Summary
Democracy can be defined as a governance system that holds rulers accountable for their actions, while in public offices, this office holder’s access to office happens through competitive electioneering and this is what makes the difference between democratic and nondemocratic regimes. There must be written rules that inform of a constitution to govern and regulate office bearer’s actions as well as that of citizens. This body of laws calls for rulers to make publicly binding decisions and for them to work properly, they must be institutions to implement what has been decided. It is the rulers’ efforts and policies that determine the democratic ratings. It is not all regimes that are democratic or even attempt to follow these principles; many other forms of iron fist governance like dictatorial, autocratic, authoritarian systems exist.
Forms of Democracy
Democracy exists in two major forms there is the liberal democracy which is a very capitalistic economic approach in nature while the other form is a socialist democracy that embraces economic aspects like subsidies and collective property ownership. However, neither can be said to be more democratic than the other, the difference in their approach on economy. Either democracy should be practiced in moderation to avert a situation where democratic principles would be undermined by either too stringent or very lax rules. Competition is the key to defining the condition of democracy. The citizens will always make options between the competing sides in an elective contest. For democracy to be thriving there must be fair elections that are tallied honestly. Democracy is also identified with the rule of the majority; therefore, the ruling side must have more than half of the cast votes. There should be cooperation between all the actors in order to have harmony and achieve the set democratic and economic goals. The kind of representation in a democracy is based on constituencies, though in the real sense what matters is the functional interests whereby leaders will align themselves in line with those in the same school of thought.
Democratic Requirements
For a democracy to thrive there must be amongst others, control over government decisions, there should be regular free and fair elections, all adults should have right to vote, and still any willing adult should be allowed to contest. One important thing is freedom as there should be no any form of threat, harassment or intimidation on either the electorate or the elected leaders and most important no body should be victimized because of their political opinion. The writer tells us not to expect too much from democracies or overate them since it doesn’t mean that they are more administrative or economically efficient as compared to other forms of governance. It is not always that democracies will exhibit order, or the best form of stability. The kind of squabbles evident in other forms of governance will always manifest themselves in democracies. That means its not always that democracy will result to peace1.
Homosexuality
An article in the Daily Nation 29th January 2011. Statistics indicate that 25% of all new HIV infections in Kenya are related to homosexuality, thus making it a critical area in the fight against the spread of HIV Aids in Kenya. I conquer with the writer of the article about gays, there is usually a lot of stigmas that are associated with them and this is a stumbling block in the war against Aids since they cannot openly seek help on some matters of sexuality. Considering that homosexuality is illegal, gays will even shy away from seeking medical help in case of sexually transmitted illnesses for fear of reprimand encouraging their spread. Therefore, the government should not bury its head in the sand; it must first recognize and reach the gay community so as to fight the spread of the scourge together.
Bibliography
Gleditsch, Petter. Democracy and Peace. International Peace Research institute. “Sage Publications.” 29 (1992): 369-376. Web.
Footnotes
- Gleditsch, Petter. Democracy and Peace. International Peace Research institute. “Sage Publications.” 29 (1992): 369-376. Web.