Phase One Assembly Democracy
Starting around 2,500 BCE, in lands now within the territories of Iran, Iraq and Syria
“During the first phase of democracy the seeds of its basic institution – self-government through an assembly of equals – were scattered across many different soils and climes, ranging from the Indian subcontinent and the prosperous Phoenician empire to the western shores of provincial Europe.
These popular assemblies took root, accompanied by various ancillary institutional rules and customs, like written constitutions, the payment of jurors and elected officials, the freedom to speak in public, voting machines, voting by lot and trial before elected or selected juries. There were efforts as well to stop bossy leaders in their tracks, using such methods as the mandatory election of kings…” (The Life and Death of Democracy, p.xvi)
Best-known example – Athens, 5th century BCE
Athenian Democracy
Direct democracy: citizens (about 10% of the population) participated directly in initiating, deliberating, and passing of, the legislation. The Assembly, no less than 6,000 strong (out of 22,000 citizens of Athens), convened about every 10 days. Supreme power to decide on every issue of state policy
Citizen juries: justice is responsibility of citizens (juries composed of 501-1001 citizens)
Appointment of citizens to political office by lot
Citizen-soldiers: every citizen had a duty to serve in the army
Ostracism: a bad politician could be kicked out of office by the people
Phase Two Representative Democracy
Started around 10th-12th centuries in Western Europe with the invention of parliamentary assemblies
Reaches its classic forms in the 18th century. Officially regarded as normative today.
Marquis d’Argenson, Foreign Minister of French King Louis XV, 1765.
Phase Two
The Glorious revolution laid the foundation of the first democratic principles of the Rule of Law.
Earlier it was believed that the king was the ‘representative of the God’ and that the King’s wishes were the law.
The people strongly protested the idea and dethroned King James II of England.
They passed the Bill Of Rights which firmly stated that the country should be governed by the laws passed by the people and not by the whims of the king.
The French Revolution took place between 1789 and 1851.
In the revolution King Louis XVI was executed .
It was decided that the country should be ruled by the laws passed by the people.
It laid down the ‘Declaration of the Rights of Man’ which highlighted that liberty, Equality etc. were important in a Democracy.
In 1792, France became a Republic.
Phase Three Monitory Democracy
(term coined by John Keane)- After World War II
Increase citizen ability to control the state which is organized on the basis of representative democracy
Public integrity commissions Judicial activism Local courts Workplace tribunals Citizens assemblies Think tanks The Internet Etc.
How much power do they have? And whose interests do they serve?
Key
1. The word Democracy comes from a Greek word ‘Demokratia’.
In Greek ‘demos’ means people and ‘kratia’ means rule.
The definition of Democracy helps us to separate it from
other forms of government.
For example, in Myanmar there is military rule(Dictatorship)
and these army rulers are not elected by the people.
Similarly, the rulers of Saudi Arabia rule over the people
because they happen to be born in a royal family (Monarchy).
On the contrary, Democracy is characterized by formal
equality of rights and privileges.
4. DEMOCRACY AS A NATURAL
ORDER
“Democracy is any form of government in which the rules of
society are decided by the people who will be bound by them.”
A democracy is a political system, or a system of decision-
making within an institution or organization or a country, in
which all members have an equal share of power.
PEOPLE GOVERNING THEMSELVES
That was the original system of making decisions for society –
primitive democracy which exists for tens of thousands of
years before the rise of the state
When the state appears 5,000 years ago, it seeks to take the
decision-making power away from society.
Then, democracy becomes a way of trying to restrain state
power and put the state under the people’s control .
5. 3 Overlapping Epochs in the Historical
Development of Democracy
Assembly
Democracy
Representative
Democracy
Monitory
Democracy
6. ASSEMBLY DEMOCRACY
Starting around 2,500 BCE, in lands now within the territories
of Iran, Iraq and Syria
“During the first phase of democracy the seeds of its basic
institution – self-government through an assembly of equals –
were scattered across many different soils and climes,
ranging from the Indian subcontinent and the prosperous
Phoenician empire to the western shores of provincial Europe.
