To be honest as a fourth year political science student I still like to sometimes disregard this question simply because, as straightforward as it may seem, democracy is quite difficult to define. Despite being used (and often misused) by so many, there still does not seem to be any real consensus about what exactly this dubious term means.
When attempting to define democracy, one must ask which liberal features must be present in a certain state for it to be considered truly democratic? Some think that having somewhat representative elections is enough to constitute a democracy, and although I think this is most certainly an important factor, I don’t think that determining how democratic a country is depends on this factor alone. In relation to this, some view democracy as a strict dichotomy while others claim that it is a spectrum. Personally, I still have not decided which I think is the case.
Ultimately, to answer this question (although only partially, because as I said before I still do not have a full definition), I have to say that democracy means a country where every single individual has the opportunity to participate in free and fair elections, allowing each person to be directly involved in deciding the future of the country. Furthermore, I believe that another important element is the accountability of the elected government to the people. After all, it is undemocratic for a leader to dismiss the voices of his people once elected. In this sense, the views and needs of the country’s populace ought to be reflected in the actions of the government. A democracy, then, cannot merely be a country that that holds elections that are somewhat representative of the views of the people. Nor is it a country where the leader is able to disregard the will of the people. In order to be a functional democracy in light of these two factors, there must exist a system through which the legitimacy of the government is ensured. In other words, if a governing body is not fulfilling the needs of the people, there ought to exist a way to replace it.
Democracy means the freedom to choose as well as the freedom to change. Although democracy and freedom are rather entangled, I think it is important that one realize that they are not the same thing. There are so many states that claim they are a democracy yet systematically and continuously oppress their own people. This is what makes it so difficult to define democracy: setting specific standards of democracy is a nice idea, however the circumstances change so drastically from country to country that this becomes quite difficult. For example, many countries in Latin America, Africa and elsewhere are ‘democratic’ however have very little freedom because widespread vote fraud usually means that a small elite group will end up in control. Defining democracy on a case-by-case (country-by country) basis, however, is also dangerous because it has the potential to become extremely subjective.
Defining democracy will always prove difficult. I know that this little word has real implications that impact the inner-workings of governments around the world. For now I will continue my attempts to come up with a working definition for myself. But perhaps it is just one of those abstract concepts that is simply destined to remain without a concrete answer.
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.