4.7: Student Resources

Key Terms/Glossary

• Apartheid - defined as a system of governance wherein racial oppression is institutionalized.
• Aristocracy - a form of government where power is held by nobility or those concerned to be of the highest classes within a society.
• Autocracies - forms of government where countries are ruled either by a single person or group, who/which holds total power and control.
• Ba’athist Party - a former transnational Arab political party that espouses pan-Arab nationalism and socialist economic policies.
• Checks and balances - a system that attempts to ensure that no one branch can become too powerful.
• Congressional legislature - one where groups of legislators, elected by the people, make laws and share powers with other branches within the government.
• Consultative legislature - where the legislature advises the leader, or group of leaders, on issues relating to laws and their application.
• Democracy - a government system in which the supreme power of government is vested in the people.
• Democratic consolidation - a type of regime transition whereby new democracies evolve from fledgling regimes to established democracies, making them less at risk to fall back into authoritarian regimes.
• Direct democracy - a government system that enables citizens to vote directly, or participate directly, in the formation of laws, public policy and government decisions.
• Elections - the mechanism through which leaders get chosen around the world.
• Electoral - an adjective which means relating to elections or electors.
• Electoral democracy - a form of representative democracy where political leaders are elected through an election (electoral) process to exercise political power and manage the basic tasks of government operations.
• Electoral systems - also known as a country's system of voting; an electoral system provides a set of rules that dictate how elections (and other voting initiatives) are conducted and how results are determined and communicated.
• Executive branch - typically made up of a singular leader, a leader with an assistant (vice-president) or a small group of leaders who have institutional powers.
• Fair elections - those in which all votes carry equal weight, are counted accurately, and the election results are able to be accepted by parties. Ideally, the following standards are met to ensure elections are free and fair.
• Free elections - those where all citizens are able to vote for the candidate of their choice. The election is free if all citizens who meet the requirements to vote (e.g. are of lawful age and meet the citizenship requirements, if they exist), are not prevented from participating in the election process.
• Flawed democracies - those where elections are free and fair, and basic civil liberties are protected, but issues exist which may hamper the democratic process.
• Head of government - refers to the chief executives who must run and manage the day-to-day business of the state.
• Head of state - refers to when the chief executive must represent the country in formal gatherings as well as for ceremonial responsibilities.
• Hybrid regimes - those where democracy is touted to exist, but elections may not be free or fair, and government functioning is poor.
• Illiberal democracies - those regimes where elections occur, but civil liberties are not protected.
• Indirect democracy - channels the power of the people through representation, where citizens elect representatives to make laws and government decisions on their behalf.
• Judicial review - is the ability to interpret the constitutionality of laws, and in doing so, the ability to overturn decisions made by lesser courts when doing so.
• Judiciary - refers to the part of government where laws can be interpreted and enforced.
• Legislative branch - tasked with performing three main functions: (1) making and revising laws; (2) providing administrative oversight to ensure laws are being properly executed; (3) and providing representation of the constituents to the government.
• Majoritarian voting system - an electoral system where candidates must win a majority in order to win the election. If they do not win a majority, there needs to be a runoff election.
• No-fly zone - when a foreign power intervenes to prevent that country or another country from gaining air superiority.
• Parliamentary legislature - where members are elected by the people, enacts laws on their behalf, and also serves as the executive branch of government.
• Parliamentary system - sometimes called parliamentary democracy, a system of government where the chief executive, usually a Prime Minister, attains their role through election by the legislature.
• Plurality voting system - an electoral system where the candidate who gets the most votes, wins. In this system, there is no requirement to attain a majority, so this system can sometimes be called the first-past-the-post system.
• Political parties - groups of people who are organized under shared values to get their candidates elected to office to exercise political authority.
• Presidential system - a system of government, sometimes called a single executive system, where the head of government is a president who leads the executive branch of government.
• Primitive democracy - small communities have face-to-face discussions in order to make decisions.
• Proportional voting system - an electoral system where voting options reflect geographical or political divisions in the population to enable a proportional leadership when elected.
• Semi-presidential system - sometimes called the dual executive system, a system of government where a country has both a president and a prime minister and cabinet.
• Separation of powers - a term that divides government functions into three areas: the legislature, tasked primarily with the making of laws; the executive, who carries out or enforces these laws; and the judiciary, tasked with interpreting the constitutionality of laws.
• Suffrage - the right to vote in political elections and propose referendums.
• Waves of democracy - moments in history when multiple countries transition to democracy during the same time period.

Summary

Section #4.1: What is Democracy?

