Can Democracy be Successfully Exported by Force? A Sociology Essay

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This essay delves into the contentious issue of whether democracy can be effectively exported through the use of force, examining both the positive and negative aspects of this approach across various countries. The essay explores the concept of democracy, its different forms, and the role of citizen participation. It analyzes the factors that influence the establishment of democracy, including social, administrative, and economic considerations. The essay provides examples from countries like America, Norway, and others to illustrate the complexities and consequences of exporting democracy, including the impact of cultural and internal factors. The essay also discusses instances where forceful democracy export has failed, such as in Iraq and Afghanistan, highlighting the importance of considering internal conditions and cultural contexts. The essay concludes by emphasizing that while forceful democracy export can be successful in certain cases, it is more likely to fail and should be approached with caution.
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Running Head: SOCIOLOGY 0
IMPACT OF FORCEFUL DEMOCRACY:NEGATIVE OR POSITIVE
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SOCIOLOGY 1
In this essay, the emphasis will be based on the topic related to can democracy be effectively
exported by strength in relevance to the context of various countries in the world. The
concept relating to democracy is quite broadly analyzed in terms of its negative and positive
aspects. Further, the concern of democracy will be highlighted with the detailed examples of
either supporting it or contradicting upon it.
The conception of Democracy is a set of government process where the control or the
authority is in the hands of the citizens by the process of voting at various levels in the
country. It is a system that permits every citizen to engage in the presentation and invention
of the relevant laws (Reilly, 2016). When dealing with the direct kind of democracy, the
citizens are the ultimate authoritative body forming the governing body and the voting
system. It has two major general democratic forms of government that are classified on the
basis of representative and direct democracy. The direct democracy is where the involvement
of the people of the country for creating those laws which are for the betterment of the nation
and on the other hand, the people of the nation appoint their own representatives to take the
initiatives towards the creation of the laws (Jonsson & Lounsbury, 2016). Therefore, the
appointed official authorized individual will operate the governing body which is known as
the legislature.
It is stated that the term democracy is also based on the functioning of the Rule of the
majority because the actions are dependent on the individuals. When examining the system of
democracy which is a wider disputed term with respect to its outcome as the candidate has
been empowered to elect a suitable person without any pressure or control (Piccone , 2016).
In democracy, the unpredictability of the end result is in its nature. The particular aspect of
establishing democracy in any country is mainly decided on the circumstances of
remunerative, administrative and social factors (Lund, 2018).
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SOCIOLOGY 2
The importance of democracy in the contemporary world for many countries has been a
reasonable factor. The functioning of every sector such as business, education, industrial, etc.
in our day to day lives has only become successful due to the democratic system that has
relatively raised the economical division of those countries who have a democratic form of
government. Execution of such powerful system in nature is by giving an opportunity to
every individual of the country to represent themselves within the government. In relevance
to America, the government tried to contribute towards the unbound health care, communal
welfare, highways, etc to enhance the country and its people. The enforcement of appropriate
law within the society is the prior aspect in terms of democracy (Ruedin & D’Amato,, 2015).
Another significant factor that comes across is based on the equality of gender, sex religion
and, race, etc. which can only be created within democracy. So, there should not be any fear
or prejudice amongst the people of the country relating to their caste or religion because
democracy is meant to be furnished for every person and upon every religion not just for the
sake of one individual (DuckDuckGo, 2018). The concept of democracy will impact on a vast
level as it gives the same rights by diminishing the superior and the inferior element amongst
the people (Mason, 2017).
The two major principles of democracy relates to firstly the person who is holding the public
office or having official duties are practicing their power through the sanctioned authority as
they are appointed not by the method of inherent or force; secondly the procedure for altering
the government is done by means of undisturbed and conducting elections on a uniform basis
(enotes, 2019). The term democracy is not as an ideology but it rather focuses on how the
elected government and the law must function by the majority of the opinion.
