DEMOCRACY 4 COUNTRY(2020)
Democracy 3 also received "mixed" reviews, according to Metacritic.[13] While Polish magazine CD-Action stated that the game "does much more for understanding democracy than any citizenship lesson,"[14] Daniel Schindel's critical review for Unwinnable noted several inaccuracies concerning the in-game effects of imposing death penalty, legalizing drugs, and strong labor laws.[15] A spin-off game, titled Democracy 3: Africa, was quietly released in early 2016. The game focused entirely on nations on the continent of Africa and added features to address the corruption, authoritarianism, military dictatorships, and female genital mutilation that is abundant on the continent. Players are tasked with fixing these issues, or regressing further into a dictatorship.[16][17]
DEMOCRACY 4 COUNTRY(2020)
Democracy advocates around the world have historically turned to the United States for inspiration and support, and Congress has continued to fund programs to that end in practice. To date, however, the Trump administration has failed to exhibit consistent commitment to a foreign policy based on the principles of democracy and human rights. Although the president has been outspoken in denouncing authoritarian abuses by US adversaries in countries like Venezuela and Iran, and he reluctantly signed legislation supporting basic rights in Hong Kong after it passed almost unanimously in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, he has excused clear violations by traditional security partners such as Turkey and Egypt. He has also given a pass to tyrannical leaders whom he hopes to woo diplomatically, including Vladimir Putin of Russia and Kim Jong-un of North Korea. On multiple occasions during 2019, he vetoed bipartisan efforts in Congress to limit arms sales and military assistance to Saudi Arabia. Balancing specific security and economic considerations with human rights concerns has been difficult for every administration, but the balance has grown especially lopsided of late.
East and Southern Africa presented more of a mixed picture. In Tanzania, Zimbabwe, and Uganda, the space for independent civic and political activity continued to shrink as incumbent leaders worked to silence dissent. All three countries experienced declines in their scores. However, there was notable progress in some authoritarian states as they proceeded with tenuous reforms. While it remains to be seen whether the military in Sudan will abide by its power-sharing agreement with prodemocracy protest leaders and cede control to civilian leadership ahead of elections in 2022, the Sudanese people have already experienced initial improvements in political rights and civil liberties.
The EIU Democracy Index provides a snapshot of the state of world democracy for 165 independent states and two territories. The Democracy Index is based on five categories: electoral process and pluralism, civil liberties, the functioning of government, political participation, and political culture. Based on their scores on 60 indicators within these categories, each country is then itself classified as one of four types of regime: full democracy, flawed democracy, hybrid regime or authoritarian regime.
Since the early 1990s, there have been significant transformations in political systems in many African countries. These institutional changes have resulted in, for example, the demise of the racially based apartheid system in the Republic of South Africa and the introduction of a nonracial democracy. Many civilian and military dictatorships have fallen, paving the way for the establishment of rule-of-law-based governance systems characterized by constitutionalism and constitutional government, including reforms such as term limits. Nevertheless, many of these countries still struggle to deepen and institutionalize democracy and deal effectively and fully with government impunity, particularly that which is associated with the abuse of executive power and the violation of human rights.
At the same time, free and frequent elections as a constraint to governmental tyranny are a necessary but not sufficient condition to guarantee and guard liberty. In fact, while elections can help African countries consolidate, deepen, and entrench democracy, they can also pave the way for sustained majoritarian power to the detriment of the minority, as we have seen in countries like Cameroon.
RelatedAfrica in FocusEntrenching democracy in African countries: Policy imperatives for leaders in 2021John Mukum MbakuThursday, March 18, 2021
Africa in FocusFrom the electoral processes to democracy in Africa: Avenues to bridge the gapJohn Mukum MbakuThursday, January 17, 2019
Op-EdAccountability and demand for democracy drive leadership changes in AfricaLandry SignéThursday, June 14, 2018
It is important to note that, although elections are critical to the transition of a country from authoritarianism to constitutional democracy, they can also serve as a tool for the survival of authoritarian governments. For example, authoritarian regimes in countries, such as Cameroon, the Republic of the Congo, and Equatorial Guinea have used elections to legitimize their leaders and remain in power indefinitely.