These popular assemblies took root, accompanied by various
ancillary institutional rules and customs, like written
constitutions, the payment of jurors and elected officials, the
freedom to speak in public, voting machines, voting by lot and
trial before elected or selected juries. There were efforts as
well to stop bossy leaders in their tracks, using such methods
as the mandatory election of kings…” (The Life and Death of
Democracy, p.xvi)
Best-known example – Athens, 5th century BCE
7. Direct democracy: citizens (about 10% of the population)
participated directly in initiating, deliberating, and
passing of, the legislation. The Assembly, no less than
6,000 strong (out of 22,000 citizens of Athens),
convened about every 10 days. Supreme power to decide
on every issue of state policy
Citizen juries: justice is responsibility of citizens (juries
composed of 501-1001 citizens)
Appointment of citizens to political office by lot
Citizen-soldiers: every citizen had a duty to serve in the
army
Ostracism: a bad politician could be kicked out of office
by the people
8.
9. REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY
Started around 10th-12th centuries in
Western Europe with the invention of
parliamentary assemblies
Reaches its classic forms in the 18th century.
Officially regarded as normative today.
Marquis d’Argenson, Foreign Minister of
French King Louis XV, 1765.
10. The Glorious revolution laid the foundation of the first
democratic principles of the Rule of Law.
Earlier it was believed that the king was the ‘representative
of the God’ and that the King’s wishes were the law.
The people strongly protested the idea and dethroned King
James II of England.
They passed the Bill Of Rights which firmly stated that the
country should be governed by the laws passed by the people
and not by the whims of the king.
11. The French Revolution took place between 1789 and 1851.
In the revolution King Louis XVI was executed .
It was decided that the country should be ruled by the laws
passed by the people.
It laid down the ‘Declaration of the Rights of Man’ which
highlighted that liberty, Equality etc. were important in a
Democracy.
In 1792, France became a Republic.
12. PHASE THREE
MONITORY DEMOCRACY
(term coined by John Keane)- After World War II
Increase citizen ability to control the state which is
organized on the basis of representative democracy
Public integrity commissions
Judicial activism
Local courts
Workplace tribunals
Citizens assemblies
Think tanks
The Internet
Etc.
How much power do they have? And whose interests do they
serve?
13. Key events which led to this expansion:
The defeat of fascism in World War 2 (1939-45)
The fall of Western colonial empires (1950s-70s)
The fall of Western authoritarian regimes in
Southern Europe and Latin America (1970s-1980s)
The fall of Communist regimes in Eastern Europe
and the Soviet Union (1989-91)
14. In contemporary politics, the term
“democracy” is used mostly in the
Schumpeterian, rather than classical, sense:
Representative democracy
Electoral democracy
Formal democracy
“The people” elect a government and keep it
accountable.
15. THE CLASSICAL THEORY OF
DEMOCRACY
The triple meaning:
Democracy as source of state authority – power of the
people
Democracy as the purpose of government – the
common good
Democracy as a method of choosing political leaders –
by the people
Abraham Lincoln: “Government of the people, by the
people, and for the people”. (1863)
16. 2 MAJOR DIMENSIONS OF
THE DEMOCRACY
contestation – free and fair competition between
candidates
participation – all adult citizens have the right to
vote
The use of this method requires the freedoms of:
expression, to speak publicly and publish one’s views
assembly, to gather for political purposes
association, to form political organizations
17. HOW IS A DEMOCRACY
ESTABLISHED?
In most cases, by a revolution
It may start as reforms initiated by the ruling class – for
the purposes of securing their rule through concessions
to society
As the process intensifies, the old regime is overthrown
Then a democratic regime is established (popular
sovereignty, democratic rights and freedoms,
accountable government)
Then the struggle for power is waged within a democracy
Class interests shape the struggle
The key conflict – the people vs. the ruling classes
18. Since 1900, the number of internationally recognized
independent states has grown from 55 to nearly 200.
Today, governments in 120 countries are formed by
democratic method.
62.5% of the world’s population live in those countries.
Participating in decision-making is a fundamental human
right.
Democracy protects people from political and economic
catastrophes – famines, wars (governments are more
circumspect, attentive to public needs).
Democratic governance can trigger a virtuous cycle of
development.
19. • Democracy originated in Greece.
• New Zealand was the first country in
the world to grant Universal Adult
Franchise n 1893.
• Iceland has the oldest elected
Parliament since 930 AD.
India has world’s largest
democracy
USA has the longest successful
claim on democracy. More than 231
years of elected President.
