UNIT7 DEMOCRACY* Structure 7.0 Objectives 7.1 Introduction: Meaning of Democracy 7.2 Procedural/Minimalist and Substantive/Maximalist Dimension 7.3. Types of Democracy 73.1 Classical Democracy 73.2. Elitist Democracy 73.3. Pluralist Democracy 734. Pantcipatory Democracy 73.5 Deliberative Democracy 73.6 People's Democracy 73.7 Social Democracy 73.8 E-democracy 74 Indian Democracy at a Glance 7.5. Let Us Sum Up 7.6 References 7.7 Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises 7.0 OBJECTIVE: In this unit, you will be able to understand democracy as a form of government, After studying this unit, you should be able to: * Explain the meaning and evolution of democracy; «Know various types of democracy; * Comprehend features of Indian democracy; and Know the challenges to democracy in India. 7.1 INTRODUCTION: MEANING OF DEMOCRACY Democracy has a Greek origin as the first democratic government is believed to have originated in Athens in 5® century BC. The word democracy is derived from the Greek word ‘“demokratia’. It is a combination of two Greek words, ‘demos’ meaning people and ‘kratos’ meaning power. Hence, democracy stands for rule by the people which gives true legitimacy to the government as it is based on the consent of the ruled, It is generally agreed that democracy means popular rule and sovereignty, but how that will be achieved varies from one country to other. That is why, we today see different forms of democracy — totalitarian democracy in North Korea, Islamic democracy in Pakistan and Turkey, presidential democracy in the US to parliamentary democracy in India. ‘There is an inherent tension between liberty and equality which democracies grapple with, Promoting individual liberty could have negative impact on equality and * Contributed by Dr. Raj Kumar Sharma, Academic Associate, Faculty of Political Science, IGNOU, New Delhi 7Concepts B vice-versa, Another issue is that democracies are vulnerable to the danger of being reduced to the rule of majority at the cost of minorities. This can be checked to a large extent if there is a high degree of maturity and education among the voters in a democracy. This should be complemented by a genuinely free press which could keep the public opinion balanced and free from any bias. A well informed electorate and a free media ensure government's accountability, which is the true spirit of a democratic system. There are a number of reasons why democracy is seen as a better form of government compared to others. In his 1861 book, Considerations on Representative Government, JS Mill has given three advantages ofa democracy over non-democratic systems. First, democracy compels the decision makers to take into account public interest and opinion which would not be the case in an authoritarian or aristocratic form of government. Second, democracy brings in multiple views in the process of decision making which allows decision makers to pick up the best ideas. Third, democracy also helps in character building of citizens as it inculeates qualities like rationality, autonomy and independent thinking. This creates pressure of public opinion on political leaders who cannot ignore people’s views if they wish to remain in power. Nobel laureate Amartya Sen has given the relationship between democracy and famines, arguing that there has been no famines in a functioning democracy as the leaders are accountable to the people and cannot ignore their basic welfare. Modern democracy came up in Britain and France and later spread to other countries. A number of reasons contributed to the spread of democracy — corruption and incompetence, misuse of power, absence of accountability and unjustifiable rule of monarchs based on the concept of divine rights. Ina broader sense, democracy is not only a form of government and state, but also a condition of society. A democratic society is one in which there is socio- economic equality while a democratic state is one where citizens get a chance to participate in an open and fair political process. Some frequent meanings attributed to the term democracy are as follows: ‘* Rule by the poor and the disadvantaged © Society based on equal opportunity and individual merit instead of hierarchy and privilege © Welfare and redistribution to reduce social inequality © Decision making based on majority rule ‘* Protection of minority rights by placing checks on majority rule © Fulfilling public offices through competition for popular vote. A number of features cy. Written constitution, rule of law, human rights, independent media and judiciary, separation of powers between executive, judiciary and legislature could be described as some of the basic features of democracy. The idea of democracy has come a long way from its initial form in Greece which was not inclusive in nature. The Greek model of democracy excluded women, slaves and immigrants making it ‘undemocratic” in spirit. This spirit continued even in modern democracies like France, Britain and the US where some sections were not allowed to vote while the voting rights were given to wealthy men, The French Revolution of 1789 talked about liberty, equality and fraternity apart from popular sovereignty for mankind.However, the women did not get the right to vote and it was only in 1944 that