Democracy, Part I

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Democracy, Part I

• Definitions and Directions

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Defining Democracy Your own ideas

• What are the essential characteristics of
  democracy?

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Sources

• Robert Dahl, Polyarchy (1971) and On Democracy
  (1998)
• Samuel Huntington, The Third Wave
  Democratization in the late Twentieth Century
  (1991)
• Arend Lijphart, Patterns of Democracy (1999)
• Juan Linz and Alfred Stepan, Problems of
  Democratic Transition and Consolidation (1996)
• Freedom House www.freedomhouse.org
• The Economist Intelligence Units Democracy Index

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General Point 1Democracy is gettingmore
popular

• 1900 no democracies (by standard of universal
  suffrage for competitive multiparty elections).
• 1950 22 democracies
• 2002 121/192 countries classified as electoral
  democracies.

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Map of worlds political systems, 1900
L. bluelimited democracy pinkabsolute
monarchy purpleconstitutional monarchy gray
green colonial authority orangeempire
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Map of worlds political systems, 2000
Dark Bluedemocracy light bluelimited
democracy yellowauthoritarian regime
redtotalitarian purplehereditary monarchy
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The Economist Intelligence Units Democracy Index
2007 the lighter the color, the more democratic
the place
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CaveatsNot all democracies are equally free

• 89 Free countries
• 55 Partly Free countries
• 48 Not Free countries
• (Source Freedom House, 2003)

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General Point 2Mass democracy is modern

• Distinctions between earlier and later
  democracies
• 1. direct democracy (vs elected representatives)
• 2. exclusion (vs inclusion)
• 3. civil and political rights?

Greek voters, picture from National Geographic,
1944
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Ways of Defining Democracy

• what it SHOULD be (normative)
• (government by, of, for the people)
• institutional characteristics -- by its
  PROCEDURES (approach favored by CP)

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What is a democracy?

• One basic definition
• A system in which the most powerful
  decisionmakers are selected through fair and
  periodic voting procedures in which candidates
  freely compete for votes, and in which virtually
  all people have the right to vote.
• (Samuel Huntington)

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But is this enough? 8 essential components of a
full (liberal) democracy

• the right to vote
• the right to be elected/eligibility for public
  office
• the right of political leaders to compete for
  support and votes
• free and fair elections
• freedom of association
• freedom of expression
• alternative sources of information
• institutions that make government policies
  actually depend on votes and other forms of
  (voter) preference
• (Robert Dahl)

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Levels of democracy (based on degrees of
democracy)

• Full (liberal) democracy
• Electoral democracy, semi-democracy,
  pseudo-democracy, Illiberal democracy

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Democracy, Part II

• Institutional Variations

The 80s Kids From left to right, Margaret
Thatcher, Ronald Reagan, Francois Mitterand,
Helmut Schmidt. Source http//www.digischool.nl/k
leioscoop/mitterand.htm
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Variation 1 degree of territorial political
centralization

• Federal System vs Unitary System

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Federal system

• Decentralized authority
• sovereignty constitutionally split between at
  least two territorial levels
• units at each level can act independently of the
  others in some areas.
• Citizens have political obligations to two (or
  more) authorities
• Examples U.S., Canada, Germany

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Unitary System

• Authority sovereignty centralized in one place
  (the capital)
• Policies largely set by the center
• No (or weak) intermediary layer between local and
  central government
• Local govt subservient to central govt
• Examples Turkey, France, Britain

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What are the pros and cons of federal and unitary
systems?
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Variation 2 Powers and processes of leadership

• Presidential VS parliamentary systems

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a. Title power of head of state

• Presidential system
• head of govt always called the president is
  elected for a prescribed period and generally
  cannot be dismissed unless guilty of severe
  wrongdoing.
• Parliamentary system
• head of the government usually (but not always)
  called the Prime Minister. His/her cabinet
  responsible to the legislature (Parliament) can
  be dismissed through a vote of no confidence.

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b. How head of state is chosen

• In Presidential System, presidents are popularly
  elected by populace
• In a Parliamentary system, head of state
  (president) selected by the legislature.
• Head of government (prime minister) usually is
  the leader of the ruling party.

