Democracy
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It is a form of government in which the people
have the authority to choose their governing
legislation.
The most common decision making approach of
democracies has been the majority rule or
supermajority or consensus.
Types - Direct democracy or Indirect Democracy
Historical background
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Ancient Greece
The term "democracy" first appeared in
ancient Greek political and philosophical
thought in the city-state of Athens
Cleisthenes is referred to as "the father of
Athenian democracy."
It took the form of a direct democracy
decision taken by majority
Medieval
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various systems involving elections or assemblies
South Indian Kingdom of the Chola in the state of
Tamil Nadu in the Indian Subcontinent had an
electoral system at 920 A.D
the Holy Roman Empire's Hoftag and Imperial
Diets
The Parliament of England had its roots in the
restrictions on the power of kings written into
Magna Carta (1215), which explicitly protected
certain rights of the King's subjects
Modern form of democracy
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After the Glorious Revolution of 1688, the Bill of
Rights set out the requirement for regular elections,
rules for freedom of speech in Parliament and
limited the power of the monarch.
American frontier, democracy became a way of life,
with more widespread social, economic and
political equality.
In 1789, Revolutionary France adopted the
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
Universal male suffrage was established in
France in March 1848 in the wake of the French
Revolution of 1848.
Modern period (Cont'd.)
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20th-century transitions to liberal democracy
have come in successive "waves of democracy.
Global waves of "democratic regression"
reversing democratization, have also occurred
The WW2 was followed by decolonisation, and
again most of the new independent states had
nominally democratic constitutions. India
emerged as the world's largest democracy and
continues to be so.
Modern period (Cont'd.)
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The war was followed by decolonisation, and
again most of the new independent states had
nominally democratic constitutions. India
emerged as the world's largest democracy and
continues to be so.
Economic malaise in the 1980s, along with
resentment of Soviet oppression, contributed to
the collapse of the Soviet Union, the associated
end of the Cold War, and the democratisation
and liberalisation of the former Eastern bloc
countries
Current Scenario
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According to Freedom House, in 2007 there
were 123 electoral democracies (up from 40 in
1972)
In 2007 the United Nations declared 15
September the International Day of Democracy
In a Freedom House report released in 2018,
Democracy Scores for most countries declined
for the 12th consecutive year.