An Analysis of Democracy's Role in Protecting Minority Rights Globally

This essay delves into the nature of democracy, focusing on its role in representing and protecting the rights of ethnic and religious minorities. It explores the challenges these groups face, including discrimination in various aspects of social life, such as healthcare, education, and employment, as well as communication gaps and lack of access to quality standards of life. The essay examines how democracy, once considered outstanding, has been undermined by threats to religious and ethnic minorities, and how political agendas like secularism and multiculturalism have evolved. It discusses specific examples, such as Australia's approach to human rights and China's policies towards ethnic and religious communities. The paper also analyzes the concepts of liberal and consociational democracy, highlighting their strengths and weaknesses in addressing the complexities of diversity and power-sharing. The essay concludes by emphasizing the need for continuous efforts to extend the implementation of democratic values and beliefs to ensure freedom and justice for all.

Running head: ESSAY 0
NATURE OF DEMOCRACY
OCTOBER 17, 2019
STUDENT DETAILS:

ESSAY 1
The democracy is supposed to be rule of persons, for persons and by persons. However, the
individuals require understanding of politics to rule efficiently. In a case when the people know
little or nothing about government, it becomes difficult to hold political leaders accountable for
their performance. Even in the present time of new threat to the democracy, the social
movements are increasing an extent of democratic insertion everywhere in the world. They play
significant role in multigenerational transformation in how the rights of ethnic and religious
minorities are identified as well as upheld in the practices in the world. They are not required to
be placed where they were already preserved. In the following parts, the role of democracies to
represent view of ethnic and religious minorities is discussed and critically examined.
Most of the religious minorities can also be considered by ethnic differentiation from majority
inhabitants. The minority religion is considered as the religion held by the minority of the
people of states, regions, as well as nation1. The minority religion can be a matter of
discrimination and stigma. Additionally, the ethnic minority is considered as the group of
individuals who differ in term of colour, race, age, nationality, religion, as well as
cultural origin from dominant groups. The ethnic and religious minority groups face
discrimination in different fields of the social life such as health services, education, housing and
employment. They face challenges in getting higher education. They are greatly affected in
comparison of other population. They also can have communication gap such as between doctors
and minority groups. They are also not able to get higher quality standard of life. The ethnic as
well as religious community can wish for external protection such as land claim, assured
presentation, self-administration rights as well as exemptions form specific laws to end the
1 Salter, Marker. “Democracy for all? Minority rights and democratization”
https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/democracy-for-all-minority-rights-and-democratisation/ (Accessed October
23, 2019)

ESSAY 2
susceptibility to financial and political powers. When the cultural sensitivity is significant, the
democracy should play its significant part. The democracy that was once considered outstanding
has been undermined by the threat to religious as well as ethnic minorities2.
The political agenda of secularism along with multiculturalism appear to have adopted similar
ways in the political creation as well as implication3. The citizens of Australia are well satisfied
with the security provided to their human rights. It indicates a satisfactory nature of the
democracy or judicial system in protecting the human rights of people. Occasionally, it can see
that certain groups, specifically the ethnic and religious minorities have legal complaint that
Australian democracy does not protect their human rights. The religious pluralism as well as
changes in religious communities such as Muslim groups is taking place in Australia. The sense
of this development for a concept of social cohesion as well as nationality is considered as the
possible effects on social consistency developing from a lack of the bill of protecting rights of
minority group. Australia does not put focus on the problem of securing the ethnic and religious
minority rights. Nevertheless, Australia does not consider judicial administration for securing the
minority rights4. Even though the human rights legal regime secures certain personal rights, it
does not provide security to the minority communities. It is required by Australia to establish
more particular minority rights security scheme, particularly in respect of modifying racial
demographic5. The recent modern democracy sums up various alterations in democratic
experiences that look for accommodate pluralism. This is the way of powers sharing through the
2 Valadez, Deliberative Democracy, Political Legitimacy, And Self-determination, 95
3 Taras and Ganguly. Understanding ethnic conflict, 84
4 Martikainen, Multilevel and pluricentric network governance of religion, 141-154
5 Arend, Lijphart. “CONSTITUTIONAL DESIGN FOR DIVIDED SOCIETIES”
https://sites.hks.harvard.edu/fs/pnorris/Acrobat/stm103%20articles/lijphart%20Constitutional_Design.pdf
(Accessed October 23, 2019)

