13 minute read
Andres Eskenazi
What does democracy mean to me? A collection of essays by Florida International University students
Democracy is the worst form of government except all others.”
—Winston Churchill
—Simón Bolívar, Congress of Angostura
Democracy has evolved throughout history, taking on multiple meanings and perspectives and affecting varied types of civilizations around the world. To understand the concept of democracy, we must analyze its meaning and intention. Demos refers to the people or population of a certain state or civilization, and kratia means rule by. Thus, democracy refers to the government of the people or the rule of the majority
The word was first used to refer to the people and government of the Greek state. The democracy founded in the Greek empire represents a completely different system from the one that we practice today. Then, women and non-Greek citizens were not allowed to vote. Thus, the democratic process has evolved to more fully embody equality.
Today, the state of democracies around the world is one of the main topics in international politics because of democracy’s relationship with development, progress, stability, and peace. Multiple scholars argue that democracy around the world is in a period of retreat. For this reason, the expansion of democratic ideas and values has become more important in the current global sphere. In this essay, I explore the perspectives of recognized scholars and how those ideas interact with real-life examples. Additionally, I use my personal experiences to highlight the importance of democratic values around the world. I compare and contrast the ideas of Robert Dahl, Alexis de Tocqueville, Professor Palouš, and the class guest lecturers and reflect on my own experiences with democracy.
Throughout the semester, we discussed the essential role of democracy in different societies and civilizations. Robert Dahl holds that democracy is built on five principles: “effective participation, voting equality at the decisive stage, enlightened understanding, control of the agenda, and inclusiveness.” These are the pillars for a third democratic transformation. Is it possible or a utopian dream?
Dahl discusses the conditions for achieving this third democratic transformation. The free democracies of the world should work with nondemocratic governments, promoting pre-democratic institutions, human rights, education, independent institutions, organizational autonomy, the rule of law, and pluralism. The transition to democracy is a “slow process” that needs the cooperation of democracies around the world. For Dahl, democratization will take multiple years and should not be understand as a change taking weeks or months.
Democracies have been the subject of multiple critiques since the beginning of this political system in Ancient Greece. Among the most common arguments against democracy are that the masses are ignorant and so are incapable of self-rule, some people are more qualified than others to rule, and it leads to the possibility of nondemocratic regimes. In this context, it is very important to analyze the ideas of Aristotle, who was the first critic to highlight the problems of democracies. For Aristotle, aristocracy is necessary because only the people who are already wealthy can govern successfully. Putting less wealthy people into positions of power would contribute to corruption. Even though this argument was first applied more than 2,000 years ago, many citizens and scholars still apply Aristotle’s ideas to describe the problems that democracies face today.
Democracy is based on the notion that the will of the people controls the fate of the state. For many people, this means that democracy relies on the rationality of the majority of voters. Is everyone capable of rationally making the best
* Andres Eskenazi was born in 1998 in Caracas. Growing up in Venezuela, Andres developed interests in law, politics, and policy making. Andres graduated summa cum laude from Florida International University with a B.A. in political science and international relations. He received several awards during his college career, including the Civic Engagement Medallion of Distinction, the Global Learning Medallion, the Fausto B. Gomez Scholarship in Political Science, and the William T. Jerome Gomez Scholarship in Political Science. Currently, Andres is a Dean’s Scholar student at the FIU College of Law and is looking to expand his knowledge of real estate law, corporate law, and business litigation.
Václav Havel Program for Human Rights & Diplomacy Steven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs
decisions for their nation? Many would argue that the election of ineffective leaders by irrational voters is the main threat to society. Historically, many democratic processes have led their nations to massive economic crises, dictatorships, kleptocracies, and war. One of the main examples to support this claim is the emergence of populism in Latin America. Kurt Weyland argues, “The rise of populist leaders gained the quick support of the middle and low classes through social welfare programs. In the majority of cases, the lower classes were highly excluded in the past from the political decisions by the democratically elected governments. These characteristics evolved into the rise of leadership that took advantage of the high resentments and gaps within society to achieve political power” (Weyland 2013). This type of government spread throughout the continent to Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, Argentina, Brazil, and Nicaragua. Most of their leaders— Chavez and Maduro in Venezuela, Evo Morales in Bolivia, Correa in Ecuador, and Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua—promoted constitutional changes that enabled them to be re-elected indefinitely, hijacked political institutions, increased political oppression, banned political parties, and persecuted opposition leaders, all to establish authoritarian regimes. Another crucial example is the emergence of Nazism in Germany during the twentieth century. The rise of Adolf Hitler as a democratically elected leader also contributes to this debate on the rationality of the democratic system: he gained power through free democratic elections, which brought unimaginable consequences for the world.
