea is to enhance the capacity and capabilities of an individual so that he/she can understand social relations. Here, democracy only means to encourage the abilities in individual to understand rationally and taking decision critically.
  • The whole idea behind democracy is to democratisation, where every individual has the liberty and right to equality, which provides the space, chance, or opportunities for the development of a critical human being who lives peacefully and also accepts the rightful co-existence of others.

Key Points

•  A system of governance based on election and people’s participation.
• Direct and representative democracies are the two broad forms of democracy.
• People and political participation and contestation are the fundamentals to democracy.
•  There are various kinds of institutions in all democracies, which have their merits and demerits.
• One person, one vote, and one value are the followed norm.
• There are various systems under democratic governance such as parliamentary democracy, presidential democracy, and hybrid democracy.
• In the parliamentary system, power resides in the hand of the legislature, whereas in the presidential system, most of the power resides in the hands of the President.

Views Against Democracy

Democracy has many good features which distinguish it from other kinds of governing systems. The views against democracy can be understood as follows:

• Leaders keep changing in a democracy. This leads to instability.
• Democracy is all about political competition and power play. There is no scope for morality.
• Many people have to be consulted in a democracy and it leads to delays.
• Elected leaders do not know the best interests of people. It leads to taking bad decisions.
• Democracy leads to corruption as it is based on electoral completion.
• Ordinary people do not know what is good for them; they should not decide anything.

It is important to know that democracy cannot perform miracles. We know that issues such as caste, class, gender, and poverty are still not solved in our nation and many nations across the world. However, it is also important to know that democracy provides liberty to people to decide and choose but it cannot ensure a perfect life, because decisions may contradict among leaders. Democracy provides the opportunities to change the government from time to time to enhance the efficiency of the system.

Views Favouring Democracy

Irrespective of various limitations and demperits, democracy is favoured due to many reasons as follows:

• Democracy is relatively more accountable than other kinds of governing systems. It is more accountable to the people of the nation.
• People participate in decision-making directly or indirectly.
• Opportunities are given to take quality decisions. 
• There are opportunities to explore and understand various kinds of differences and conflicts. 
• Citizens get more respect, agency, and dignity in a democracy. 
• There is scope for self-corrective measures in a democracy. It provides the chance to critique and evaluate the democratic processes within a democracy.

It is also important to know that we have a representative democracy in most nations. Views favouring and against democracy will surely help in distinguishing between democratic and non-democratic forms of government. However, we must keep in mind that democracy is not simply a form of government; rather, it is a way of life. My family is very democratic and always involves me in decision-making, and my teacher provides a chance to participate every learner in the class. These examples explain the meaning of democracy in situations apart from a government system.

Requisites for Successful Democracy

• Economic development, political enlightenment, and education are necessary for a successful democracy. Economic development is a necessary condition for democracy; if a nation is economically sound, it will provide enough opportunities to citizens, who will be able to contribute in a democracy. Economically developed nations can provide the necessary facilities to citizens. Sufficient resources will provide strength to people, which, in turn strengthens the democracy.
• Political enlightenment will make citizens more aware about political processes and practices and also provide strength to the democracy because people will be able to know their rights and responsibilities. Politically enlightened people will use their right to choose with critical perspective.
• Education is one of the important conditions for a successful democracy. Educated people can make better use of democracy for the national development. They also know how to vote and how to choose representatives. They are well aware of their rights and responsibilities, which strengthens the democracy and democratic processes.