Building a healthy political system is a complex and multi-dimensional process that requires constant rebalance of competitive priorities and values. Even the most resilient political systems require ongoing and dedicated attention to ensure that the needs of the population are met while the objectives in external affairs are reached. Healthy political systems are predominantly democracies, which imply a system of government by the whole population and eligible members of a state through elective representatives.
In such a political climate, the goals are set to facilitate the equality of opportunity and freedom of choice, expression, speech, or religion. This freedom is expected to embed into other areas of social, political, and even personal life of the population. The freedom of choice is a goal associated with having political leaders who will represent the interests of voters, ensuring checks and balances between governmental branches, as well as respect for individuals with significantly different views.
In a healthy political system, it is expected to reach such objectives as the freedom of press, clear limitations on what politicians can do, finding political leaders who will compromise for the sake of people and not corporations, as well as limits on taxations1. The focus of healthy political systems is placed on the well-being of people, which is why the mentioned goals imply the promotion of participatory, inclusive and representative processes and governmental institutions.
These institutions are expected to have greater accountability for the actions of politicians who were elected to act in the interests of people2. The improvement of developmental outcomes is reached with the help of democratic principles that facilitate the participation of populations.
Worldviews have been considered to influence political choices in multiple ways. Every worldview is associated with people’s own way of understanding and dealing with various aspects of life. Thus, in order to understand what worldview influences are the most conducive to a successful political system, it is imperative to understand various perspectives. In the naturalistic worldview in politics depends on the decisions of human beings in terms of coming up with their own ways of dealing with issues that arise in life. Therefore, politics within the naturalistic perspective are focused on temporal outcomes that promote the ultimate outcome of the natural order, which is the survival of humans as a species3.
On the other hand, the worldview of animism leans in the direction of tribalism. In order to work effectively, animistic politics imply the governance of small groups, tribes or family groups. In such groups, the leader is selected on the basis of age and experience. In theism, it is believed that God was the one responsible for forming the social order. The property of a political system that is based on theism, there are specific principles that guide the development of society and facilitate relations based on spiritual beliefs.
Due to the great degree of variance between the different worldviews, making conclusions regarding a healthy political system is complex. However, since it has been identified that a healthy political system focuses on the needs of people and their freedom of choice, an animistic worldview is the most fitting. In naturalistic politics, there is a secular government approach that promotes the principles of socialism, communism, and repressive dictatorship. However, in animism, the well-being of a group are highly valued, with the representatives of groups being chosen through a reflection on their life experiences and positive contributions they can make to society.
Stable and healthy political systems require the control of social, political, and economic development. This control can be facilitated with the help of political documents, legal codes, and other structural arrangements. The creation of a constitution is imperative to the healthy political system because it serves as the backbone for the governance of a country4. Without a constitution, law and jurisdiction will not hold up for prolonged periods of time because it represents an accumulation of principles and positive aspects that make a government healthy in the eyes of a nation. The constitution is also important for guiding the distribution of power, with each governmental body being responsible for a particular action.
Therefore, it forms the basic structure of the government through laying down the legal and cultural aspects under which the population and the governmental bodies will be governed. The executive, legislative, and judiciary powers are established in a constitution to ensure the smooth functioning of important governmental components.
A code of law is also necessary to form a healthy political system in order to cover a complete system of laws or a particular area of law. Both civil and criminal law should be covered in such a code to facilitate fair legislative practices. Based on the principles laid out in the institution and the code of law, a political structure is formed5. As mentioned previously, democracy is the desired structure for a healthy country because of its focus on the decisions made by people in terms of governmental development.
The shaping of a healthy economic structure implies the integration of economic arrangements to facilitate the successful development of people and their ultimate prosperity. The arrangements necessary to facilitate the well-being of the nation in a healthy political system include positive trade relationships with other countries, fair customs and taxation practices, as well as the equal distribution of national income and wealth. The arrangement to facilitate the uniform wealth distribution is especially important because of the significant gaps in the highest and the lowest-earning individuals in the majority of countries worldwide6.
Based on the recent findings, “income inequality in the United States has reached its highest level in the past fifty years”7. Despite the steady expansion of the economy in the past decade, the wealth of the highest-earning individuals increased further, having no impact on the boost earnings of the lowest-earning populations. These characteristics are indicative of an unhealthy political system that does not consider the needs of people living in inadequate conditions.