The development of democracy in the modern sphere emerged within Britain and France then
expanded in the other nations. The most important purpose for the initiation of democracy
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SOCIOLOGY 3
was the disappointment from the conduct of criminality, and other negative effects which
resulted in the hindrance of the society. It also plays an effective role in the creation of the
sovereignty in the country which is based on the supreme power issued to the people that can
be contemplated as the major source of power which can shape and scatter the pillar of the
government. The provisions of democracy permit the association of the public in the making
of the final decision which in turn can rectify the needs, unfairness and on that base the
policies are invented (Habermas, 2015).
According to the demonstrated perspective of 2017, Norway is leading amongst the countries
of the world in aspect to the strongest democracy. Then, it has been followed further by
Iceland and Sweden. It is considering New Zealand on the fourth level with Denmark on the
fifth along with Canada and Ireland on heading towards the sixth level. Therefore, the
countries having the full democracies are Switzerland, Finland and, Australia. The noticeable
fall in the democracy of United States was based on the reason for perceiving low communal
confidence in the government and the functioning of the institutions of the public (Meernik,
2018). The bottom-most countries ranking in the hierarchy are North Korea with Chad and
Syria. Also, South Arabia is considered to be in the list of ten worst countries with the lowest
democracy.
The several aspects of democracy are estimated through each country’s electoral system, its
civil liberties, the operating of the government, political contribution and the political culture.
So, in the modern world the deficiency of the political contribution has been problematic for
the developed countries that identified the separation between the high levels of support of
the public for democracy across the world and showed the outcome of huge failure or
dissatisfaction within the functioning of the democratic systems.
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SOCIOLOGY 4
The democracy cannot be implemented by the use of actual force in relation to various
countries as this can affect in an adverse situation because it can create clashes amongst the
majority of the individuals who have different values and perception seeking to the form of
government. The democracy is mainly evaluated as the utmost power which is entirely
conferred to the individuals by exercising directly or indirectly through a procedure of
representation involving time to time free elections. The democracy was introduced in the
20th and the 21st period of the Ancient Greece where the United States took the responsibility
of acting weapon of democracy towards its advancement and the recommendation all around
world-wide. It is not possible to examine the triumph of exporting the forceful impact of
democracy in numerous cases dealing with the United States.
The question of whether democracy can become efficient by adapting force is a strong
contradictory element in its self. It is known to be dependent upon the freedom of choice
hence, the nation or a state cannot be democratic by using forceful methods such as through
the military exertion which will take away the liberties of the individuals and will negatively
affect the country. The counterstatement is clearly stating the conditions where democracy
has been exercised and still continues to be exported by the use of force and has unsuccessful
on the basis of many disapproved justification (Bezhan , 2015).
The failure has resulted in the consequences of the culture and its manner where the culture is
found to be of informal institution that exists with the official establishments involving
written laws and constitutions around the world. The collapse or the success of exporting
democracy by force is due to the internal factors like culture which is the prior existence of
the term democracy that intends to relate with the attitude and commitment of people with
their consent and dismissal and execution of the exterior presence. But it has been
successfully viewed the exporting democracy by the use of force in context of many countries
such as Japan, Italy and West Germany. However, the unsuccessful outcomes of such force is
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SOCIOLOGY 5
seen in relation to Iraq, Somalia, Afghanistan, and many others on whom the United States
had tried to establish a democratic system by force.
The view-point behind the concept of democracy is providing the individuals with freedom
i.e. the power to behave, express and anticipate in accordance with their desires. So, by
exporting the system of democracy through the military scheme that takes the ultimate
authority from the people and this result in the refusal of the democracy. The denial of using
the power to export democracy seems to give horrifying outcomes, which is seen and
indicated in Iraq (COYNE, 2008).
The research has determined the possible reasons upon failing of democratizing by the force
that disclosed the four major elements that need to be analyzed of a particular country. These
elements involve the interior factors of a state like Iran as not all authoritarian rules are
disagreed by their population. Therefore, if a population dislikes the change in government
policies and is not committed such will lead to alter the government authority or create a civil
war (Habermas, 2015). Followed by the internal context, the next element of proving the
failure of exporting democracy with the help of force is based on the aggression is observed
to be counterproductive indicating towards the population of the country is violently being
democratized with the help of external forces that develop conflicts towards the political
authority by deliberate external forces (Whitehead, 2015).
