DELOS REYES, Steve B.

Bachelor of Arts in International Studies 2-1

Politics, Governance and Citizenship
EXERCISES
MODULE 4
TOPIC 1: DEMOCRACY AND CITIZENSHIP

1. Enumerate and discuss the theories of democracy.

Democracy is a form of government by the people. Simply, the people elect the leaders
who represent their bests interests. In a democratic setting, the citizens have the freedom to
exercise their rights, to make their own choices and the power to choose as educated and
informed citizens. This, of course, highlights the acknowledgment of the great responsibility that
comes with it. There are different forms of democracy.

Direct democracy is a form of government wherein the people themselves come together
to formulate legislative decisions based on their opinions and concerns. This can be rooted in
Ancient Greece where democracy was given birth. Instead of having leaders make the decision,
the citizens participate directly on voting of rules and laws. Hence, it is called the purest form of
democracy.

In a capitalist economy where private property rights are emphasized, liberal democracy
stresses not the poplar will but individual rights. This operates under an indirect form of
government, where the twin pillars of democratic institutions and democratic protections are
stressed. The idea of this is still that of a political situation where the people affected by decisions
have an equal say in determining them.

Speaking of economy again, social democracy puts forward distribution of the production
of services, wealth etc. in a supposedly mixed-market economy can lead to social equality and
economic equity. This has socialist roots that abides democratic means of political processes.

Popular democracy highlights the people’s will, empowering the people and their right to
participation. It demands the economic leadership and redistribution of power of the common
people. This strongly denies the legitimacy of the established popular elite as the ‘supposed’
representatives of the popular will.

Lastly, the most popular form of democracy today is representative or indirect, where
democracy is not just about voting to elect leaders to represent their interests in the government.
This is also about protecting the interests of the citizens – no matter their religion, political beliefs,
race, and gender. In this, the government is divided into three branches – legislative, executive
and judiciary. They are to conduct fairly and must be subjected to checks and balance to avoid
abuse of power and corruption, and most importantly, make sure they satisfy the general will.
2. Enumerate and discuss the history of concepts of citizenship.

In the 20th century, social citizenship emerged because of the growing inequities, a
relationship between of citizenship and policy encouraged by the state and the market. As such,
this stresses standards of economic, social, and cultural well-being and minimum rights. One of
the many ways this can be done is through the redistribution of resources and benefits that
citizens can enjoy in accordance to the prevailing order in society.

Political citizenship, on the other hand, came a century earlier but of the same
circumstance. In this, the right to exercise political power is stressed regardless of their
socioeconomic standing, gender, and ethnicity amongst the few. This takes away the legitimacy
from the male experience and hierarchal basis on gendered norms constructed by the patriarchal
ruling system.

Lastly, civil citizenship emerged much earlier than the two – 18th century. In the context
of freedom and rights, this is compatible with liberal ideas: individual freedom, rights to free
speech, equal rights against discrimination etc. This is the struggle to remove away from the
Westphalian experience and assume a world where exclusions are not legitimate and not
encouraged to advance itself as a sensitive, diverse, and truly world championing equality.

3. Make an essay about your initiatives or contribution to the government as a good citizen.

Foremost, my greatest contribution must be acknowledging my rights and exercising

them in any given setting. I, as a free individual, living in content knowing my rights are protected
and I can express myself without the fear of harassment and discrimination is one of the many
ways I can contribute to the government as a good citizen. Well, it is due to the fact that I live by
the Constitution, and I embrace democracy, despite being deeply unconsolidated, and exhibit its
essence in my lived experience and behavior. If that is not fulfilled, then power will accumulate in
the hands of malignant actors or let us say – the elite, who will then make decisions that are out
of touch with reality. Reality being the plight of the common people. Knowing your power as a
citizen in a democratic setting helps the government to remember who put them exactly in power
and therefore, reaffirm who they are serving so that they will actually act on their jobs as originally
expected of them.

In return, I swear to be a law-abiding citizen – as long as the laws are just and not meant
to be bent in favor of a particular discourse or few powerful people, which is prevalent in a flawed
democratic system. Corruption exists wherever it is possible to thrive but more than anything
else, it exists because authorities themselves are allowing it due to vulnerability amongst other
factors. Avoiding generalization, crimes and injustice do not only exist because there are
perpetrators and victims but also because the people assigned to prohibit such activities are the
ones enabling them. It is really difficult to conform to the rules when they are literally meant to
oppress the poor, but in an ideal democracy – contributing to the government can be really easy
because their interests align with the people. In the real world, far from it.
 MODULE 4
TOPIC 2: DIMENSIONS AND MODELS OF CITIZENSHIP
1. Make an essay about the application of dimension of citizenship.

The dimension of citizenship revolves around the concept of the term itself and is stated
to be composed of three main elements: citizenship as legal status, citizens as agents of politics,
and lastly, political community of citizens that is the source of identity. The last element is stated
to be the most vague or least straightforward, this is because different authors try to weigh on
what constitute an ‘identity’. This discourse is often referred as the psychological dimension of
citizenship, the subjective sense of belonging of the citizens are affecting the political
community’s collective identity in terms of strength. Strengthening the social cohesion in this
context requires the citizens to have a strong sense of belonging in a given political community.
The problem though is that because of varying factors social integration is seen as something to
be achieved rather than an element. Moving on, the relationship between the three dimension is
imbued with complexity. But a strong civic identity has the ability to influence the citizens to
participate in the political life of the society actively. Different sense of identity can encourage
inequality, in return.

2. Differentiate the two models of citizenship.

The republican model of citizenship is principally a civic self-rule, giving emphasis on classical or
traditional institutions and established practices that have been tried, tested and proven to be
effective, to rule and be ruled. In the process of deliberation, active participation is a must in order
to ensure that citizens are individuals and not just mere subjects. Political agency is emphasized
the republican model, to end.

On the other hand, the liberal model of citizenship emphasizes the legal status of citizenship. This
means that to protect individual freedoms from malignant forces or the state itself, political
liberty is a must. However, this is exercised not in the political realm but in private settings.

REFERENCES
Civil Service Review TV (2020). Article 4 of the Philippine Constitution: Citizenship. [VIDEO]. YouTube.
Accessed July 8, 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZaTH_6of_o
Colot, J.C (2020). PHILIPPINE POLITICS, GOVERNANCE AND CITIZENSHIP. Polytechnic University of
the Philippines.
MinuteVideos (2014). Democracy – A short introduction. [VIDEO]. YouTube. Accessed July 8, 2022.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6jgWxkbR7A

POLITICAL SCIENCE TUTORIALS (2019). Citizenship: Its Meaning. [VIDEO]. YouTube. Accessed July 8, 2022.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JF1InK5uluk

School of Political Science (2019). What is Democracy? What is the Meaning of Democracy? [VIDEO].
YouTube. Accessed July 8, 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIzDD9Fn59g