ESSAY 3
numerous balances of powers amongst plural community. The concept of consociational
democracy is great substitute to the majoritarian kind of democracy. The consociational
democracy is suitable for superior government in plural communities categorized into ethnic,
religious and cultural differences, wherever the communities are simply exclusive. It is created
on a principle of power sharing and some level of self-management for all the groups6.
In addition, the government of China is making an effort to the transform religion, Sinocise
religion as well as ethnicity in the communities of China in the scheme more determined than
Cultural Revolution of Mao7. The scope of this campaign is wonderful. The government of USA
has tool to increase the pressure as well as cost on China8. The administration can also impose
sanction on senior official of China for human right abuse as per the Global Magnitsky Act.
Chen Quanguo (Xinjiang Communist Party Secretary) has now expanded them against Muslim
minorities, is one of the key targets. In this way, USA is required to be well-equipped to state the
issues of ethnic and religious community of China. These issues have been hindered by the
decade of planned inactivity9. The government is required to make strategies as well as
approaches to solve the issues. The main objective of the strategy is to increase the interest of
ethnic and religious minority10. These strategies are helpful to keep USA in a best possible
strategic post notwithstanding how China performs. For the instance, the government fund of
China operates approximately six hundred language schemes embedded in educational
organizations of USA. These strategies are normally helpful in ignoring critical problems like the
fact that Beijing is presently having above one million ethnic minorities in the internment campi.
6 Bauböck and Rundell, Blurred boundaries, 48
7 Steen, Between past and future, 38
8 Koening, Democracy and human rights in multicultural societies, 25
9 Ng Tseung and Verkuytan, Multiculturalism, Mauritian style: Cultural diversity, belonging, and a secular state.
659-701
10 Belge and Karakoc, Minorities in the Middle East: Ethnicity, religion, and support for authoritarianism, 280-292
i

ESSAY 4
Moreover, the main problem is that minority community including Muslim community has no
powerful fundamental rights. No judicial system is framed to provide respect to the ethnic and
religious minority. Some minority groups take over the wealth of nation while discriminating
against majority and controlling all the administrative powers. It is significantly unjust. The
claim for external protection is unjust. The liberal democracy face various problems related to
ethno cultural diversity11. The liberal democracy aims at the protection of fundamental needs and
human rights of ethnic as well as religious minorities. It helps in promoting the view and interest
of the wide population along with ethnic as well as religious minorities. The modern democracy
assures the legal identification of the ethnic and religious minority groups. It defines the
individual rights involving limited individual rights. The liberal democratic principles render the
protection to the ethnic and religious minority group. It points the numerous sources of
instability. It also saves the minority group from external pressure. In addition, the democracy
imposes limitations to uphold the individual rights. The government also renders public benefits
to ethnic as well as religious minorities12.
In conclusion, the absence of faith in a legal system may lead the failure to handle social issues
related to ethic and religious minority groups13. In this way, a present moment has not only
danger, however also opportunities for the democracy. The modern democracy needs
unremitting efforts to thrive. It also requires continuous desire to widen as well as extend the
implementation of values and beliefs. The prospect of democracy is based on the capability to
state that it is above the set of bare-minimum defenses against the worst abuse of ethnic and
religious minorities. The modern democracy should assure the freedom to live.
11 Villiers, De Bertus. ‘Language, Cultural and Religious Minorities: What and Who are They?”
http://www5.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/UWALawRw/2012/4.pdf (Accessed October 23, 2019)
12 Abebe, The last post-Cold War socialist federation, 75
13 ? Basu, The challenge of local feminisms, 85

ESSAY 5
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Basu, Amrita. The challenge of local feminisms: Women's movements in global perspective.
Routledge, 2018.
Bauböck, Rainer, and John Rundell, eds. Blurred boundaries: Migration, ethnicity, citizenship.
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Belge, Ceren, and Ekrem Karakoç. "Minorities in the Middle East: Ethnicity, religion, and
support for authoritarianism." Political Research Quarterly 68, no. 2 (2015)
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Ng Tseung-Wong, Caroline, and Maykel Verkuyten. "Multiculturalism, Mauritian style: Cultural
diversity, belonging, and a secular state." American Behavioral Scientist 59, no. 6 (2015)

ESSAY 6
Salter, Marker. “Democracy for all? Minority rights and democratization”
https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/democracy-for-all-minority-rights-and-democratisation/
(Accessed October 23, 2019)
Steen, Anton. Between past and future: elites, democracy and the state in post-communist
countries: a comparison of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Routledge, 2019.
Taras, Raymond, and Rajat Ganguly. Understanding ethnic conflict. Routledge, 2015.
Valadez, Jorge. Deliberative Democracy, Political Legitimacy, And Self-determination. In Multi-
cultural Societies. Routledge, 2018.
Villiers, De Bertus. ‘Language, Cultural and Religious Minorities: What and Who are They?”
http://www5.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/UWALawRw/2012/4.pdf (Accessed October 23, 2019)