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How the people voted in Chiapas
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c. Status of the head of state

• In a presidential system, president appoints the
  cabinet and they are considered subservient to
  him.
• In a parliamentary system, the prime minister
  serves as one among equals

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d. selection of the cabinet

• In Presidential system, cabinet appointed
  separately by president
• In a Parliamentary system, cabinet drawn in part
  from legislature

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e. Length of term in office

• In a presidential system, legislators and
  presidents serve fixed terms
• In a parliamentary system, legislators and
  presidents serve a maximum time in office but a
  ruling party can call early elections if it wants
  to

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Notes

• it is common in parliamentary systems to have a
  president or monarch who is the CEREMONIAL head
  of state, and a PM who is in charge of the
  government
• Examples of Parliamentary systems Britain,
  Turkey, South Africa, Germany
• Examples of Presidential systems U.S., most of
  South America
• Many countries have mixed systems, i.e. France

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Turkey
Examples Presidential or Parliamentary?

• chief of state President Abdullah Gul
• head of government Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
  ERDOGAN (since 14 March 2003)
• cabinet Nominated by Prime Minister, confirmed
  by President
• elections prime minister selected from majority
  party, confirmed by president . President elected
  by parliament.

Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan, 2003
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Example Brazil

• chief of state President Luiz Inacio LULA DA
  SILVA (since 1 January 2003)
• note - the president is both the chief of state
  and head of government
• elections president and vice president elected
  on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year
  terms

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United Kingdom

• chief of state Queen ELIZABETH II
• head of government Prime Minister Gordon Brown
• cabinet Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the
  prime minister
• elections monarchy is hereditary following
  legislative elections, the leader of the majority
  party or the leader of the majority coalition is
  usually the prime minister

Gordon Brown, British PM (photo from the
Birmingham Post)
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parliamentary system pros and cons?

• Strengthens parties over individuals
• Encourages policy-based voting rather than
  voting based on individual charisma or
• Fusing of legislative exec. branches can
  promote efficiency

• - Gives the public less choice over leadership
• - Flexible election terms can less stability
• - Fusing of executive legislative branches can
  concentrate too much power in one place

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Presidential systempros and cons?

• Gives the people more choice over leadership
• strong government- president more insulated
  and can act with daring
• higher levels of government accountability
• Greater stability
• Clear separation of powers

• - Power of presidency can be abused
• - Can encourage deadlock between legislature
  executive
• - Encourages charisma, , rather than substance
  policies
• - Set terms rigidity (bad leaders cant be
  easily removed)

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Institutional variation 3

• Electoral systems
• (how voting works
• who gets elected, and how)

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Electoral systems 2 main types

• 1- Plurality System (Winner-take-all system)
• Single member districts whoever gets the most
  votes wins the seat
• used by about 54 of worlds countries
• 2- Proportional Representation (PR system)
• Multi-member districts of reps. determined by
  of vote
• Used by about 35 of worlds countries, by most
  of western Europe

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Plurality Systems

• Single-member electoral districts (usually)
• Also called winner-take-all
• Simplest most common form First Past the
  Post winning candidate is the one who gains
  more votes than any other candidate, but not
  necessarily a majority of votes.
• Alternative Ranked Choice/Instant Runoff Voting
• Encourages 2-party systems
• Examples U.S., U.K, Canada, Rwanda

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Proportional Representation(PR)

• Multi-member electoral districts
• Seats in legislature divided by of votes.
• Most common type List system parties select
  candidates, who goes to legislature depends on
  what that party gets
• preferential voting - voters rank preferences
  on party list
• encourages multi-party system
• Min. threshold (barrier) parties have to get a
  certain of votes to enter legislature
• Examples Belgium, South Africa, Spain, Norway,
  Turkey, Brazil

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Sample ballot from Sonoma Co., USA (Plurality
system)
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Sample ballot from S. Africas national
elections, 1994 (PR system) Source aceproject.org
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Example TurkeyHow power is distributed

• Central government
• Sets rules policies
• Appoints officials
• Government spending
• In Turkey, 15 of funds to local government
• In Europe, 50
• Municipal funding base
• In Turkey, 75 of city revenue from central govt.