France started universal adult suffrage. In Britain, women got the right to vote in 1928 while in the US, they got this right in 1920, However, discrimination on the basis of color remained in the US and it was only in 1965 that the African American women and males were given the right to vote. India has been progressive in this regard compared to the Western democracies as India adopted universal adult franchise from 1950 when its constitution came into force and in fact became the world’s first democratic state to have universal adult franchise since its inception, Saudi Arabia is the latest country which has allowed women to vote and in 2015, women for the first time exercised their right to vote in municipal elections. Democracy can be classified as direct and representative depending on how the people rule. Direct democracy is based on direct and unmediated citizen participation in government rule. All adult citizens take part in decision making to ensure that all the viewpoints are discussed and best possible decisions are taken. Direct democracy wipes out the distinction between the government and the governed and the state and civil society. The ancient Greek city state model was an example of direct democracy. In contemporary times, direct democracy can be found in Swiss cantons. Direct democracy ensures greater legitimacy as people are more likely to follow decisions which are taken by them only. It also creates a highly informed citizenry which participate in decision making. However, there is vast difference in size (geography, population) between a cit state and a nation-state, That is why; practicing direct democracy is difficult in big modem nation states. This issue was solved with the development of representative democracy, which first appeared in northem Europe in the 18% century. Representative democracy is limited and indirect form of democracy. It is limited because popular participation in policy making is very less pertaining to voting in a few years while it is indirect as people do not exercise power directly but through their elected representatives. Presidential and parliamentary democracies are two main types of representative democracies around the world. ‘There are more parliamentary democracies around the world than the presidential democracies. Parliamentary democracies are more representative than the presidential but at the same time, they are relatively less stable. Check Your Progress 1 Note: i) Use the space given below for your answer. fi) See the end of the unit for tips for your answer 1) What do you understand by democracy? What are the advantages of democracy over other forms of government? Democracy 79Concepts 80 2) What do you understand by representative democracy? 7.2 PROCEDURAL/MINIMALIST AND SUBSTANTIVE/MAXIMALIST DIMENSION Democracy could be well understood by two different views — procedural (minimalist) and substantive (maximalist). The procedural dimension merely focuses on procedures or means in place to attain democracy. It argues that regular competitive elections on the basis of universal adult franchise and plural political participation would produce a democratically elected government. In his 1942 book, Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy, Joseph Schumpeter has said that democracy is “institutional arrangement for arriving at political decisions in which individuals acquire the power to decide by means of a competitive struggle for the people’s vote”. Huntington has also echoed similar views saying, “The central procedure of democracy is the selection of leaders through competitive elections by the people they govern.” However, people are perceived as passive beyond electoral participation in the minimalist view and thus, are governed by their representatives. This view does not focus on liberty and freedom as it emphasizes on how to elect a democratic government. In the absence of checks and balances in the system, the elected leaders could manipulate procedures and power for their own benefit leading to concealed authoritarianism. The government could work for the elites who hold power instead of the people who should hold the ultimate authority in a democratic set up. Such instances have existed in Argentina and Brazil between 1980s and 1990s. The governments in Central Asian countries too could be described as procedural democracies as the power has been concentrated in the hands of a single individual although periodic elections are held from time to time. Terry Karl has pointed that minimalist view could also lead to ‘fallacy of electoralism’, a situation where electoral process is given priority over other dimensions of democracy. Fareed Zakaria calls it ‘illiberal democracy’, a case where governments are democratically elected, but ignore constitutional limits on their power and deprive their citizens of basic rights and freedoms. Substantive democracy tries to overcome the shortcomings of procedural view arguing that social and economic differences could hamper people's participation in the democratic process. It focuses on outcomes like social equality instead of ends in order to truly work for the governed. In a sense, it talks about ‘common good’ rather than the benefit of limited individuals. The rights of marginalized sections like women and the poor are protected through redistributive justice so that conditions can be created through state intervention for their participation, in political process. Various political scientists like John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Immanuel Kant and John Stuart Mill have contributed to emergence of this view. Unlike Schumpeter who believed that a conception of democracy which aims for ambitious forms of equality is dangerous, Rousseau argued that formal variety of democracy is equivalent to slavery and it is only egalitarian democracies which have political legitimacy.Cheek Your Progress 2 Note: i) Use the space given below for your answer. ii) See the end of the unit for tips for your answer. 