There are over 122 democracies in the modern world. This blog assignment requires that you compare two or more democracies to gain an in-depth understanding of a complex and diverse political trend:
Directions
1. Read pages 20- 29 “Democratization in Six Countries” from the College Boards “Democratization Briefing Paper” at: http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/ap05_comp_govpol_demo_42252.pdf
And
“Doing Democracy Right: Why are other countries so much better at conducting elections than we are?”
http://www.slate.com/id/2202580/
And ONE of the articles below:
http://www.dfat.gov.au/aib/country.html
http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/33328/jean-herskovits/democracy-in-nigeria
http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/61373/enrique-krauze/furthering-democracy-in-mexico
2. Summarize the key features of democracy in the
Your post should be 300 words or may be completed as a graphic organizer with a 200 word summary in addition to the table.
Due monday 2/22
After assessing the various forms of democracy, or lack of it, I have come to the conclusion that our form of government, although extremely powerful, is greatly flawed. First, there are countries like Britain and Mexico, which are fully democratized. Then there are the not so fortunate countries that are partially democratic or hardly democratic. These nations include Russia and China. The Freedom House Organization ranks nations from a scale of 1 to 13 on how democratized a nation is, from categories of civil liberties and human rights. Britain, Mexico, and the EU are above 10, representing their developed democracies. The world average is now 8.5. Russia and Nigeria are only partial democracies because of their history. Russia was part of the communist Soviet Union, but quickly adapted to Western forms of government. Nigeria has seen swings in their political system, with a history comprised of religious conflicts and military coups. The two very undemocratic countries described in “Democratization in Six Countries” are China an Iran. They currently both have dictatorship style political leaders.
ReplyDeleteSlate’s article “Doing Democracy Right” pinpoints the differences in our democracy compared to others. In the United State’s narration, there have been many instances of political corruption and manipulation to win elections. However, the problem of ballot wrongdoings begins at the roots. In 2004, only 72% of the population of registered voters actually voted. In other democracies, there are national databases of citizens at the legal age to vote. In some countries, people are even fined if they don’t. In addition, elections are held on weekends, so that people have time to vote, rather than having to rush to the booths after work on a weekday. There are 138 countries that vote more than Americans. Maybe we just don’t trust the government enough to vote. I believe the United States doesn’t have an effective election process at all. If only a fraction of the population votes, than many people’s voices wont be heard. The people’s opinions are vital in a free democracy.
Australia has a government that’s similar to America’s. Like America, the citizens have freedom of speech and religion. Their legislative system also consists of a House and a Senate, and their government has a legislative, executive, judicial branch. However, there are some characteristics that are uniquely Australian. The Australians have a process called “Question Time” where public debates are aired and the people’s voices are heard. Election processes are held to amend the constitution. Voting is mandatory, and consequences are enforced on non-voters. Unlike the United States, the majority of votes win the election. If a candidate gets 51% of the votes, he/she is victorious. However, there are some differences in the political structure of Australia compared to the United States, but each government has its own flaws. Australian citizens have a large participation in their politics, thus there may be a lack of the sense of fear by the governing. But a question that can be raised is, is this really a flaw? Should we really be scared of our government?
After reading articles about countries democracy, or lack thereof, Russia and the US seemed like two complete opposites. When a country is promised democracy their promised a lot. For example, if a country is democratic they have the right to vote about anything. They can vote for the next president or perhaps even a new law. Some countries, like the United States, have democracy while other countries, Russia, do not have democracy. The people of the United States get to vote for what they want while in Russia the government chooses for them.
ReplyDeleteThe article entitled “Doing Democracy Right” talks about the democracy in the United States and how it isn’t as perfect as we all believed. The government believes that the people will vote for whatever because they can but, who says they have to? People have the right to vote or not vote in the United States and fewer votes mean tighter elections. In 2004 only seventy-two percent of the voting age population was registered. This is a huge flaw in the “perfect” democracy here in the US.
Russia might not have complete democracy but they certainly do have a safe net. The government runs the show in Russia and the people really don’t get to vote on things. This is not necessarily a bad thing since that means their government can make those hard decisions for them and what not. However, people still want their votes to count towards something or just to vote in general.