• Investment plans
• Road maintenance
• Social cultural services
• Caring for cemeteries
• waste disposal

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Turkey Top leadership

• Prime Minister
• (usually) from majority party
• Officially appointed by the President of the
  Republic from among the members of the Turkish
  Grand National Assembly.
• (cabinet) ministers nominated by the Prime
  Minister and appointed by the Turkish Grand
  National Assembly
• The Prime Minister, as Chairman of the Council
  of Ministers, shall ensure cooperation among the
  ministers, and supervise the implementation of
  the governments general policy. The members of
  the Council of Ministers are jointly responsible
  for the implementation of this policy. 

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The PMs duties

• 1)To provide cooperation among ministries, to
  supervise the execution
• of government general policy, to take
  necessary measures with a view to providing
  public services as listed in the constitution and
  laws,
• To develop the principles required for an
  efficient administration of state affairs, to
  supervise the implementation of the government
  program as well as the development of annual
  plans,
• 3) To examine acts, regulations and
  recommendations on decisions in terms of
  compliance with the constitution and other
  regulations, and to maintain relations with the
  legislation organ,
• 4) To set and improve the principles on the
  preparation of regulations, to ensure the
  codification and publication of active
  regulations,
• 5) To provide efficiency in administration,
  simplification of administrative processes and
  procedures, to follow developments in state
  organization systems,
• 6) To set principles for a more efficient system
  of supervision and inspection in the state
  organization, and to carry out supervision and
  inspection if deemed necessary,
• 7) To collect, evaluate and regulate important
  documents for Turkish Nation and State, to set up
  archive laboratories, to present archive
  documents to scientists and scientific
  activities,
• 8) To take necessary measures for an efficient
  crisis management at the time of natural
  disasters, migration and other important events
  threatening national security, and to ensure
  efficient coordination among public
  establishments in the crisis management.
• Source http//www.basbakanlik.gov.tr

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Turkey The president

• ARTICLE 101.
• The President of the Republic shall be elected
  for a term of office of seven years by the
  Turkish Grand National Assembly from among its
  own members who are over 40 years of age and who
  have completed their higher education or from
  among Turkish citizens who fulfill these
  requirements and are eligible to be deputies. 
•  The President-elect, if a member of a party,
  shall sever his relations with his party and his
  status as a member of the Turkish Grand National
  Assembly shall cease.  ARTICLE 102. The
  President of the Republic shall be elected by a
  two-thirds majority of the total number of
  members of the Turkish Grand National Assembly
  and by secret ballot.

http//www.abdullahgul.gen.tr/EN/Video.asp
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Turkey How Votes are Counted

• 550 seats in Parliament
• 85 electoral districts
• Districts have from 2-26 representatives in the
  Parliament
• PR List System (Closed List)
• 10 percent threshhold

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Who won which provinces in Turkey, 2002 and 2007
compared
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France

• 577 deputies in the National Assembly
• 577 legislative districts
• single-district, plurality system (2 rounds of
  voting)
• Candidates that win more than 50 in the first
  round win seat
• If no one does, 2nd round the candidate that
  wins the most votes wins the seat

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Pros Cons of Plurality Systems

• gives voters clear choice
• maintains close geographic link between voters
  and elected officials
• creates effective government -- clear majority
  party and unified opposition

• - Not very representative many votes wasted
• - Excludes smaller minority parties from
  representation

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Pros Cons of PR systems

• highly representative all or nearly all votes
  count
• encourages diversity range of perspectives
• Greater voter turnout

• - Can lead to fragmentation ineffective govt.
• - List PR, in particular, can weaken link
  between voters elected officials (officials
  more loyal to party than voters)

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Note Many countries used mixed-PR systems
some sort of mixture between plurality PR
systems!
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Examples Mexico

• 500-person Chamber of Deputies
• Elections every three years
• Parallel voting 300 deputies elected in
  single-seat constituencies by first-past-the-post
  plurality
• Other 200 elected through PR voting with
  open-party lists
• country is divided into 5 constituencies