1) Distinguish between procedural and substantive democracy. 7.3 __TYPES OF DEMOCRACY 7.3.1 Classical Democracy Classical democracy is based on the polis or the city state of Ancient Greece with a particular system ofrule that developed in the largest and the most powerful Greek city-state based on mass meetings, The remarkable feature of this model was that the citizens were politically very active. Apart from participating in Assembly meetings, citizens also contributed to decision-making and public offices. However, it excluded women, slaves and foreigners from citizenship. It is pertinent to mention that it was only because of the slaves and women that the male Athenian citizens could get free time to devote to political affairs. Hence, their exclusion from citizenship was unfortunate and undemocratic. Plato in his book, The Republic criticized the Athenian democracy saying that people were incapable to rule themselves wisely and they require rule by philosopher kings and guardians who are suited to rule, 7.3.2 Elitist Democracy This theory was propounded by Vilfredo Pareto, G Mosca, Robert Michels and Joseph Schumpeter. The theory was developed in sociology, but has major implications for political science as well. Michels gave his ‘iron law of oligarchy’, arguing that despite its original aim, every organization is ultimately reduced to oligarchy amounting to rule of a few. Mosca said that people can be categorized as rulers and the ruled. Most of the power, prestige and wealth are in hands of the ruling class irrespective of the form of government, The ruled follow the elite as they do not have leadership qualities. This theory poses serious questions for democracy and suggests that in practice, democracy is not achievable as the elites would control the power, wealth and hence, the decision making, 7.3.3 Pluralist Democracy Contrary to the elitist theory, pluralists believe that policy making is a decentralized process where different groups bargain for their views to be accepted. It is result of interaction between different groups unlike few elites. Public policy is formulated by more organized and vocal groups. The main proponents of this theory include Kar! Mannheim, Raymond Aron, Robert Dahl and Charles Lindblom. Dahl and Lindblom gave the concept of ‘polyarchy” meaning rule by many instead of rule by all citizens. ‘They concluded that although Democracy 81Concepts 82 the politically privileged and economically powerful exert more influence than ordinary citizens, no elite was permanently able to dominate the political process. 7.3.4 Participatory Democracy All the democracies are participatory in the sense that they are based on popular consent which ensures their participatory nature. However, there are chances that the role of citizens could be limited to just voting in a democracy. The gap between the elected representatives and the people widens in complex democracies which have variety of people divided by caste, class, religion, region etc. In contrast to elitist and pluralist theories, participatory democracy advocates active citizen participation in policy making to ensure common good is promoted, while it also makes the government more accountable towards the citizens. Jean J. Rousseau, JS Mill and CB Macpherson supported the idea of participatory democracy. Rousseau argued for popular sovereignty as the supreme power vested in the hands of the people which is their inalienable right and the citizens should involve themselves in state affairs. Mill said that a government which promotes moral, intellectual and active qualities in its citizens is the best government. 7.3.5. Deliberative Democracy Deliberative democracy argues that political decisions should be based on fair and reasonable deliberations among citizens. This is required to produce best decisions to achieve public good. In emphasizing on quality of process for best outcomes, John Rawls and Jurgen Habermas have argued for a deliberative democracy. Rawls believed that reason can overcome self interest to attain a just political society. Habermas believed that fair procedures and clear communication would lead to legitimate and mutually agreed upon decisions. 