Democracy works and doesn’t work. It gives the countries that have it the upper edge to countries that don’t have it. This does not mean that democracy insures happiness, in fact, some people just don’t vote at all. No one is forced to vote in democracy and so some people don’t. Russia doesn’t have the same problems but it still has its own. Their government decides every decision so the people who don’t want to vote don’t have to. However, what about the people who want to vote, but can’t? Both countries aren’t perfect but democracy is still loved by a lot more people then communism even with both their perfections and flaws.
Shawn Cybulska
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Modern democracies have their advantages and limitations. The United States to most people is the democracy with the most problems. After researching, one of the key features of the United States democracy is that when it comes to elections, we are way off. As stated in the article “Doing democracy right” by Juliet Lapidos, during the election between McCain, Obama etc, McCain had accused ACORN of producing phony voter registration cards. Then in Palm Beach Florida thousands of ballots had gone missing. The United States is highly organized. Also elections are supposed to competitive but it’s obvious that at times it just goes too far. We are known as a liberal democracy, along with many other countries. Another key feature to the democracy in the United States is that our government sits back while leaving it to the eligible citizens of the US to sign themselves up to vote. Quite frankly elections aren’t the only limitations to the country. The lack of freedom of speech in this country has also become a problem. Protesting shall not be a crime in some states. Although the United States has its limitations it also has its advantages. Americans can honestly say that we are a free country. For most decisions that have to be made, we the people can choose for ourselves. For example every religion is allowed here. The United States has evolved over time, we have gone through a very corrupt government and now are getting back on its feet.
ReplyDeleteIn Australia, they have a much similar democracy. They are also considered as a liberal democracy. But have their differences. Australia is based on the liberal democratic tradition. Its guidelines do follow in the lines of North America and Britain but in their own ways, different. A key feature to this country is that their federal government, like ours is made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate. When passing laws both of these chambers share equal power. This country has a prime Minister. Australia is an independent nation but Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom is its constitutional monarch and head of state which is one of the reasons why it differs from that of the United States. As far as elections go, there is a small penalty fee for not voting. Therefore most people probably do right by the government and vote. Doing this, Australia gets more of an accurate poll among the country.
In my opinion, other countries slightly do conduct elections better than the United States does. At times the government does have to step in. We as the people can’t complain about the president if we didn’t vote. For those who didn’t contribute to election have no say to what the end result is. In Australia, they seem to have things in better control
Jazmin Roman
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Civil liberties is the right and freedom to develop opinions without interference of the state. six different countries were rated on a scale of 1-13 1 being completely undemocratic and 13 being a substantive democracy with citizens having extensive rights and liberties. With the history of outstanding achievement of consistency Britain and Latin America including Mexico has maintained a fully consolidated democracy. Unlike Britain and Mexico dictatorship in Iran and China has remained undemocratic and communist. China has the consistency of communism for the past 30 years. Although Russia remained at the rate of 5 and being a less democratic country from the rest of the world Russia is slowly gaining and reaching towards democracy in the present.
ReplyDeleteThe United States democracy is one of the few where the government does not have control over elections due to the National voter registration act.Citizens of the United States are expected to sign themselves up to vote. Although this gives their citizens the freedom of decision the flaw is that the United States lacked registered votes of the voting age population in the year 2004. Different tactics are used in Australia. Voting is compulsory in Australia and there is a small financial penalty for failing to vote. Even though citizens of Australia are forced to vote they benefit from it because votes have never fallen under 90 percent.
From the documents that i have read i do believe that other countries better at conducting elections than the United States because since the government in the United States doesn't take part and has no control over elections the United States constantly have lack of votes Unlike the Australia where their is a great amount of participators in voting. It may seem wrong that citizens are forced to vote and if they fail to do so they are given a penalty but this is what gets the country going and in shape. This encourages citizens to take part of voting in elections and in the long run by electing your candidate citizens benefit from just one little vote.
