Democratic and non-democratic systems Flashcards
Full democracy
Demonstrates strong check and balances, the rule of law and independent judiciary, Political culture that reinforces political rights and equality, Such as Australia, NZ, Norway
Flawed democracy
Adequate election systems, Basic respect for civil and political rights, Low citizenship participation rates, Lack of media diversity, Such as USA, Bulgaria, Croatia
Hybrid regimes
Executive is stronger than the legislative or courts, Elections may be unfair, Courts lack independence, Weak rule of law, Government may be harassed, Political corruption exists, Such as Indonesia, Columbia, Egypt
Authoritarian regimes
No tolerance for opponents of government, Rights are abused, Limited or no checks on executive power, No free media, No independent courts, No elections or if there are elections they are rigged, Such as North Korea, Russia, China
Non-democratic systems (6)
Absolute monarchy, theocracies, Dictatorships, Juntas, rigid authoritarian, soft authoritarian
Dictatorships
Ruled by a single leader with absolute power, Zimbabwe
Electoral process and pluralism
Elections should be free, fair, unrestricted and safe,
People should be able to form political parties and the opposition parties should have a good chance at winning
Functioning of government
The government should contain freely elected representatives, The government should have a clear separation of power and a system of checks and balances that keeps the government accountable, Government should have high confidence from people and be free of outside influence/coercion
Political culture
Should be a societal consensus that underpins a functioning democracy, Low proportion of people should want military law with a strong leader that bypasses elections and parliament, More of the population should see the value of democracy at maintaining public order and economic performance, Strong tradition in the separation of church and state
Civil liberties
Free electronic and print media, Freedom of expression with a diverse amount of opinions, No internet restrictions or torture by the government/state, Citizens can form organisations and petition government, Judiciary independent of government influence, Citizens are treated equally by the law, All rights and freedoms are protected (human, property), No discrimination on the basis of peoples race, colour or beliefs
Electoral process and pluralism in Australia
Elections are free, fair and regular, vote counting is done in the presence of scrutineers, political communication is constitutionally protected.
Voting is compulsory, non-citizens can’t vote
Functioning of government in Australia
separation of powers with checks and balances, rule of law, parliamentary sovereignty
Constitutionally enshrined overlap between executive and legislative
Political participation in Australia
High voter turnout, Citizens act as scrutineers, citizens can form their own parties, citizens can run for parliament, people can protest and petition
No right to not participate, During COVID protests were shut down and people arrested
Political culture in Australia
Religion doesn’t rule over parliment, minor parties and independents hold balance of power
Christianity is the dominant religion in parliament, 32% of parliament are woman, Ken Wyatt became the first Aboriginal person to be made the minister for Indigenous affairs in 2019
Civil liberties in Australia
Free media, rule of law, Liberal democracy, Can form pressure groups- student strike for climate change, Some rights are protected by common law
Rights are mainly only protected by Westminster conventions, Lack of media diversity- Influence of Rupert Murdoch