7.3.6 People’s Democracy People’s democracy refers to democratic models generated by the Marxist tradition, Marxists have been interested in social equality and hence, have their own idea of democracy against the Western model which they say only generates political equality. People’s democracy is established after the proletarian revolution when the proletariat starts making political decisions. This will eventually give way to Communism marked by self-regulation, While Kar] Marx talked about the rule of the proletariat, Lenin changed the concept and introduced the role of party as the vanguard of the proletariat, However, Lenin did not establish mechanisms to check the power of the party and its powerful leaders to ensure that they remained accountable to the proletariat. 7.3.7 Social Democracy Social democracy stands fora basic change in Marxist thought although it shares same goals with Communism. It aims to establish a socialist society, but no through the revolution but through state regulation of means of production. Social democrats do not believe in the Marxist critique of democracy, which sees it as a “bourgeois” facade for class rule. Instead, social democrats see democracy as essential for achieving the socialist ideals. That is why, they stand for state regulation of business and industry in order to ensure welfare of citizens. Thismovement started with the efforts of August Bebel and Wilhelm Liebknecht who cofounded the Social Democratic Workers’ Party in 1869 in Germany. 7.3.8 E-Democracy ‘This is arelatively new concept but is based on the works done by earlier theorists, E-democracy or electronic democracy is the use of information and technology to enhance or even replace representative democracy. Common problems in all democracies — issues of scale, lack of time, decline of community values, and lack of opportunities for policy deliberation could be dealt with digital communication. Supporters of e-democracy have built on the ideas of patticipatory democracy to enhance active citizen participation in policy making, Check Your Progress 3 Note: i) Use the space given below for your answer. ii) See the end of the unit for tips for your answer. 1) What are the drawbacks of people’s democracy? 2) What do you understand by E-democracy? 7.4 INDIAN DEMOCRACY AT A GLANCE With more than 800 million eligible voters, India is often referred to as the largest democracy in the world which was created after India got independen from British rule in 1947. Indians did not want to adopt a constitution imposed by the British and hence, the Constituent Assembly was made with indirectly elected members to draft India’s constitution, It is remarkable though that an irectly elected body later adopted the concept of universal adult franchise the Constituent Assembly itself was not elected by the people, During the debates in the Constituent Assembly, J L. Nehru, Sardar Patel, B R Ambedkar and NV Gadgil supported the adoption of parliamentary democracy in India keeping mind India’s familiarity with this system since the British days. Others like R Singh, Loknath Mishra and Brajeshwar Prasad opposed parliamentary democracy. R N Singh had said that it is difficult to find an army of honest ministers, deputy ministers and parliamentary secretaries etc. He argued for a presidential form of government saying it would be easy to find an honest Democracy 83Concepts 84 President. The Assembly adopted the parliamentary form of democracy keeping in view India’s past experience with this system. Some scholars believe that democracy was a Western concept and democratic institutions were imposed upon people of India who lacked any experience in this regard. However, modern politics pertaining to organizing people around public issues and putting demands before the state started in India in the mid 19 century. Associations and organizations like Poona Sarvjanik Sabha were established by the middle class and traditional elites which laid the foundations of democracy in India. The idea of democracy gained ground in India through a gradual development of legislative councils at the provincial and central levels during the British period. In the post-independence era, periodic elections based on adult franchise have ensured that democratic institutions and practices are firmly rooted in Indian politics. The social composition of political parties is changing due to which the state legislature, the Parliament and the ministries are becoming more representative today. The main features of democracy in India are as follows: ‘* The Preamble to the Constitution of India describes India as a ‘Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic’. India is a parliamentary democracy based on the concept of ‘one person one vote” © Free and fair periodic elections to state legislatures and the Parliament are held based on adult franchise, ©The rule of law is ensured as the written Constitution of India is supreme which is interpreted and guarded by an independent judiciary. ‘+ There is separation of powers between the executive, legislature and the judiciary. © The Constitution of India gives Fundamental Rights to its eitizens- Right to Equality (Article 14 to 18), Right to Freedom (Article 19-22), Right against Exploitation (Article 23-24), Right to Freedom of Religion (Article 25-28), Educational and Cultural Rights (Article 29-30) and Right to Constitutional Remedies (Article 32). ‘* There is existence of multi-party stem in India with national and regional parties vying for space in politics making it dynamic and vibrant. The leader of the largest party in opposition in each House is