Samantha Lee Wong
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There are many forms of modernized democracies; each with their own pros and cons. The United States for instances states its freedom and power, yet our system has many cons. Although the United States is very organized one thing is it not organized with is elections. During our last election many citizens did not cast their votes as well as many votes were lost. The United States as much as it states we have freedom of speech there is a lack of that. There have been laws against words we shall not say, and protesting is considered a crime in some states. There is also the Freedom House Organization that ranks nations on a scale of 1 to 13. This scale is based on how democratic the nation is. 8.5 is the current world average. Britain and Mexico are fully democratic nations and Russia and China are more partially democratic. Australia’s government is much like the Untied States we are both made up the three branches; legislative, executive, and judicial. But the federal government is based on popularly elected parliament with two chambers, known as the House of Representatives and the senate. Also instead of running for four years like our president and governor they hold an election every three years. If citizens fail to vote they get penalized for it, unlike the United States. The citizens of Australia also have the freedom of religion and speech. They also have something called “Question Time” which is when the citizen’s voices are heard and there is a public debate. Nigeria is now the world’s largest democracy. Nigeria’s new government is very similar to the United States. They also have elections for a four-year term with a second term after. The national assembly is bicameral also like the United States.
ReplyDeletevanessa Cucuzza
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The United States and Australian government are both very similar in the ways in which their government works. Both nations are considered liberal democracy, where as Australia is based one the concepts of both United States and British government. American and Australian governments both have a house of Representative and a senate. Where as America is lead by a president elected in by the electoral congress, Australia has a Prime Minster appointed by the general government. Americas government comes to a disadvantage to Australia when it comes to the voting system. There is one small but major difference between American and Australian voting. In American it is a citizens chose whether to vote or not, where as in Australian citizens have to vote. The system were citizens are enforce by the law to participate in elections actually has a much more beneficial result because Australia has one of the highest approval rates of its leaders. If American citizens were forced or even more encouraged to vote, the demographics of America itself could be different. People would willing be more interested in their leaders, American policies, and instead of guessing at the state of the American government whether economically or politically people would understand it more because they knew would their leaders were and what they stood for. People taking and interest in their government even just by voting could clean up all the corruption in American politics. So I believe that Australia defiantly has a much better voting system because it give the citizens the extra push they need in order to make a difference in their government. The Australian government is not forcing its citizens to vote merely encouraging, and if their approval rates are so high they are obviously doing something right.
ReplyDeleteKatie McSherry
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Today, many nations are gradually becoming democratized, and to measure this change, ratings have been conducted by Freedom House. With 1 as the lowest, undemocratic score and 13 as the highest, most democratic score, the world average has increased from just over 6 in the 1970s to about 8.5 today. These scores are based on civil liberties and political rights.
ReplyDeleteThe United States has established itself as a substantive democracy by giving all those of proper age the right to vote, everyone the freedom to develop opinions, and everything else expected of a substantive democracy. Americans are capable of electing leaders and representatives. However, the US government has failed to encourage voters to register, resulting in a small vote turnout. So small, in fact, that 138 of 171 other nations have better turnouts. With fewer voters, there's the potential that the wrong candidates will be elected. The structure of the US government prevents inequality amongst leaders and gives them a way to discuss what the nation needs through checks and balances, but no progress can be made if these leaders aren't fit for their positions.
Mexico is another nation that has made strides in democratizing its government, but it wasn't easy. In the 1970s, Mexico was partially democratic because the people could vote during elections, but the same political party, known as the PRI, would win every time because they controlled and manipulated the election process. This monopoly over presidential power was ended in 1997, when Vicente Fox, a former Coca-Cola executive, won. The people were excited that the PRI regime had ended, but there was still the worry that this government would be short-lived like that of Francisco Madero. In 1911, Madero, a leader in the Mexican Revolution, became president of Mexico but was overwhelmed by various problems. To make things worse, he was also very careless and naive. His government ended in 1913 when he was murdered. However, in 2000, Mexico had its first fair election (with another victory for Fox) in decades. Although Madero's reign instills fear in those wanting a democracy, the last election has brought everyone hope for the nation's democratic future, and Mexico's government is on the road to democratic consolidation with a democratic score of 11 today, as compared to its score of 7 in the 1970s.
Other countries are definitely better at conducting elections than the US because their governments make better efforts to get them involved. For instance, Sweden uses its tax administration to keep information about the population, like names and addresses, to send the population's registrations to them. Their police also keeps record of alterations, such as change of address or divorce. These alterations have given problems to the US that needs to correct registration forms when they occur. Australia has also found a way to avoid this problem by cross-checking the national database against other sources, like billing records from utilities companies. Another nation that has made the election process easier is the former Soviet-Union block state of Estonia. By using an innovative internet election, voter confidence had increased in Estonia. In conclusion, the US most definitely isn't the best nation at conducting elections and must make a better effort to do so.
