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What ‘s gone wrong with Democracy? Tertulia

What ‘s gone wrong with Democracy? Tertulia Manuel Puyana Germán Arciniegas Wed. June 4, 2014. What is democracy?. What is democracy?. a. Democracy. Greek: demos (meaning “people”), and kratos (meaning “rule”).

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What ‘s gone wrong with Democracy? Tertulia

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  1. What ‘s gone wrong with Democracy?Tertulia Manuel PuyanaGermán Arciniegas Wed. June 4, 2014

  2. What is democracy?

  3. What is democracy? • a

  4. Democracy Greek: demos (meaning “people”), and kratos(meaning “rule”)

  5. Key elements to democracy • A political system for choosing and replacing the government through free and fair elections 1 • Active participation of the people, as citizens, in politics and civic life - INFORMATION 2 3 • Protection of the human rights of all citizens • A rule of law, in which the laws and procedures apply equally to all citizens 4

  6. Is the US a democracy?

  7. DEMOCRACY • Direct governmentPeople decide policy matters • directly • Rule by the Majorityhall meetings or ballot initiatives REPUBLIC • Representativegovernment • Rule by Law • (constitution)

  8. The U.S. is a constitution-basedfederal republic with a strong democratic tradition(CIA World Factbook). A constitution-based federal republic is actually quite similar to a direct democracy.

  9. "A wise man will not leave the right to the mercy of chance, nor wish it to prevail through the power of the majority. There is but little virtue in the action of masses of men." Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)

  10. Democracy prior to Yr. 2000 • Athens > Eng. Bill of rights > US 1788 + Fr. rights of man > 19th Cent. • In 1941 only 11 democracies were left! • After 1950: • Germany – India • Decolonization (Africa and Asia) • Autocratic to democracy = Greece, Spain, Argentina, Brazil, Chile • Collapse of the Soviet Union • in 2000 120 countries = 63% where democracies

  11. Democracy in the 21st Cent. • 40% of global population • 2013 > 8th year decline of global freedom • Nominal democracies > autocracy (elections but no rights and institutions)

  12. Freedom score, by country 2013

  13. What do you think are some of the challenges to democracy?

  14. Challenges to democracy? • a

  15. challengestodemocracy • Parliament ignored and despised • Technocrats • Populist parties (Le Pen) • Broke the monopoly on progress • Doubling living standards 3X faster than US • Tight government control • Recruit the best people – fresh talent • 2013 85% very satisfied with country dir. Rise of China • Financial crisis 2007 revealed weaknesses in politics • Gridlock • Gerrymandering • Second rate representatives • 2013 31% very satisfied with country direction Faults in the system EuropeanUnion • Autocratic leaders have followed Venezuela, Ukraine, Argentina Russia / VladimirPutin Arab Spring / Egypt • Euphoria to despair • Morsi – winner takes all • Army steps in • War in Syria + anarchy in Libya • Building institutions is slow!

  16. Challenges to democracy? • Plato’s worry – living from day to day • Short term happiness - Debt financed democracy (keep system afloat, wars, etc.) Brazil... • Distrust in government (EU 50%) • Do not want to adapt to austerity • Growing cynicism towards politics • No trust > no education > apathy • Every nation gets the government it deserves. (Joseph de Maistre)

  17. Democracy Tribulationsin the USA

  18. Gerrymandering ˈdʒer.iˌmæn.dər.ɪŋ - an occasion when someone in authority changes the borders of an area in order to increase the number of people within that area who will vote for a particular party or person.

  19. Origin of this Practice Elbridge Gerry, Governor of Massachusetts The “Salamander” District

  20. Evolution of Districts 1942 2010

  21. Gerrymandering, where?

  22. Top 5 Gerrymandered Districts: # 5

  23. Top 5 Gerrymandered Districts: # 4

  24. Top 5 Gerrymandered Districts: # 3

  25. Top 5 Gerrymandered Districts: # 2

  26. Top 5 Gerrymandered Districts: # 1

  27. Honorable Mentions

  28. How Does it Work? In Simple Terms… Blue wins 3 Red Wins 0 Blue wins 2 Red Wins 1 Blue wins 1 Red Wins 2

  29. So, why is gerrymandering bad? • Encourages manipulation of our elections by: • Allowing incumbent politicians to help partisan allies, • Hurt political enemies and choose their voters before the voters choose them. • Means to further political goals by: • Drawing boundaries to protect incumbents • Reduce competition, rather than to ensure equal voting power and fair representation.

  30. The Result: Less and Less Competition… Count of Congressional Districts

  31. …Underrepresentation

  32. Gridlock /ˈɡrɪdˌlɒk/- In politics, gridlock or deadlock or political stalemate refers to a situation when there is difficulty of passing laws in a legislature because the votes for and against a proposed law are evenly divided, or in which two legislative houses, or the executive branch and the legislature are controlled by different political parties, or otherwise cannot agree.

  33. Gridlock: Polarization? 101 Congress - 1989 113 Congress - 2013

  34. Filibuster \ˈfi-lə-ˌbəs-tər\ - an effort to prevent action in a legislature (such as the U.S. Senate or House of Representatives) by making a long speech or series of speeches.

  35. Filibusters: Used More and More… Number of Motions to End a Filibuster

  36. Just Don’t Let the President Leave a Mark… Motions to End a Filibuster when a single Party Controlled the Senate and the White House (*) Does not include Obama’s last 3 Years

  37. Money I do not have to define this, right?

  38. Trashing Your Opponent is on the Rise • When to go Negative? • when taking on an incumbent; • when being significantly outspent; • when there is irrefutable information that the opponent has done something wrong; • when the candidate has little name recognition.

  39. Election Turnout: Rhythmic Ups and Downs… Why a dip every two years??

  40. Every Election Counts! But Voters Do not Agree…

  41. What could be done to foster and preserve democracy?

  42. The end

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