Democracy is a government system in which the supreme power of government is vested in the people. Democracy has a number of characteristics which can be central to understanding the variation in democracies that exist worldwide today. These differences also highlight the difference between concepts of ancient democracy versus contemporary democracy. Ancient democracy had no concept or foundations for widespread suffrage or the protection of civil liberties. Some of these modern accepted democratic themes include (but are not limited to): free, fair and regular elections (ideally, with the inclusion of more than one viable political party), respect for civil liberties (freedom of religion, speech, the press, peaceful assembly; freedom to criticize the government) as well as the protection of civil rights (freedom from discrimination based on various characteristics deemed important in society). Democracies which not only facilitate free and fair elections, but also ensure the protection of civil liberties are called Liberal Democracies. Some of the different types of democracy include: Liberal Democracy, Electoral Democracy, Semi-Democratic Regimes, Flawed Democracies, Hybrid Regimes, and Illiberal Democracy.

Section #4.2: Institutions within Democracy

While some elements and characteristics of democracy vary, one constant commonality is the separation of powers among institutions within governments. This separation of powers promotes checks and balances because it provides for power to be spread throughout multiple branches of government with the intention of splitting up power between institutions so that no single branch has too much power but instead empowering all branches with their own institutionalized powers. The three branches of concern include: (1) the legislature; (2) the executive; and (3) the judiciary. Other hallmark institutions of democracies are their electoral systems and the presence of political parties.Electoral systems are voting systems; an electoral system provides a set of rules that dictate how elections (and other voting initiatives) are conducted and how results are determined and communicated. Political Parties are groups of people who are organized under shared values to get their candidates elected to office to exercise political authority. All of these institutions, taken together, contribute to the many unique democracies that exist today, and require, at the very least, a brief overview to consider their importance and implications to democracy today.

Section #4.3: Systems of Democracy

Within democracy, there are three types of systems which may be present, including: the presidential, the parliamentary and the semi-presidential systems. Each of these systems were designed to fit the context and cultures of their democratic systems, and each has their share of advantages and disadvantages. The Presidential System of government, sometimes called a single executive system, is one where the head of government is a president who leads the executive branch of government. the Parliamentary System, sometimes called parliamentary democracy, is one where the chief executive, usually a Prime Minister, attains their role through election by the legislature. Semi-Presidential System, sometimes called the dual executive system, is one where a country has both a president and a prime minister and cabinet.

Section #4.4: Democratic Consolidation

Democratization, also referred to as democratic consolidation, is a type of regime transition whereby new democracies evolve from fledgling regimes to established democracies, making them less at risk to fall back into authoritarian regimes.When a democracy becomes consolidated, scholars expect that it will endure. Two possible conditions of democratic consolidation have been considered, including the two-term test and the longevity test, though both of these lack substantial evidence. In the absence of confirmed conditions, a number of theories exist as to why some democracies are able to consolidate, and some are not.

Section #4.5: Comparative Case Study – Pathways to Democratization: South Africa & Iraq

Both South Africa and Iraq experienced journeys toward the destination of democracy, but with differing success in means and ends. While the countries of Iraq and South Africa differ in a multiplicity of ways, there remain viable similarities in the past and present of the two states which allow for a candid academic assessment of the reasons for and nature of the regime transitions.

Review Questions

1. In its most basic form, liberal democracy involves
   1. Economic advantage
   2. Social mobility
   3. Free and fair elections & the protection of civil liberties
   4. None of these
2. Which part of an election is important to look at when determining if an election is both free and fair?
   1. Before the election
   2. During the election
   3. After the election
   4. All of the above are correct
3. When a democracy becomes undemocratic, it is called:
   1. A flawed democracy
   2. A hybrid regime
   3. Democratic backsliding
   4. Autocracy
4. Groups of people who are organized under shared values to get their candidates elected to power are
   1. Juntas
   2. Electorates
   3. Selectorates
   4. Political Parties
5. The three branches of government are:
   1. The electorate, the legislative and the judicial
   2. The judicial, the executive and the political parties
   3. The electoral system, separation of powers, and the legislative
   4. Legislative, Executive and Judiciary

Answers: 1.c, 2.d, 3.c, 4.d., 5.d

Critical Thinking Questions

1. What are common characteristics of Democracy? What variations of democracy emerge out of these characteristics?
2. What are the differences between democracies, semi-democracies and authoritarian regimes? How can you recognize the difference between these regimes?
3. What is the relationship between voting and democracy? Is the characteristic of suffrage a critical component? (Consider, for instance, that the Polity IV measurement of democracy does not include a measurement for suffrage. What are the implications for democracy if suffrage is not included in its characteristics?)

Suggestions for Further Study

Websites

• International Forum for Democratic Studies
• Freedom House
• International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA)
• Centre for Voting and Democracy

Journals

• Democratization, Routledge
• Frontiers in Political Science: Peace and Democracy
• Journal of Democracy, International Forum for Democratic Studies, John Hopkins University Press

Books

• Dahl, R. A. (1998) On Democracy. New Haven, London: Yale University Press.
• Diamond, L. (1999) Developing Democracy. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
• Francisco, Ronald (2000) The Politics of Regime Transitions. Routledge: Taylor & Francis Group.