WEEK 2 -Defining and Comparing Democracies Flashcards
What was Plato’s view on Democracy?
Rule by the people = Rule by the mob
People are stupid and don’t know what’s in their best interest.
People who know best are philosophers.
According to Aristotle in his classification of Governments what happens if one person rules?
If one person rules and if…
Rulers benefit: TYRANNY
If all benefit: MONARCHY
According to Aristotle in his classification of Governments what happens if a few people rule?
If few people rule and if….
Rulers benefit: OLIGARCHY
All Benefit: ARISTOCRACY
According to Aristotle in his classification of Governments what happens if the many rule?
If may rule and if….
Rulers benefit: DEMOCRACY
All benefit: POLITY
What was Rousseau’s view on Democracy?
- Democracy as means which people achieve freedom
- Has active involvement in citizens
AND General Will
But…
- Does a general will exist?
- Is it free and egalitarian?
What was Mill’s view on Democracy?
- Representative democracy providing development of citizens
- Suffrage for women
- Safeguarding minority rights
- More liberal
What are the critiques of Mill’s theory?
Question of being truly equal.
- Not too much influence of citizens
- Exclusion of poor and illiterate
- More qualified people should have more votes
What is Schumpeter’s theory of Democracy?
-Minimalist view of Democracy
- Competitive Elitism
When an average person enters politics,his rationality falls to a primitive level.
What is Deliberative Democracy?
Political discussion among (representative) sample of citizens
What are the elements of Deliberative Democracy?
- Open deliberation
- Reasoned debate
- Common interest
- Mutual understanding
- Stimulates involvement
What is Huntington’s waves of democratisation?
The view that democracy around the world comes in waves.
First wave (1828-1926): Western Europe and Anglo-Saxon world (but some slipping back!)
Second wave (1943-62): West-Germany; Italy; Japan; Latin America; Israel; India
Third wave (1974-91): Spain; Greece; Latin America; Central and Eastern Europe
What are the elements of successful liberal democracies?
-Representative democracy
-Regular free and fair
elections
- Political pluralism
- Free ‘civil society’
-Protection of individual
rights
Why is Hungary an example of a illiberal democracy?
- Making it so migrants can’t settle
- The Fidesz party controls all branches of government, including the judiciary.
-In a 2014 speech, Orban explained that his vision for Hungary was an “illiberal democracy,”
How do social scientists assess democracy?
-Comparative and
quantitative
-Relationship democracy
and e.g. economic
development
How do League tables of NGO’s (e.g. Freedom House) assess democracy?
-Comparative and
quantitative
-Ranking as an end in itself
How do international organisations and governments?
-Case-oriented and
qualitative
-Policy purpose (e.g. EU
accession; development
aid)
What does Przeworski define democracy?
‘regime in which government offices are filled by contested elections’
What was Dahl’s (1989) five criteria for democratic processes?
- Effective Participation
- Voting Equality
- Enlightened
understanding - Control of the agenda
- Inclusion
What does it mean by effective participation?
All citizens to have equal opportunities for expressing their preferences throughout process of making binding decisions
What does it mean by Voting Equality?
Every citizen to have fair opportunity to determine the political outcome.
What’s meant by Enlightened Understanding?
Citizens must have equal opportunities to learn policy alternatives and their consequences
What’s meant by control of the agenda?
Citizens must have exclusive opportunity to decide which matters are placed on public agenda and how they get there.
What’s meant by inclusion?
All permanent adult residents must enjoy full rights of citizenship.
What are the problems with measuring/defining democracy?
How to observe and score reliably?
How do you aggregate all this to a single value?
Western bias?
What is Lijphart’s typology of democracies?
There’s two models (majoritarian and consensus) and that’s split into a federal and a unitary element.
What are the distinctions between a federal majoritarian model and an executive majoritarian model?
Majoritarian Executive: (Parties dimension) - Single Party (Majority Govt.) - Dominant Executive - Two party system - Majoritarian electoral system - Pluralism
Majoritarian Federal: (Unitary dimension) - Unitary, centralised govt. - Unicameralism (practice of having one legislative or parliamentary chamber) - Flexible constitutions - Par
What are the distinctions between a federal consensus model and an consensus executive model?
Consensus Executive (Party dimension): - Multiparty coalitions - Power balance executive- legislative - Multiparty system - Proportional Rep. - Corporatism
Consensus Federal (Unitary Dimension): - Federal, decentralised govt. - Bicameralism ( Practice of having two legislative or parliamentary chambers) e.g: House of Lords and Commons - Rigid Constitutions - Judicial Review - Independent Central Banks
What is the performance of different types of democracy?
Little difference in terms of governing effectiveness and macro-economic performance.
Consensus countries score higher on certain indicators of ‘democratic quality’
i.e:
Representation: of women; electoral participation; satisfaction with democracy
Policy outcomes: provision of welfare; environmental protection; imprisonment rates; development aid
