1. EN407-313
English for Political Scientists
Ven.Yota Payutto

2. Democracy: What is It?
February 26th, 2004

3. Democracy – Basic Elements
 consent of the governed (process)
– free and fair elections in which government can
be defeated
– equality of political rights
 protection of individual rights (outcome)
– freedom of speech (including free press)
– civil liberties

4. Democracy – Basic Elements
 basic elements
– consent of the governed (process)
– protection of individual rights (outcome)
 when is a political system democratic?
– continuum
– can have more or less of the two values above
– the point at which a system is a democracy is
contestable
 some systems are obviously democracies
 some systems are obviously non-democratic
 some systems are in between

5. Democracy -- A Process
Representative
(Delegate)
Democracy
Direct
Democracy
Participatory
Democracy
Representative
(Trustee)
Democracy
Opportunities for
Mass Participation
HIGHLOW

6. Democracy -- The Outcomes
Low High
Protection of
Individual Rights
Communitarian
Emphasis on
General Welfare of
the Community
Libertarian
Emphasis on Limited
Government and
Rights of the
Individual

7. MODELS OF DEMOCRACY
Individual
Rights/Limited
Gov’t
General
Welfare
High Mass
Participation
Low Mass
Participation
Majoritarian
Democracy
Elite
Democracy
Liberal
Democracy

8. Models of Democracy
 majoritarian democracy
 most important goal is maximizing mass participation
 high mass participation will result in decisions being
made that maximize the general welfare

9. Models of Democracy
 elite democracy
 most important goal is the general welfare
 requires an elite capable of pursuing the long-term
interests of society
– actually values low mass participation

10. Models of Democracy
 liberal democracy
 most important goal is protecting individual rights
 does not prefer low mass participation but may be willing
to accept it

11. Models of Democracy
 majoritarian democracy
 most important goal is maximizing mass participation
 high mass participation will result in decisions being
made that maximize the general welfare
– majoritarian democratic critiques of other models
 elite democracy – there is no such thing as an elite that is
not self-interested and will look after the good of the
general masses
 liberal democracy – emphasis on individual rights is used
to limit government in order to protect small, priveleged
groups

12. Models of Democracy
 elite democracy
 most important goal is the general welfare
 requires an elite capable of pursuing the long-term
interests of society
– actually values low mass participation
– elite democratic critiques of other models
 liberal democracy – undue focus on individual rights
limits government’s ability to pursue the general welfare
of the community
 majoritarian democracy – masses are too uninterested,
incompetent or, at worst, dangerous to be given control
over decision-making

13. Models of Democracy
 liberal democracy
 most important goal is protecting individual rights
 does not prefer low mass participation but may be willing
to accept it
– liberal democratic critiques of other models
 elite democracy – if unchecked, elites will use power to
infringe the rights of individuals
 majoritarian democracy – if unchecked, majority will
infringe the rights of minorities (tyranny of the majority)

14. Models of Democracy – Viewing
Democracy Over Time
 elite democrats
– the masses will always be incapable of making decisions for
the long-term common good
 liberal democrats
– elites and the majorities will always be prone to infringing
individual rights if given the chance
 majoritarian democrats
– elites will always be self-serving
– masses can learn over time to become better democratic
citizens if given a meaningful opportunity to do so
 elite and liberal democrats would argue that the risk is too great

15. CLASSIFYING DEMOCRACIES
 within a range of models incorporating
some minimum amount of meaningful
citizen input and some minimum protection
of basic rights, there are different models of
democracy
 choice of models is completely normative
 there is no “right” model
 the best model of democracy is contestable

16. CLASSIFYING DEMOCRACIES...
 typology of models of democracy as a “map”
for comparing democratic systems
– tells us what to look at in undertaking comparisons
– emphasizes the relative nature of models of
democracy
 democracy as a concept is multi-faceted and complex
– forces the consideration of two questions
 to what degree are different political systems based on
different models of democracy?
 to what degree do different political systems look like
their underlying model of democracy in practice

17. Things to Remember...
 there is no one, single, accepted model of
democracy
– within a range of basic elements (consent of the
governed, protection of individual rights),
democracy means different things to different
people

18. The State of Democracy
In the Contemporary World

19. The State of Democracy
 Freedom House, Freedom in the World
2002
– political freedom
 freedom to form political parties
 open competition in free and fair elections
– civil liberties
 personal freedoms (e.g. speech, press)
 religious, ethnic, linguistic rights

20. The State of Democracy
 total countries=192
 electoral democracies=121 (63%)
– 1987=40%
 free countries=89 (46%)
 many countries are electoral democracies
without being free!!

21. The State of Democracy Over
Time
Status of Freedom,
2002
46%
29%
25%
Free Partly Free
Not Free
Status of Freedom,
1972
29%
25%
46%
Free Partly Free
Not Free

22. The State of Democracy Over
Time
CEE, FSU, 2002
45%
33%
22%
Free Partly Free
Not Free
CEE, FSU, 1972
0%0%
100%
Free Partly Free
Not Free

23. The State of Democracy Over
Time
Sub-Saharan Africa,
2002
23%
46%
31%
Free Partly Free
Not Free
Sub-Saraharan
Africa, 1972
5%
23%
72%
Free Partly Free
Not Free

24. The State of Democracy Over
Time
Americas, 2002
65%
29%
6%
Free Partly Free
Not Free
Americas, 1972
50%
35%
15%
Free Partly Free
Not Free

25. The State of Democracy Over
Time
Western Europe,
2002
99%
1%
Free Partly Free
Western Europe,
1972
72%
16%
12%
Free Partly Free
Not Free

26. The State of Democracy Over
Time
Asia Pacific, 2002
46%
26%
28%
Free Partly Free
Not Free
Asia Pacific, 1972
25%
41%
34%
Free Partly Free
Not Free

27. The State of Democracy Over
Time
Middle East, North
Africa, 2002
6%
22%
72%
Free Partly Free
Not Free
Middle East, North
Africa, 1972
11%
16%
73%
Free Partly Free
Not Free

28. The State of Democracy
 top rankings
– 34 countries (all Western industrialized
countries) including...
 Australia
 Canada
 France
 Germany
 UK
 United States

29. The State of Democracy
 worst rankings
– 9 worst
 Burma
 Cuba
 Iraq
 North Korea
 Libya
 Saudi Arabia
 Sudan
 Syria
 Turkmenistan

30. The State of Democracy
 the number of free democratic societies is
growing
– however, the number of electoral democracies
has grown faster than the number of free
democratic societies
– electoral democracy does not equal free
democracy