In the case of U.S. democracy, many citizens consider the system unfair because of the multiple problems in American society. These include the role of the corporations, the Electoral College as distorting the will of the people, political polarization caused by a twoparty system, polarization fostered by the media, racism, and inequality. Yet, many other people consider the United States as the perfect example of a functioning democracy. Even though it has many flaws, it is the oldest democracy in history. The United States is considered by many as an example of values, freedoms, rule of law, and institutionalism for the world. The 2019 Freedom House Report concluded that “this is the 13th consecutive year in which democracy around the world has declined. The main causes explained are related to the rise of anti-democratic leaders, authoritarianism, populism, repression, and human rights violations”; yet it found the same conditions in the United States (Freedom House 2019, 1–3). The report mentions “the influence of the Trump administration in developing anti-democratic conducts that might weaken the democratic institutions of the nation. For example, the anti-immigrant sentiments and policies, the constant public attacks to the media, self-dealing, conflict of interests, among many other factors” (17–24). This analysis paints a gloomy picture for the current state of democracy around the world and the expectations of global democratization.
Alexis De Tocqueville’s Democracy in America is one of the most important works in understanding the foundations of American democracy. Although written in 1835, his descriptions of American media, intellectualism, “transitory culture,” racism, capitalism, and the role of women are considered very relevant to today’s democracy. His book is based on his visit to the United States as part of a diplomatic mission by the French government to study aspects of American society. De Tocqueville explains the main differences between America and Europe and shows that they are cause of the success of American democracy. Among those differences are the freedom of association, decentralization, anti-intellectualism, equality of education, that all politics are local, the lack of entrenched wealth, and that American society was born of ideas rather than history. Tocqueville (2000, 407–8) defines American society as equal, based on the “lack of class resentment, equality on the level of education among citizens, no complaints against property, practicality, and the decentralization of intellectual life” , De He emphasizes “the lack of an aristocratic class in power, the fair payment of governmental officers, the genuine freedom of discussion, among many others as the causes for equality and democratic success in America” (194–97). These characteristics reinforce the democratic notion of the United States. Yet Tocqueville also mentions flaws of American democracy such as
What does democracy mean to me? A collection of essays by Florida International University students
the promotion of mediocrity and less exceptional leaders, material abundance, and the dangers of a “tyranny of the majority.”
Growing up in an authoritarian regime has completely shaped my perspectives and visions of global democracy. I was born in Venezuela just a few months before the election of Hugo Chavez as president of the nation. For more than eighteen years, I experienced the demise of the nation’s democratic institutions, constant human rights violations, the extreme censorship of local media corporations, the imprisonment of thousands of political prisoners, and massive repression of peaceful protests, among many other atrocities. I believe that living in those circumstances is completely different than reading about them in a textbook or newspaper. Moreover, the appreciation of democratic values and freedoms completely changes under those scenarios. I was never able to participate in free elections. Thus, my perceptions completely changed when I decided to move to the United States, which gave me the opportunity to perceive a democratic election in 2016 for the first time.
Throughout the semester, we discussed undemocratic nations and the required mechanisms for political transitions. The guidance of Professor Palouš helped me analyze patterns of democratic transitions around the world. Coming from the Czech Republic, the professor devoted several class sessions to the development of democracy in his home country and the ability of younger generations to achieve changes to authoritarianism and dictatorship. We also learned from the personal experiences of a former diplomat, ambassador to the United Nations, and an active participant of the Charter 77 movement. We discussed the importance of the Velvet Revolution and the role of former President Vaclav Havel as examples of democratic values. The Velvet Revolution was a nonviolent movement that ended forty-one years of one-party rule in Czechoslovakia: it ended communism and started the transitional path to democracy. Having the opportunity to learn about this process from its protagonists completely affected my way of understanding political transitions. Likewise, the shared experiences of other students and guest speakers served as complementary backgrounds to a very complex discussion of democracy, political transitions, and human rights. I completely identified with the experiences of Professor Palouš because we were both affected by undemocratic regimes in our youth. My experience helped me understand that I can also be part of a similar change in my country not only in theory but also in practice.