designated as the Leader of the Opposition, but that party should have at least 10 per cent seats of the total strength of the House as per the Constitution of India. ‘* The media in India is free from state interference which plays an important role in mobilizing public opinion with respect to policies implemented by the government. A number of achievements can be attributed to the functioning of democracy in India, The foremost among them is that the Indian democratic experience has proved the skeptics wrong who believed that democracy in India would not survive given India’s diversity in terms of caste, religion, language, culture and region. Unlike its neighbors, democracy is functioning well in India which shows resilience of India’s democratic institutions and practices. India has been able to increase its literacy rate, reduce poverty while the marginalized sections are being brought into mainstream through the democratic process. There has been a shift of power from dominant castes and classes to the backward castes andclasses almost without any violent means through democratic means. At the international level, India is gradually moving away from an aid recipient country to being an aid provider as it gives economic aid to its neighbors in South Asia, However, there are some challenges that are still posing questions to democracy in India, Political violence is one of the prime issues in India which needs to be handled properly. For example, Naxalism and insurgency in North-east India are often cited as a blot on Indian democracy. Here, it is important to reiterate what Dr Ambedkar, Chairman of the drafting committee for framing India’s Constitution had said. He had argued for economic and social equality saying only political equality would not be enough. Prolonged inequality in social and economic life would prove dangerous for political democracy as those who suffer could blow up the political structure. There is need for further electoral reforms in India to tackle issues like defection, fake voting, and role of money and muscle power during elections. Corruption and economic inequality is eroding the rule of law and impact working of democracy to the detriment of the weak. There is inadequacy of representation as the number of people voting to elect their representatives is not too high. Even the “first past the post’ system used in India is not representative in nature and can prove harmful for the interests of marginalized sections. In the overall analysis, it would not be fair to judge democracy in India as merely successful or a failure. The procedural democracy needs to be strengthened and made more representative and accountable so that it results in substantive democracy. Check Your Progress 4 Note: i) Use the space given below for your answer. fi) See the end of the unit for tips for your answer. 1) What are the features of democracy in India? 7.5 _LETUSSUM UP Democracy has evolved as a concept over the years and has become more inclusive. It is one of the most debated topics in political science as people agree on its meaning, but do not agree on how to achieve democracy. That is why, there are several types of democracies from direct to representative. With changing times, there are new dimensions of democracy, like e-democracy which are coming up. Democracy in India has been able to survive despite India’s diversity as democracy has given space to various sections for political contestation and opportunity to articulate various claims. India needs to make democracy more representative and accountable so that this could lead to substantive democracy for the benefit of the marginalized, Democracy 85Concepts 86 7.6 _REFERENCES Abbas, Hovyeda and Ranjay Kumar (2012). Political Theory. New Delhi Pearson, Constitutional Government and Democracy in India, URL: http://vle.du.ac.in/ mod/book/view.php?id=11805échapterid=23271 Dahl, Robert (1989). Democracy and its Critics, New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Dahl, R. (2018). Encyclopedia Britannica, URL: https://www.britannica.com! topic/democracy Heywood, Andrew (2007). Politics, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. URL: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ democracy! Vora, Rajendra and Suhas Palshikar (2004). Indian Democracy: Meanings and Practices. New Delhi: Sage Publications India Pvt Ltd. 7.1 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS EXERCISES Check Your Progress 1 1) Your answer should include the following: © Greek origins of the word. © Difference between direct and indirect democracy. © Rule by the people. © JS Mill's views on advantages of democracy 2) Highlight limited and indirect nature of representative democracy Check Your Progress 2 1) Your answer should highlight the difference between the mechanism and actual practice of democracy. Check Your Progress 3 1) There is no check on the power of the party and powerful leaders. 2) Use of information and technology to enhance and promote democracy. Check Your Progress 4 1) Highlight the following points: © Preamble to the Constitution describes India as a democratic country. © Free and fair periodic elections based on adult franchise. © Fundamental Rights. © Existence of multi-party system, * Media frve from state regulation.