Michael Appelgate
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After reading about the different democracies in different countries, I find that the United States and Australia are similar in a way. In the United States, during elections, it is way off. The United States is highly organized. Also elections are supposed to competitive but it’s obvious that at times it just goes too far. We are known as a liberal democracy, along with many other countries. Another key feature to the democracy in the United States is that our government sits back while leaving it to the eligible citizens of the US to sign themselves up to vote. In the article, “Doing Democracy right” the United State’s part, there have been many times of political corruption and manipulation to win elections. The government believes that the people will vote for whatever because they can but, that doesn’t mean that they are all going to vote. In the United State, people have the right to vote or not vote. Fewer votes make elections tighter. In 2004 only 72% of the voting age population was registered. This is a huge flaw in the “perfect” democracy here in the US. Like America, the citizens of Australia have freedom of speech and religion. Their legislative system also consists of a House and a Senate, and their government has a legislative, executive, judicial branch. However, there are some characteristics that are uniquely Australian. The Australians have a process called “Question Time” where public debates are aired and the people’s voices are heard. Australia is based on the liberal democratic tradition. Its guidelines do follow in the lines of North America and Britain but in their own ways, different. This country has a prime Minister, while Australia is an independent nation. However, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom is its constitutional monarch and head of state, which is one of the reasons why it differs from that of the United States. As far as elections go, there is a small penalty fee for not voting. Therefore, most people probably do right thing by the government and vote. By doing this, Australia gets more of an accurate poll among the country. Based on the document that I read, I believe that other countries do conduct better elections than the United States. In my opinion, if people didn’t vote during times of election, then they forfeit the right of having an opinion on the president or the way he runs the government. Other countries seem to have a better control of their government because more people actually vote.
ReplyDeleteAngela Soliman
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Democracy has many advantages and limitations. There are some nations that are fully democratic and others that are partially democratic. America is fully democratic and one of the first nations that people associate with democracy. Nigeria has a democracy very similar to the United States. Their president is elected every four years; the president can only serve two terms. They have a senate, and a house of representatives also. Nigeria almost cloned the American way of democracy. Nigeria also had a Supreme Court and each state even has a governor. Democracy is one of the most powerful forms of government and can be good for the people that follow it just as long as it is interpreted properly. One country that is not fortunate enough to be fully democratic is China. In “Democratization in Six Countries” there are two undemocratic countries discussed. The two are China and Iran. Both of these nations share a common fault. They are ruled by a dictator figure. This defeats the purpose of democracy. In “Doing Democracy Right” the author states the fact that democracy in the United States is different than most others. This can be seen in multiple cases of corruption in United States government. The article points out that this manipulation is mostly used in order to rig elections. It has happened in many elections from Kennedy to as recently as Gore vs. Busch. In other cases, people simply do not vote. In some nations people are forced to vote or they will be fined. Another thing is that America has elections during the week so people need to rush from work in order to work. This discourages or hinders most from voting. Many other nations hold elections on weekends so everyone has a chance to vote. There are over 100 nations whose people vote more than Americans. I believe that some people just don’t know enough about officials to vote or just don’t care. In other nations, democracy is a gift but to most Americans it is just what they are used to and they don’t take advantage of it. I believe most people who are able to vote choose not to vote sometimes out of pure laziness and also because they also don’t know important facts about the person running for an office. I feel that the people of other nations use democracy to their full advantage and Americans don’t.
ReplyDeleteLou Ferrara
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Democracy is varied throughout each country that has it. For example, countries such as the United States and Australia have different amounts of democracy but are still similar. The United States is known for being mostly democratic while Nigeria is partially democratized. In the US, citizens are allowed to vote when they reach the age of 18 and older of their own accord. They are allowed to vote for the next president to the next local mayor because the government allows for this freedom to choose. However, since they have this right, some citizens do not take advantage of this. In 2004, only seventy two percent of people who can legally vote actually voted, leaving twenty eight percent of people who could have participated in voting did not vote. Twenty eight percent is a staggering amount because if merely one percent of those people voted from that twenty eight that didn’t vote, can tip the scale of who wins and loses.
