Chapter 6: Democratic Regimes

• National elections in Malaysia 2018 and in Nepal have been regarded as change in that country's politics
• The ruling United Malays National Organization (UMNO) lost to Pakatan Harapan (Alliance of Hope) in the 2018 general election
• Former deputy prime minister in Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim was jailed for opposing government corruption and favoring economic reform
• 93 y/o former prime minister in Malaysia, Mahathir Mohamad, came out of retirement to lead the Alliance of Hope alongside Anwar Ibrahim
• Malaysia regularly held elections, consistently won ny the UMNO and National Front
• The UMNO relied on a single-member-district system for elections, which meant there would be only one winner from each district: whoever gained the plurality of votes -> marginalizing smaller parties
• To assure the UMNO the most seats, the government used methods like malapportionment or gerrymandering
• We should not underestimate the role that existing participatory institutions can play in providing a goal for a successful challenge to those in power
• Malapportionment and gerrymandering are two ways in which the electoral system can be manipulated to favor one party over another
• For communists, democracy means collective equality and not individual freedom
• China considers itself a "true" democracy, since they feature full employment, universal education, and the elimination of economic classes
• Various institutions that represent the core "goods" of democracy include participation, competition, and liberty
• Democracy comes from the Greek words demos (the common people) and kratia (power or rule)
• We can define democracy at its most fundamental as a system where political power resides with the people. The people, in turn, may exercise that power directly or indirectly
• Examples of participation include voting and elections
• Competition is when there are multiple parties competing to win votes
• Examples of liberty include freedom of speech or of assembly
• Democracy can be fully defined as political power exercised either directly or indirectly by the people through participation, competition, and liberty
• Liberal democracies are rooted in the ideology of liberalism, emphasizing individual rights and freedoms
• Many liberal democracies have social-democratic political-economic system, emphasizing collective welfare in favor of greater equality
• Mercantilist political economies emphasize a strong role for the state, resulting in fewer personal freedoms
• Countries such as India, Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea have developed strong liberal-democratic institutions
• Liberal-democratic institutions and practices have their roots in ancient Greece and Rome
• Athenian and other early Greek democracies provide the foundation for the concept of public participation
• Ancient Greek democracy allowed the public (excluding women, children, foreigners, and slaves) to participate directly in the affairs of the government, choosing policies, and making governing decisions
• The Roman Empire laid out the concept of republicanism
• Republicanism emphasized the separation of powers within a state and the representation of the public through elected officials
• Republicanism and democracy have become intertwined to produce the modern liberal-democratic regime we know today
• Democratic institutions and practices reemerged in 13th-century England when English nobles forced King John to sign the Magna Carta
• The Magna Carta was a document that curbed the rights of the king and laid the foundation for legislature, a key element of republicanism, and the idea of liberty
• Two forms of democracy include direct and indirect democracy
• In direct democracy, the public participates directly in governance and policy making; historically found in small communities such as ancient Athens
• In indirect democracy, the public participates indirectly through its elected representatives; the prevalent form of democracy in the modern age