DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE

Democratic Governance

Democratic Governance

Introduction

Social scientists have developed a range of approaches to measure the degree to which modern states are democratic. Although dictionaries commonly define democracy very simply as “rule by the people,” this definition alone has proved too vague to be used as an operational measure. Historically, “rule” and “the people” have been very broadly defined. For example, the Soviet Union used its claim to have achieved relative socioeconomic equality to refer to itself as a “people's democracy,” even though it was a one-party dictatorship. Alternatively, the United States strongly identified itself as a political democracy, even though slavery and later segregation in southern states politically disenfranchised a large segment of its African-American population. In both historical cases, local understandings of democracy differed from those commonly accepted by social scientists today (Held, 2006).

This article begins by briefly outlining various conceptions of democracy, and how it is understood by most social scientists. It then examines attempts by social scientists to develop “procedural” indices to compare political democracies and measure the degree to which democratic ideals are realized in modern states. It also explores how some scholars have created measures of democracy that more fully take into account the roles that civil society, political culture, and socioeconomic forces have in creating a substantive democracy. In the concluding section, I argue that future research on democracy should take into account an even broader range of cultural factors that have influenced the texture and quality of democracy in modern societies.

Discussion and Analysis

The first wave of democratization began in the 1820s and included the widening of suffrage to a large proportion of the male population, particularly in the United States (US), but also elsewhere in Europe and many other Western states. The first wave continued until the early 1900s and resulted in up to thirty democracies (David, 2006). The reversal of the first wave began in 1922 with the rise of fascism in Italy and by 1942 there was a reduction of democratic states from thirty to twelve. The second wave of democratization began after World War II until 1962 with thirty six states governed democratically. This was then followed by another wave reversal from 1960 to 1975 that reduced democratic states to thirty (Held, 2006). The third wave progressed through to the end of the cold-wars, and the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989. To continue with the wave analogy, we are currently in the fourth wave of democratization post the cold-wars.

Defining democratization, democracy and democratic governance depends on which aspects of the democracy ideal and the democratic process are focused upon. Robert Dahl proposes a range of criteria regarding the democratic ideal including; voting equality, effective participation, final control over the agenda, and inclusion. Dahl's approach focuses on the structures, institutions and processes of representative government as important litmus tests of democracy promotion (Inglehart & Welzel, 2005).

The citizen's informed engagement in the democratic process is fundamental for a healthy democracy. Engagement means not only turning up to elections for voting but holding ...