ReplyDeleteAustralia’s government is on the liberal democratic side. They have freedom of speech, like the US, as well as religious freedom. Unlike the US, Australia has ninety-six of their voting population citizens voting. The reason for this is that voting is mandatory. Those who fail to vote are fined fifteen dollars or in some cases, put into prison. The disadvantage to this system is that people can vote without knowing or caring for whom they vote for because not every citizen is expected to be politically active. These votes are called spoiled votes, which make up five hundred thousand in every ten million votes. Thus creating controversy over whether the US should adapt to this voting system.
The US seems to have better system of voting because people can choose to vote. Most have the idea of whom they want as the next electoral candidate. In Australia, people may have no clue whom to vote and supported their morals or values and vote in order to avoid a small fine. Also, it allows for less spoiled votes to affect the resulting outcome of who wins an election.
Allison Lee
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From reading about other democracies and their democratic levels compared to the world I can see that America though good but, quite flawed. Compared to nations such as Russia and Nigeria the United States would seem like a very efficient in how democratically the country is run. But, compared to countries like Britain the democratic system implemented there would seem like a much more efficient system than that implemented in the United States. This is apparent in the scale given by Freedom House Organization which is from 1 to 13 to show how democratic a nation is. Both Britain and Mexico are considered highly democratic by having ratings above 10 which is very high since, the average rating is about an 8.5. America Though not closely related to either Mexico or Britain is similar to Australia. America and Australia both have 3 branches of government being the Judicial, Executive and the Legislative branch. Australia is run by a Prime Minister which elected by a general government while, the American president is elected by the Electoral College. Though democratically both are quite similar America falls to a steep disadvantage when it comes to electing a new president. Unlike in America in Australia voting is compulsory. Which means there will be an obviously higher voting percentage than that of America where voting is optional. By setting just a small penalty makes voter turn out much higher than that of America. This is apparent because, 90% of eligible voters choose to vote during elections. America has a very low voter turn out because the actual government is not as involved in the voting process like in countries such as, Australia. The disparity between eligible voters and people who actually vote is quite sad. This is disappointing to see because; you would think people would want to know the people who are running their own country. America should follow in the footsteps of Australia by making voting compulsory. By making voting compulsory the voter turn out will be much greater and I believe this would boost American morale by encouraging people to be more involved in their own government.
ReplyDeleteHo Lee
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After reading about the different types of democracy in these articles, I have realized that our U.S. government is not as great as it could or should be. The United States has many flaws in the democracy. For example, the just sits back and expects the people to sign themselves up and vote. Australia manages to get more than 96 percent of their citizens on the books while on 72 percent of American citizens are on the books in the U.S. Australia’s system is closer to ours. The citizens of Australia must fill out their own registration forms and wait for an acknowledgment card. To encourage the voting and registrations in some countries, there can be penalties and fines for not voting or not having a good excuse. Even if the U.S. could figure out a way to register a higher percentage of U.S. citizens, the process by which all those people actually cast their votes would still be a mess. We have a decentralized system, with 13,000 election jurisdictions overseen by county and city officials. Also just because we have more people registered and voting that doesn’t mean they know who or what they are voting for. Many citizens today support the wrong candidates because of what they hear about them not what they know about them. Australians vote more than we do. The United States ranks 139 out of 172 countries. I think that other countries may be better at conducting elections than the United States may be. I believe that some countries are more organized than the United States when it comes to voting, and I believe that other countries have a strict government that basically forces the nation to vote and is still a more effective way to get the nation to vote and register.
ReplyDeleteCory Moser
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On a global scale the term democracy tends to have various meanings to various nations. Democracy illustrates free and equivalent rights to all individuals within a nation. Instead of allowing one person to govern a nation by given orders or using extreme force, a democratic nation allows its citizens to have a voice in society to make a nation more focused on its general public. A country’s government depends heavily on that nation’s economy, population, and most importantly, history. Areas of dictatorship might mean a country has been in war or is trying to advance itself against surrounding nations. As a monarchy, relates to its country’s history of passing down authority to the next family member in line. However, throughout the world there have been some countries whose political and civil liberties have dramatically increased over the pass decades. Areas such as Britain and Mexico portray the significance that a democratic nation has on its people. As before I mentioned how a country’s current condition of war, extreme poverty, or the destruction caused by a natural disaster can result in the way the government administrates its country. Nigeria is one example that portrays how war can affect a country’s nation and in from the 1970’s to the 90’s as this nation transformed from dictatorship to democracy its rate gradually increased. However the country’s democratic level still remains under the world’s total. Such remains true with Russia whose Communist background traces back from even before the 1970’s. A democratic nation for Russia in the future is slim to none because of its country’s foundation in such a dictatorship background.