The third element is whether the concept of democracy is being established for the very first
time or it has been reintroduced which is extremely uncomplicated as a model of democracy
existed before the advent of the suppressing government, which can be identified as a
successful measure by force in aspect to West Germany and Italy. Eventually, the three
countries involving West Germany, Italy and Japan are examples of successes in terms of
exporting democracy by force (Lang, 2006). This comparatively seems to be more
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SOCIOLOGY 6
emphasized for the success of these three states and failure of the others is due to their great
levels of well-being and the low amount of cultural and spiritual differentiation amongst
them.
This proves that the internal structure of a country is dependent on its influential culture so, in
aspect to West Germany, Italy and Japan where the conditions were not on the basis of the
culture and deprived of differences of ethnic and religious that is the reason the democratic
government was simpler to establish. Furthermore, in the same manner, countries like Iraq
and Afghanistan divided between the ethnic and the religious class and steadily interrelated
by culture. Such culture issues have considerably restricted the re-development efforts of the
democratizing system by power, as each part of society’s foundation is devastated by the
Foreign Imposed Regime Change. Consequently, this has depressively failed in Iraq and
Afghanistan (Beetham, 2009).
The one big disapproval of exporting democracy by force is that the nations are exercising it
for the interest of the nation and diminishing the interest of the individuals. The attempt to
export democracy by force is seen as the bad example of being the biggest non-success today
in the country like Iraq after the 12 years of employment. An example showing the criticism
which was against the United States on several circumstances, relating to the Iraqi
employment, that believed to be more precise for the United States to conquer Iraq to have
full control over their oil that will raise their economy on a wider scale (Archibugi , 2009).
The exporting of democracy by the method of force is more expected to be unsuccessful than
it is to prosper. It is noticeable in seeking the history and its effects of long-standing result
which is generated upon the states (Box, 2015). In recognition to the realization of exporting
democracy by forceful means in Japan and Germany, the accomplishment is under obligation
towards the capitulating of the country like Japan after the demolition of its infrastructure,
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SOCIOLOGY 7
self-confidence, its financial system along with the high levels of welfare and low levels of
religious and ethnic imbalance. So, due to the demolition of the social structures in reference
Japan and Germany where they had no other option and to substitute with another form of
government.
The undemocratic countries cannot stay in power without the assistance of the political and
the economic which is recognizable in the instance of Saudi Arabia. It is along with the
holding up of Saudi Arabia with United States, where the most fundamentalist authority
became the strongest country within the gulf region. Due to the victory of the European
Union is to democratizing the states of Greece, Spain and, Portugal from the oppressive rule
through the measure of admission. So, a nation selects to separately to export democracy by
force, then allowing access for the possibility to follow their intention of fulfilling the aspect
of national interests and this also hides the actual purpose of the which was observed in the
case of Iraq where it had no Weapons for Mass Destruction. However, the object of the
United States to democratize the nation of Iraq which was leftover with emptiness and further
suffering caused to it that was visible enough in accordance with the activists.
In perceiving the scenario of Afghanistan and Iraq that failed in respect to their employment,
the United States made no efforts to consolidate with the locals and practiced the conflict
towards it. So, using such force is what the oppressive and the arbitrary authority are well-
known for and the fear which comes across to understand that there is no differentiation
between the autocracy and the term democracy. It shows that when one decides to use power
to initiate democracy a negation between its means and the ends occurs.
It is concluded from the above statement that democracy by force in many countries has
resulted in the destroying and contradictory towards the particular nation. The forceful
methods of democracy cannot be applied in relation to any country as this will create in the
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SOCIOLOGY 8
clashes amongst the people of the country while on the other hand this will impact on their
social, political, economic characteristics of the nation. So, the eradication of such force must
be implemented by adopting peaceful means as a substitution that will evolve the country
towards growth and success. Therefore, democracy cannot be exported by the use of force or
exertion that will indirectly give negative outcome and hindrance to the country and its
people.
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SOCIOLOGY 9
Bibliography
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[Online]
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495984
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SOCIOLOGY 11
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