Democracy

Running head:DEMOCRACY 1
Democracy
Student’s Name
Name of the Institution

DEMOCRACY 2
Definition and origin of democracy
Democracy is simply defined as a system of government where citizens exercise their
sovereign power through popular vote. In a system of democracy, citizens who have attained the
age of majority are allowed to express their opinion by casting votes where the opinion that
gathers majority of the votes cast is adopted. The origin of democracy can be traced back to the
Greek city of Athens where citizens assembled to discuss and make decisions on matters
regarding leadership (Bernard Crick,2002).Under the Athenian democracy, citizens would speak
and vote in the assembly that set the laws and regulations that governed the state. The democratic
system at the time was however discriminatory as it excluded women as well as slaves.
Evolution of democracy
Since its pioneering, democracy has evolved as different cultures and ages practiced their
own version of what they believed to be a democracy. For instance, during the middle ages,
Norwegians practiced what is referred to as frostrating. Similarly, Iceland practiced Althing
while medieval Ireland practiced Tuatha.The most significant era in democracy, however, came
in the 18th and 19th centuries as the English model of democracy underwent various changes. For
example, the parliament enacted the petition of right act which provided certain rights for the
previously marginalized subjects. It was also during this period that the Habeas Corpus Act was
passed by the parliament of England. Later on, the bill of rights was passed paving way for
modern day democracy. Among the items in the Bill of rights were liberties such as the freedom
of speech, regular elections as well as the limited authority of the monarchy.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, however, democracy was discriminatory as only a few
people were allowed to participate in elections. Additionally, the slave trade was being practiced

DEMOCRACY 3
by the various colonial governments at the time which was an indication that democracy had not
yet taken root. Slave trade came to an end in the 19th century as a result of the signing of the
slave trade act (An-Erik Lane, Svante Ersson,2003).
The twentieth century, however, marked a new dawn for democracy as cries for
independence took center stage. Additionally, the advocating for women’s suffrage in the 1920s
further strengthened democracy in countries such as America. The end of World War 2 saw the
decolonization of various countries in the Asian and African Continents. The newly independent
systems further adopted self-governance and embraced nominal democracy. The Eastern
European block, however, fell in the hands of dictators who were entirely opposed to the values
of democracy. The west put pressure on the Soviet Union to bring an end to their communist
ideals and adopt a capitalist and democratic approach towards governance.It was these
engagements that culminated in the cold war. Oppression and poor economic conditions,
however, saw opposition grow against the Soviet Union which consequently led to its fall
bringing an end to the cold war in 1991 (Temma Kaplan,2015).Countries formerly under the
Soviet Union embraced democratic ideals. A ripple effect was also felt globally as communist
countries in Africa and Asia also became more liberal. For instance, there was an increased
democratization in African countries such as South Africa which brought an end to the apartheid
regime in 1994.
Types of democracies
There exist various forms of democracy practiced by various governments in the modern
day world. All democracies, however, are structured in a manner that limits the amount of power
that the government holds. Scholars argue that a system is democratic if it includes the general