ReplyDeleteRacquel Wood
After going through various forms of democracy, it is viewable that America may have one of the best democracies, but even the best are not perfect. There are many countries throughout the nation, such as Mexico, that have a democratic government. Next to these countries are countries such as Russia that rarely have a democratic government. Moreover, Russian at first was part of the communist Soviet Union, but then later on adapted to their own form of government. On the other hand, Nigeria has had its ups and downs due to religious issues. Dictatorship is another form of government. China and Iran and good examples of dictatorship like governments. Throughout the years, there have been many circumstances where democracy in the U.S has made some major decisions based upon elections and votes. Only 72% of the population was actually able to vote in the year of 2004. In other democracies, the majority of people are sometimes fined if they do not vote. 138 countries vote more than Americans. Possibly, the United States doesn’t have an effective election process at all, which is why most of us are afraid to vote. If many votes are not placed, then not everyone is telling the government what they want and that will only lead to the government making decisions and not the people. Similar to the U.S, Australia’s people also have access to freedom of speech and religion. Their government also consists of checks and balances, which contain the judicial, legislative and executive branch. Again, similar to America, Australia has its own way of hearing people’s voices and their opinion so the country would be satisfying for them. Even though nothing is perfect, every government has its own flaws, as does Australia and U.S. Maybe in Australia, the government is more careful, but does our government provide us enough security for us to trust it?
ReplyDeleteDemocracy is a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system. This means that Government must protect the basic rights, or liberties, of all people. If one were to look at the history of Mexico’s troubled nation, one would find the exact opposite of a democracy. Mexico has had a universal lack of stable government and a tendency towards military run dictatorships. Not until the 1970’s did Mexico become at least partially democratized with very few civil liberties and political rights. Elections were held during this time of “partial democracy” but one party was dominant in the elections. This party was called the “PRI”. After being successful for a long time PRI finally lost its majority in the national legislature in 1997. When Vincente Fox was elected president many democratic improvements were taken place.
ReplyDeleteThe United States is a “democratic republic”. This is a form of government by which we elect representatives to go and argue and reason for us, in our two houses of Congress. The congress is split up so as to represent the large rural states with low population and the small , highly populated areas as equally as possible by apportioning delegates according to population in one house and equally in the other. According to the Article “Doing Democracy Right”, The United States is “one of the few democracies where the government takes a back seat, expecting individuals to sign themselves up to vote.” “ 72 Percent of the voting-age population was registered in 2004”. My opinion on the lack of registrants in the United States is that they have no Belief in they’re country. Because of all the scandals that have taken forth in the past many people believe that the government is corrupt and Americans don’t have trust in the government when they says “Your vote counts.” that it really does.
The American political system is democratic. The system is made up of two major political parties – republican and the democratic. The system is also made up of three houses or branches – executive, judicial, and the legislative. The key idea of the ruling of the U.S. is checks and balances. The Australian government system is a liberal democracy. The federal government is a popular election of parliament and its two chambers – the House of Representatives and the Senate.
ReplyDeleteOne major but overlooked disadvantage of the United States’ democratic system is that both political parties are considering each other as different parts of the same government. How can one government be fully controlled if all the members are considering each other as different from the other? The government spends a lot of time pointing fingers at every decision trying to be passed.
In other note the American democratic system is having trouble finding ways to get more citizens to contribute to the decisions of the country. Getting the majority of the country to take part of the voting process has been an issue for the United States. Australia’s government however legally requires a citizen of age to vote with the penalty of a twenty-dollar fine with failure to do so.
The American policy of voting is somewhat superior to that of Australia. This is due to the fact that no one is being forced to cast a phony vote due to its requirement. In other words, the pressure of being forced to make a vote can cast one that doesn’t truly reflect the opinion of the citizen. This can jeopardize the legitimacy of the votes. In America the pressure isn’t present in the voting booths and most people are prepared with their votes. This helps so that the future president is one that most people want, not one that was forced.
