Birth of democracy

1. 1. DEMOCRACY A CONCEPTUALUNDERSTANDING• While some of the Greek city states

had regimesthat had Democratic aspects, Modern Democracyonly dates from the late 18th
century.• Democratization is one of the most importantconcepts and trends in Modern
Political Science.• To be considered Democratic, a country mustchoose its leaders through
fair and competitiveelections, ensure basic civil liberties, and respectthe rule of law.
2. 2. • The opinion and choice of the people is paramountin a Democracy.• Thus it was rightly
stated by Abraham Lincoln that‘No man is good enough to govern another manwithout his
consent.’• Jonathan swift also said ‘All government withoutthe consent of the governed is the
very definition ofslavery.’• According to Abraham Lincoln, ‘Democracy is seenas a form of
government by the people, for thepeople and of the people.’
3. 3. • There are many other countries like Libya, Cuba,North Korea, Saudi Arabia, China etc.
that do nothave Democracy in their country. Many of the Non-Democratic countries witness
Pro-Democracy ralliesand movements.• Hence, it becomes important for us to
understandthe meaning of the term “Democracy”.• To understand the meaning of
Democracy we needto look into the definition of Democracy as givenby Abraham Lincoln .•
He defined it as the ‘Government of the people, bythe people and for the people’.• In a
Democracy the supreme power is retainedand exercised by the people.
4. 4. • The word Democracy comes from a Greek word‘Demokratia’.• In Greek ‘demos’ means
people and ‘kratia’ meansrule.• In simple terms, Democracy is rule by the people.• It is a
government by the people in which thesupreme power is vested in the people andexercised
directly by them or by their electedrepresentatives chosen after a free and fairelection.•
Democracy is thus, a form of government wherepeople have an equal say in the decisions
that affecttheir lives.
5. 5. • DEFINITIONS• Democracy is the “Rule by the people” where ‘the people’includes all
adult citizens and ‘Rule’ means that publicpolicies are determined either directly by vote of
theelectorate or indirectly by officials freely elected at reasonablyfrequent intervals and by a
process in which the value of eachvote is the same. –Pennock• “Democracy is a state where
the people are sovereign andguided by laws of its own making, and where the people doby
themselves everything that is possible to do, and throughdelegates, everything that is not.”
-Robespierre• “Democracy is governance by leaders whose authority isbased on a limited
mandate from universal electorate thatselects among genuine alternatives and has some
rights topolitical participation and opposition.” -Danziger
6. 6. • The definition of Democracy helps us to separate itfrom other forms of government.• For
example, in Myanmar there is military rule(Dictatorship) and these army rulers are not
electedby the people.• Similarly, the rulers of Saudi Arabia rule over thepeople because they
happen to be born in a royalfamily (Monarchy).• On the contrary, Democracy is characterized
byformal equality of rights and privileges.
7. 7. Features of Democracy
8. 8. EMERGENCE AND EXPANSION OFDEMOCRACY• Democracy in the Greek city states•
The term Democracy first appeared in the Greekpolitical and philosophical thought.• The
Greek city state of Athens established the firstDemocracy in 508 BC.• The ancient Greeks
referred to themselves ascitizens of their hometown - their city-state.• Each city-state (polis)
had its own goals, laws andcustoms.• Ancient Greeks were very loyal to their city-state.
9. 9. • In Athens, every year 500 names were drawn fromall the citizens of Athens who were to
serve as lawmakers for a year.• All the citizens of Athens were required to vote onany new
law that this body of 500 citizens created.One man, one vote, majority ruled.• Women,
children, and slaves were not consideredcitizens, and thus could not vote.
10. 10. The story of Modern Democracy• The stories of Modern democracy began at leastthree
centuries ago.• The emergence of Modern Democracy is linkedwith Europe.• The two
 revolutions that contributed to thedevelopment of Democracy are the Gloriousrevolution of
the 17th century in England and theFrench Revolution of the 18th century in France.
11. 11. • The Glorious revolution laid the foundation of thefirst democratic principles of the Rule
of Law.• Earlier it was believed that the king was the‘representative of the God’ and that the
King’swishes were the law.• The people strongly protested the idea anddethroned King
James II of England.• They passed the Bill Of Rights which firmly statedthat the country
should be governed by the lawspassed by the people and not by the whims of theking.
12. 12. • The French Revolution took place between 1789and 1851.• In the revolution King Louis
XVI was executed .• It was decided that the country should be ruled bythe laws passed by
the people.• It laid down the ‘Declaration of the Rights of Man’which highlighted that liberty,
Equality etc. wereimportant in a Democracy.• In 1792, France became a Republic.