What is Democracy?

1. What is Democracy? Lubomir Kopecek November 2011

2. Word Democracy • Greek word démokratiá = démos – the people and kratein – to govern

3. Development of Democracy (Robert Dahl) • 1st STAGE: small and homogeneous city-states – DirectDemocracy. • Greek ‚polis‘ – participation of citizens (free adult male citizens) at the meetings of popular assembly (5th century A.D.) – thepeoplecouldmakedirectlydecisions. • Florence, Genoa, Venice (Italy), 12th, 13th, 14th century, also in othersmallcommunitiesaroundEurope. • Direct democracy = in fullyformispossible in small states (districts) with small number of participants!

4. Development of Democracy • 2nd STAGE: some European nation-states (since 18th and mainly 19th century). • Direct form of democracy replaced by the representative form of governance – representative democracy. • The large size of these new democracies (USA, Great Britain, France, Netherlands etc.). • The growing number of citizens involved. • The principle of representation: Citizens do not exercise power directly, but through their elected representatives. (deputies, presidents etc).

5. Instruments of direct democracy in contemporary representative democracies The most common: referendum - citizens decide on a question(s) by either accepting it or rejecting it through a direct vote (typical possible answer: Yes or No). Referendums: types -mandatory(it must be held on a particular question) or facultative (it can be called at the request of a certain number of citizens), national and local.

6. Two important backgrounds of representative (liberal) democracy: • Political equality = democratic background: extension of voting rights,establishment of general and equal voting rights. • Liberal freedoms= liberal background: civic and political rights (freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of association etc.).

7. Procedural Democracy (important for democratic background of liberal democracy) • Joseph A. Schumpeter´s definition of democracy has become known as procedural democracy (or minimal democracy, electoral democracy). • Basic criteria: free competitionamong political parties (the citizen/voter must be able to freely chose between at least two political parties). • Citizens have the chance to elect the government in free elections. Free elections as the fundament of the democracy.

8. Procedural Democracy • The fundamental element is the holding of regular elections in which political parties offer a certain program(existence of political market). • Political parties compete under equal conditions for the votes of the citizens. • The winner of elections exercises power and is given the opportunity to realize his program. • Key elements of procedural democracy:free elections, political competition, and political parties.

9. Liberal freedoms • Liberalism is based on the idea that the government must protect the freedoms of the citizens(right to live, private property, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, fair trial, etc.): protection of freedoms is connected with rule of law. • Adam Smith later elaborated on the idea of economic freedom and the free market as indispensable for the functioning of a free society. • Charles Louis Montesquieu brought another aspect – separation of powers (executive, legislative and judiciary).

10. Political institutions • Executive power: Government (cabinet) and President (or monarch). • Legislative power: (Parliament) - making the laws. • Representative (liberal) democracy can be divided into two basic categories : parliamentary and presidential democracy.

11. Parliamentary democracy • Executive power (prime minister, cabinet) is derived from legislative power. The government is responsible to the legislative power and is dependent upon it. • Parliament represents the sovereignty of the people - gains legitimacy through the electoral process. • Executive power is headed by prime minister(premier). • Head of state: president is elected by the parliament, or monarch (traditional authority). • President or monarch has symbolic and limited role: represents the state outside, moderate political crises etc. • Example: Great Britain, Netherlands, Czech Republic…

12. Presidential democracy • Legislative power and executive power are strictly separated, and independent of one another. • Sovereignty of people is represented both by the legislative power and the executive (president). Parliament and president are elected by the people, and has an independent mandate. • The head of state (president)govern the executive branch, and therefore the government. • President has much greater power than in parliamentary democracies („strong man“). • Example: The United States

13. Semi-presidential democracy • In semi-presidential democracies there is a division of executive power between the president and the prime minister. • President is elected by th people. • Both the prime minister and the president are formally independent of one another. • President has strong powers. • The result of parliamentary elections is very important: victory of party (or party coalition) of president means strong support of president. • Example: France

14. The consotional democracy • Consotional democracies:a special group among the parliamentary democracies. • The consotional model has proven itself as a way to maintain democracy in countries sharply divided along religious, ethnic, cultural, or other lines – many conflicts, risk of civic war etc. • What is necessary is a willingness by the elites of the individual social groups to maintain a consensus - pacts, agreements etc.

15. Transition to democracy • Since mid 1970s – increase transition of countries towards democracy in the world (Third wave of democratization): • Europe: dictatorship fell in Spain, Greece and Portugal • Latin America: Argentina, Chile, Brazil etc. • Asia: Turkey, Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan etc. • Late 1980s – Central and Eastern Europe (countries that were previously in the sphere of the Soviet influence).

16. Transition and consolidation Democratic transition: change from the original non-democratic regime: • removal of the old non-democraticregime; • establishment of the democratic institutions and procedures. Democratic consolidation: stabilization of these democratic institutions and procedures + their acceptance by all important actors (political parties, army, religious leaders etc.) Democratic transition does not have to lead to the democratic consolidation (may result in new non-democraticregimeorhybrid forms of regime).

17. Hybrid regimes: frequent mainly in 1990s Regimes that are neither liberal democracies, nor can be considered non-democratic regimes. ConceptofIlliberal democracy (FareedZakaria): • Use of some mechanisms of democratic governance, including formal legitimization of governmental elites through elections; • Elections: electoral manipulation, fraud, repression of opposition candidates, etc. – onlypartiallycompetitiveelections. • Weak rule of law, no chance to achieve justice. • Centralization of power. Personality of leader is important, holds regime together. • Today, hybrid regimes are rare: former hybrid regimesmoved to proceduralorliberaldemocracy (Slovakia, Croatia, Argentina) or to newdictatorship (Russia).

18. THANK YOU I will be glad to respond on your questions.