Francisko Kim
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After reading about the different types of democracy in these articles,government is not as great as it could or should be.the term democracy tends to have various meanings to various nations. Democracy is a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system. This means that Government must protect the basic rights, or liberties, of all people.a democratic nation allows its citizens to have a voice in society to make a nation more focused on its general public.dictatorship might mean a country has been in war or is trying to advance itself against surrounding. Britain and Mexico democratic nation has on its people.country’s current condition of war, extreme poverty, or natural disaster can result in the way the government administrates its country.
ReplyDeleteTremika Kirk
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2/22/2010
From the articles about democracy, each country that follows a democratic policy, democracy is different. In the United States, our elections are supposed to be competitive but with the electoral college being used, popular votes are not looked at. One key factor in the United States' democracy is that the government relies on the citizens to go out and vote in the party they believe is most promising to our nation. However, there are politicians that will do whatever it takes to win the election which then corrupts citizens to vote when they are unsure about who they think is trustworthy. Australia is a nation that has similar beliefs in democracy as the United States does. Australia consists of a legislative, executive, and judicial branch of government like the United States does and is based on a liberal democratic political tradition. Although, Australia is different in some ways. Australia's government has a policy called Question Time, which the citizens have freedom of speech to voice their opinions. One key factor in Australia's democracy is if citizens are registered to vote and are of age, but do not go and vote, they have a penalty to face with the government. In my opinion, I think it would be wise to vote if you are of age and registered so you don't get in trouble with the government. But I believe most people would be smart enough to not risk the consequences and do what is right and vote.
ReplyDeleteBethany Greenman
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All forms of democracy have something wrong. China is one country that partially democratic. This is hard to believe in seeing China produces a lot of “Americas” products, even cars. All nations are ranked on a scale of 1 to 13 depending on how democratic the nation is. The world’s average is 8.5. The United States and Australia have different ways of using democracy but at the same time very similar. In the US citizens are allowed to vote at age 18. This is freedom of choice for American citizens. Although some citizens do not take advantage of this sacred law it is still available. 28% of US citizens do not vote for their president or any cabinet members. On the other hand, Australia’s government is on the liberal democratic side. Australians have freedom of speech and freedom of religion. Australia only has 4% of people who don’t vote, way more than US. This is because it is mandatory to vote in Australia, those who don’t vote are fined fifteen dollars. People basically vote because they have to not because they care. Although Australias way is effective, it definitely allows people to fall accustomed to choosing the same person a family member might be choosing.
ReplyDeleteWill the US ever adapt the same system as Australia?
JACKIE KING
Democracy is a form of government in which power is held directly or indirectly by citizens under a free electoral system. Essentially, a democracy is a system of government owned and controlled by the majority of those it governs. Decisions on policies and actions by the government are made by the elected representatives of the populace, or by direct plebiscite. Their can be many advantages and disadvantages to a democracy. Some advantages are that Democracy can provide for changes in government without violence. In a democracy, power can be transferred from one party to another by means of elections. The jurisdiction of the citizens of a nation determines its ruling authority. Another important advantage of democracy is that the people gain a sense of participation in the process of choosing their government. They get the opportunity to voice their opinions by means of electoral votes. This gives rise to a feeling of belongingness in the minds of the people towards their society. This brings in a feeling of obligation towards the citizens. The ruling authorities owe their success in the elections to the citizens of the nation. This results in a feeling of gratefulness towards the people. It can serve as their motivation to work for the people for it is the common masses that have complete power over choosing their government. Their are also some disadvantages of a democracy as well. In a democratic nation, it is the citizens who hold the right to elect their representatives and their governing authorities. According to a common observation, not all the citizens are fully aware of the political scenario in their country. The common masses may not be aware of the political issues in society. This may result in people making the wrong choices during election. Another disadvantage of democracy is that mobs can influence people. Citizens may vote in favor of a party under the influence of the majority. Compelled or influenced by the philosophies of those around, a person may not voice his/her true opinion. Every form of government is bound to have some shortfalls. Different people have different views about the various political systems. The advantages and disadvantages of any political system have to be weighed carefully in order to arrive at any conclusion. Many pro-democracy supporters noted that China has successfully overcome much of the challenges faced during the transition from a communist to a capitalist economy so there is no longer a need for prolonged political repression. They claim that pro-democracy forces would not necessarily stall economic growth after the transition, as the Communist Party states, and more importantly that the presence of democracy would help to check wasteful corruption and might achieve a more even distribution of wealth.[citation needed] Many believe that the Communist Party of China has no intention whatsoever of ever relinquishing power even if all their economic goals are ever achieved; it is said that China would have refused the WTO if the terms of entry were linked to a shift to a Western-style democracy. The United States and Australian government are both similar. Australia only has 4% of people who don’t vote, way more than US. Australians have freedom of speech and freedom of religion. In Australia's democracy, citizens are MANDATED to vote. If they do not they are penalized and they will face consequences by the government. In the US citizens are allowed to vote at age 18. Their government also consists of checks and balances, which contain the judicial, legislative and executive branch. In the American political system, the system is made up of two major political parties which are republican and the democratic. Basically the advantage of the Australian and the US democracy is that in the Australians are being more of forced and pressured to vote. Where as in the US it is made optional.