Our class discussions also helped me better understand the case studies of Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, which are important elements of American foreign policy today. We had the opportunity to hear from many recognized scholars in the fields of human rights and democracy, such as Rosa Maria Payá and Orlando Gutierrez, who highlighted the critical situation in Cuba. We analyzed the repercussions of Castro’s revolution and communism in the Latin American region. From the personal experiences of the scholars, we compared the peaceful Velvet Revolution with opposition movements in Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua. We also contrasted the dictatorships of the twentieth century and those of the twenty-first century to determine the best ways to make transitions from them. These discussions expanded my knowledge of the fight for democracy in these countries. I was particularly influenced by the transatlantic discussion of democracy in Brussels in 2019; I came to realize the deep gaps in international law and organization in undemocratic states. The ideas of Rosa Maria Paya and Professor Palouš made me realize the continuing failures of the international community to look for viable solutions to solve the humanitarian catastrophes in countries like Cuba and Venezuela.
As someone who has experienced both democratic and authoritarian regimes, I strongly believe that democratic values are essential for global stability and progress. The successful implementation of democratic values and freedoms around the world depends on the strengthening of institutions, the balance of power, the rule of law, a fair judiciary, promotion of human rights, and investing in education. These would prevent democratic states from sliding into nondemocratic or authoritarian regimes. These societal institutions were not strengthened in Latin American democracy during the twentieth century, which caused the eruption of a wave of nondemocratic governments throughout the region.
Democratic values have been shown throughout history as being based in strong educational systems. For this reason, many countries that lack strong public education systems
Václav Havel Program for Human Rights & Diplomacy Steven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs
cannot successfully make the transition to democracy; this is the case with states in Africa and the Middle East. For example, the Arab Spring represented a hope for the democratization of many authoritarian states, yet it led to more instability, domestic conflict, and, in many cases, civil wars. Thus, the expansion of new international efforts and mechanisms to implement public educational systems is essential for the transitional democratic process. I agree with the argument of Robert Dahl that democracy as a “longterm process,” especially in countries that lack historical antecedents and democratic values.
In my opinion, democracy should not be described merely as a “political process of elections.” Instead, it goes hand in hand with human rights, minority rights, equality, individual rights, freedom of expression, active cooperation and compromise, citizen rule, and the free ability to participate. Many countries around the world are considered as “democratic” for the simple reason that they hold elections. Yet, multiple countries like Cuba, Russia, China, Venezuela, and Nicaragua promote elections that are not free and do not represent the will of their people. The governments of those countries hide their nondemocratic values behind fake elections. Henceforth, the international community and organizations should penalize those states that diminish the possibility of their citizens to choose their fate. A democracy is more than a political process: it is an essential part of the values, freedoms, and beliefs that every society should have.
The effects of democracy have been historically proven as beneficial for societies around the world. These benefits are shown in measures of increased growth, development, stability, peace, cooperation, trade, foreign direct investment (FDI), individual independence, and happiness of the population. These distinctive and essential characteristics of successful societies tend to grow exponentially in democracies. Even though there exist economic “outliers” to this theory, democratic institutions are more capable of achieving these goals. Economic, social, and political stability are more likely to happen under strong institutions that provide the rule of law, particularly a fair judiciary system that reduces the incidence of corruption, embezzlement, and conflicts of interests.
To conclude, the democratic system has been proven to correct multiple flaws and contradictions throughout history. Societies that oppose democracy tend to fail not only in the political sphere but also in social, economic, human, religious, ethical, and moral arenas. The political scholars discussed here emphasize the ability of democracy to create better societies. We are living in a world in which democratic values are jeopardized by abuses of power, unfair elections, human rights violations, and poor education, among many other factors. Democracies are not perfect yet are the only international model that can attest for individual rights, separation of powers, transparency, and peace. Thus, it is crucial to take action to prepare future generations to help authoritarian states make the transition to democracy. The best way to do this is to recognize the imperfections of the democratic system, which will guide us in creating better alternatives. Some of the actions that can be taken to strengthen and protect democratic values are “encouraging human rights protection at home, investing in civic education, investing in electoral infrastructure to guard against interfering in the ballots, preventing misinformation through strong and impartial media corporations, and strengthening the laws that guard a nation over foreign influences that compromise transparency” (Freedom House 2019 27–28).
Works Cited Freedom House. 2019, February 6. “Freedom in the World 2019.” Freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/Feb2019_FH_FITW_2019_Report_ ForWeb-compressed.pdf.
Weyland, Kurt. 2013, July 15. “Why Latin America Is Becoming Less Democratic.” The Atlantic.
