One of the several features highlighting power under its broader context is the distribution of power in a country or a society. Distribution of power suggests how power and authority are allocated in a country and it differs from country to country depending upon the type of government system that it is based upon, for example, in an authoritarian government the state would have control over all the affairs of the country while under a democracy most of the supreme power would be in the hands of the people.
Although, the word democracy implies complete autonomy and independence where the people maintain power through their elected representatives, many countries today claim that they are democratic when they actually aren't, for example China, Iran and Cuba. These countries cannot be classified as democratic because they do not fulfil the basic criteria of democracy that is, the freedom of speech and expression. In China people don't have their basic rights to religion and cannot worship freely.
Therefore, a country claiming itself to be a democratic nation cannot be established as democratic until and unless it actually adopts all principles of a free nation.
2 comments:
Democracy as we follow it today does not put all it's focus on freedom of speech. The basic structure of a democratic nation allows a nation to be governed by a majority. Freedom of speech is directly in line with the interest of the said majority. In a country like Pakistan, even if we somehow succeed in constructing a democratic structure a cartoonist making a drawing of the Prophet under the guidelines of freedom of speech will still be prosecuted due to the uproar of the majority.
This being said I believe that democracy is a system of governance that simply projects the mindset of the masses. A nation can still be democratic even without upholding to the desired criteria mentioned in your blog.
I agree with a lot of what Kamil says and would add that the definition for democracy that you provide Samrah is rather narrow. The generally accepted definition of a democracy is a state that derives legitimacy through popular representation via voting. The specific aspects that democracies emphasize - be it freedom of speech, religion, assembly, etc. - vary depending on locale and particular interests.
Furthermore, various forms of elections are held in all three states that you mention, but two still self-identify with communism (Cuba & China) while Iran is a theocracy. But, as you've noted, democracy is about more than just elections and fundamental rights are critical to a democratic state's success.
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