Democracy in Brief kor
Introduction: What Is Democracy?
1
Characteristics of Democracy
3
Rights and Responsibilities
7
Democratic Elections
12
Rule of Law
16
Constitutionalism
19
Three Pillars of Government
22
Free and Independent Media
27
Political Parties, Interest Groups, NGOs
29
Civil-Military Relations
32
The Culture of Democracy
34
Democracy may be a word familiar to most, but it is a concept still misunderstood and misused at a time when dictators, single-party regimes, and military coup leaders alike assert popular support by claiming the mantle of democracy. Yet the power of the democratic idea has prevailed through a long and turbulent history, and democratic government, despite continuing challenges, continues to evolve and flourish throughout the world.
Democracy, which derives from the Greek word demos, or people, is defined, basically, as government in which the supreme power is vested in the people. In some forms, democracy can be exercised directly by the people; in large societies, it is by the people through their elected agents.
Or, in the memorable phrase of
Civilized debate and due process of law are at the core of democratPresident Abraham Lincoln, ic practice. This woodcut imagines an ancient Greek court on the
Areopagus outcrop in Athens. democracy is government of the people, by the people, and for the people.
Freedom and democracy are often used interchangeably, but the two are not synonymous. Democracy is indeed a set of ideas and principles about freedom, but it also consists of practices and procedures that have been molded through a long, often tortuous history.
Democracy is the institutionalization of freedom.
In the end, people living in a democratic society must serve as the ultimate guardians of their own freedom and must forge their own path toward the ideals set forth in the preamble to the United Nations Universal
Declaration of Human Rights: Recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all
1
Characteristics of Democracy
3
Rights and Responsibilities
7
Democratic Elections
12
Rule of Law
16
Constitutionalism
19
Three Pillars of Government
22
Free and Independent Media
27
Political Parties, Interest Groups, NGOs
29
Civil-Military Relations
32
The Culture of Democracy
34
Democracy may be a word familiar to most, but it is a concept still misunderstood and misused at a time when dictators, single-party regimes, and military coup leaders alike assert popular support by claiming the mantle of democracy. Yet the power of the democratic idea has prevailed through a long and turbulent history, and democratic government, despite continuing challenges, continues to evolve and flourish throughout the world.
Democracy, which derives from the Greek word demos, or people, is defined, basically, as government in which the supreme power is vested in the people. In some forms, democracy can be exercised directly by the people; in large societies, it is by the people through their elected agents.
Or, in the memorable phrase of
Civilized debate and due process of law are at the core of democratPresident Abraham Lincoln, ic practice. This woodcut imagines an ancient Greek court on the
Areopagus outcrop in Athens. democracy is government of the people, by the people, and for the people.
Freedom and democracy are often used interchangeably, but the two are not synonymous. Democracy is indeed a set of ideas and principles about freedom, but it also consists of practices and procedures that have been molded through a long, often tortuous history.
Democracy is the institutionalization of freedom.
In the end, people living in a democratic society must serve as the ultimate guardians of their own freedom and must forge their own path toward the ideals set forth in the preamble to the United Nations Universal
Declaration of Human Rights: Recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all