ReplyDeleteAshley Suechee
C -Block
2/23/10
Several countries were rated on a scale of 1-13 based on most democratic. 13 meaning citizens have many rights and liberties. Governments work in all sorts of ways; some governments allow citizens to decide for themselves other make laws controlling what citizens can and cannot do. For example, China has been communist for 30 years, while Britain and Latin America have maintained a firm democracy. The US allows citizens to have control over their elections thanks to the National voter registration. At age 18 citizens of USA are informed to register to vote so that they can help choose the leaders. However, in Australia voting is a definite or else your fined or even place into jail. In some cases this rule forces all people to have a say in who wins, however some people don’t care about the elections and get pressured to vote for any random candidate. The US has a great way to inform teens to register to vote, and if you don’t vote you don’t get punished.
ReplyDeleteWhy does Australia force people to vote?
Chris Gallo
C-Block
Australia has a similar system of government to the United States however it is unique. It is based on the liberal democratic tradition, which includes religious tolerance and freedom of speech and association. The United States constitution also appears to abide by same guidelines and the bill of rights in the U.S. Constitution concentrates on individual’s rights. The federal government is based on a popularly elected Parliament with two chambers, these two chambers are the same as in America the senate and house of representatives in which can help pass laws in both Australia and America, The prime minister is appointed by the governor general, who by convention under the constitution, This is proof on how influential the democracy of the U.S. and our constitution has influenced other countries to follow our guidelines. The Australian law system is also very similar to that of Americas. They believe in judicial review and separation of powers.” The Australian legal system is founded on the concepts of the rule of law, justice and equality before the law” this is like the basis of U.S. law system.
ReplyDeleteRyan McLean F Block
The Australian government and the United States government are very similar in the way they operate, but are also unique. The United States is known as one of the most democratic nations. The US is compromised of three branches of government, the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial branches, with two major political parties- Republicans and Democrats. The United States gives every citizen, 18 and older the right to vote for all government officials. How much of the popular vote is looked at, depends on each states laws for the electoral college.
ReplyDeleteSimilarly to the US, Australia is compromised of the same three branches of government. The Australian government is based on liberal democratic traditions, with a focus on individual rights, the freedom of religion, press, and speech-similar to our first amendment. However in Australia elections are based on the popular vote, but consists of a two chambered Parliament, the same as our government, the Senate, and the House of Representatives, which has the same function, to write and pass laws.
The United States and the Australian governments have many other similarities but also function in many unique ways from each other.
In the article “Why are other countries so much better at conducting elections than we are?” the author explains that “other democracies are not so incompetent”. Therefore, in his opinion he is basically stating that America is incompetent. Since we have personal liberties, and individual freedom (to a certain extent) without the interference of the government. However, unlike the United States, in Sweden the government is able to receive possession of the citizens’ personal information and uses it to register them for voting. Also in America the government doesn’t force their citizens to vote in contrast to Sweden where they are forced. Voting is a choice in America since our liberties give the right of choice. Americans have the freedom to vote, which means we have the self-determination to vote. As a nation Americans usually do not approve of the government involving itself in personal affairs. Therefore, I believe that our strategy of conducting elections is far more advanced and better than other countries such as Sweden.
ReplyDeleteAshley Jones
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