However, if African countries are to use elections to consolidate and entrench democracy, they must make certain that incumbent leaders are not able to (i) change national constitutions to eliminate term and age limits for presidents (as noted above) and other protections that guard the president against various forms of opportunism (as currently taking place in Zambia); (ii) mandate registration fees for candidates seeking to stand for political office, including the presidency, that are beyond the reach of many citizens; (iii) interfere with freedom of the press in ways that make it very difficult for the press to check on the government, provide citizens information about elections, and serve as a platform for the opposition to bring their message to voters; and (iv) use security forces to intimidate and strangle the opposition.
Never in the last four decades has the future of democracy been as threatened as it is today. In general, the four main risks to democracy are: reduced space for civic action, weakened democratic checks and balances, high levels of inequality, and attacks on human rights. In Latin America, in particular, many of these challenges are acute, but overall the picture is mixed.
Lastly, the current situation of democratic discontent and social convulsion that Latin America is experiencing requires offering democratic solutions to the problems of democracy in order to avoid a dangerous escalation of strong populist rhetoric, which could end up aggravating the complex regional situation. It is not merely enough to have quality and resilient democracies. We must also strive to build a modern and strategic state, better governance, and political leadership committed to democratic values, transparency, a connection to the people, empathy, and the ability to govern the complex societies of the 21st century.
What is a democracy? The word "democracy" comes from the Greek words "demos", meaning "citizen", and "kratos", meaning "power" or "rule". At its most fundamental, a democracy is a form of government in which a nation's citizens have the power to decide the laws under which they will live. These decisions are made via either a vote of the people in a "direct democracy" (also called a "true" or "pure" democracy), or through elected officials who vote on behalf of their constituents in a "representative democracy".
Not all democracies are the same. A myriad of democratic sub-types exist, including constitutional democracy, green democracy, demarchy, illiberal democracy, industrial democracy, and more. In fact, one scholar identified more than 2000 different variations of democracy. What's more, the majority of these classifications overlap with one another. As a result, any given democracy will fit into many different subtypes.
The Democracy Index is an annual report compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit. The index measures the state of democracy in 167 of the world's countries by tracking 60 indicators in five different categories: electoral process and pluralism, functioning of government, political participation, political culture, and civil liberties. The indicators are combined to give each category a rating on a 0 to 10 scale, and the five category scores are averaged to determine the overall index score.
The United States scored 7.92 in 2020 and again landed in the "flawed democracy" category, where it has resided since falling from "full democracy" in 2016. Intolerance of COVID-19 restrictions, distrust in the government, bipartisan gridlock, and especially the increasing ideological polarization between democrats and republicans are all cited as contributors to the lower score. For the full list of all 167 countries and their 2020 scores, see the table further down this page.
A direct democracy has no elected officials and no constitution. The people have absolute power and make all decisions themselves via direct votes. While this may seem like an ideal system at first glance, direct democracy has one significant shortcoming: The lack of a constitution laying out basic guiding principles means that whatever at least 50.1% of the people want is what happens. There are no checks, no balances, and no limits. As such, a direct democracy offers little to no protection for up to 49.9% of the people, and leaves minorities particularly vulnerable.
Given these differences, it's easy to see why many people consider the U.S. a republic instead of a democracy. However, it's important to note that this is the difference between a republic and a direct democracy. Most other variations of democracy utilize elected officials just as republics do, and many variations also have a constitution (or Magna Carta or other founding document). Plus, as previously discussed, many political labels overlap with one another. Most governments can be described by not just one term, but several. As a result, those who say the U.S. is a republic and those who call it a democracy are both correct. The United States is a constitutional democracy, a democratic republic, and many other types of government as well. 041b061a72