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English Essay
LECTURE 7
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Democracy

 democracy, literally, rule by the people. The term is derived from

the Greek dēmokratia, which was coined from dēmos (“people”)
and kratos (“rule”) in the middle of the 5th century BCE to denote
the political systems then existing in some Greek city-states,
notably Athens.

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Brief History

 Started from the Greek city states, specially Athens

 First Wave: The First wave of democracy, 1828–1926 began in the early 19th
century when suffrage was granted to the majority of white males in the United
States (“Jacksonian democracy”)
 The Second wave began following the Allied victory in World War II, and
crested nearly 20 years later in 1962 with 36 recognised democracies in the
world
 The Third wave began in 1974 Carnation Revolution in Portugal and Spanish
transition to democracy in late 1970s, with the historic democratic transitions in
Latin America in the 1980s, Asia Pacific countries (Philippines, South Korea, and
Taiwan) from 1986 to 1988, Eastern Europe after the collapse of the Soviet
Union, and sub-Saharan Africa beginning in 1989.

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Features of Democracy

 Citizen Participation
 Equality
 Accountability
 Transparency
 Free, fair and frequent elections
 Multiparty system
 Checks and balances on institutions
 Devolution of power
 Fundamental rights
 Freedom of expression
 Unbiased sources of information
 Rule of law

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Benefits of democracy

 Peaceful resolution of disputes is possible

 Participation in government through representative
 Government is accountable to people
 Collective wisdom in decisions
 Modern democracies don’t go to war with each other
 Human development
 Protection of fundamental rights
 Freedom of expression

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Relation with accountability

 Accountability actually ensures government of the people and for the

people
 Improves performance and urges the government to perform
 Although accountability should be across the board
 Lopsided and targeted accountability can damage the democratic
system

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Democracy in Pakistan

 Facing ups and downs since 1947

 Frequent military interventions
 1990s musical chair of democracy
 “Democrats had the tendency to become dictators and dictators had the
urge to be democrats”
 Since 2008, 2 successful five year terms and 3 elections

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Hurdles to democracy in Pakistan

 Weak civilian institutions

 Dynastic politics
 No true democracy in political parties
 Strong military establishment
 Feudalism
 Lack of awareness in masses
 Biased media

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Hopes

 2 successful democratic transitions since 2008

 Martial law out of the question (Article 6, International pressures)
 18th amendment and devolution of power
 Increasing awareness in the masses (increasing literacy rate)
 Better voter turnouts in elections
 social media and its role

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