Positive trade relations with other countries characterize the arrangements that encourage the economic development of a system. Countries trade between each other to capitalize on the resources available to them. By developing and exploiting scarce domestic resources, countries can produce a surplus and trade it for the resources that they need8. Moreover, in cases when there are no local alternatives to goods that some countries require, the import is imperative. When states are effective to establish trade connections between each other and work towards the mutual economic benefit, they shape positive political systems that care about the needs of people.
In a healthy political system, models for political change are chosen on the basis of needs and the political landscape of a country. In the ever-changing political climate, there is a marketplace for political change, in which a wide range of states, including nondemocracies and non-Western democracies influencing the transitional trajectories. In countries such as Ukraine and Syria, political change was implemented at the expense of people’s lives because the government implemented violent and militarized action against the population that was aiming at changing the oligarchical regime. Violence targeted at the population in the period of political change is a characteristic of an unhealthy system.
In the context of a healthy political system, change is facilitated with the help of a model that encourages the exchange of information and elections. The combination of information and elections aligns with democratic principles, which value the choice made by the population9. The exchange of information among people represents a resource for understanding the aims of a change process and finding ways to facilitate it. As mentioned by Beer, data has come to play an important role in the process of political change because it reflects the issues that need to be addressed as well as attitudes of people toward the existing and the desired regime10. With the help of information, elections are carried in a healthy political system to facilitate change11. Elections are integral to the principles of democracy, which is why they are the vehicles to change that should be implemented in the context of a healthy political system.
International agreements are instruments by which countries and other international law subjects regulate issues of concern. While the agreements may take different forms, they all should be governed with the help of treaters’ law that are customary of international law. In order to facilitate positive relations with other countries, international treaties are the most frequently-used means of creating international rules and standards with which countries and other actors of international relations are expected to comply. In the context of modern international law, its enforcement of relations between countries is rooted in the universality of human rights through treaties.
Countries that participate in international agreements with other states imply the immediate and the strongest manifestation of will. The agreements create reciprocal rights and obligations of each party participating in a two-way relation. Healthy political systems are in some way involved in international order in order to be engaged in a global conversation about the issues that concern the worldwide community. This also involves the participation in international military organizations that work towards reaching safety and security of member-states and protecting them against viable threats12.
Governments operating within healthy political systems ensure that the international agreements and arrangements are implemented for the purpose of ensuring that the population of a given state benefits from the relationships with other countries. Furthermore, democratic principles dictate the involvement of people in the decision-making of their countries.
Because of this, prior to establishing international agreements with other parties, governments are expected to consult with the population, with the latter providing perspective on whether the partnership or relationship would be beneficial. It is important to note that the topic of healthy political systems has not been explored in research literature to the desired extent. It is recommended to increase the body of studies on the subject, with a specific emphasis placed on the perceptions of the public on what makes a political system healthy.
Bibliography
Beer, David. “Data and Political Change.” Towards Data Science, 2018. Web.
Dabla-Norris, Era, Kalpana Kochhar, Nujin Suphaphiphat, Frantisek Richa, and Evridiki Tsounta. “Causes and Consequences of Income Inequality: A Global Perspective.” IMF Staff Discussion Note 15, no. 13 (2015): 2-39.
Heeb, Gina. “US Income Inequality Jumps to Highest Level Ever Recorded.” Business Insider, 2019. Web.
IFT. “Why Free Trade?” Ifreetrade. Web.
Massey, Doreen, and Michael Rustin. “Elections and Political Change.” Soundings 59, no. 2 (2015): 12-22.
Nešović, Dragana, and Dušan Jerotijević. “Role and Importance of International Agreements in Regulating International Relations in Modern Conditions.” Economica 64, no. 3 (2018): 89-102.
“Our Healthy Democracy Framework.” Democracy Fund. Web.
Pop-Eleches, Grigore, and Graeme Robertson. “Information, Elections, and Political Change.” Comparative Politics 47, no. 4 (2015): 459-478.
United Nations Human Rights. “Human Rights and Constitution Making.” OHCHR. Web.
US AID. “Democracy, Human Rights and Governance Strategy.” USAID. Web.
Waldron, Jeremy. “The Rule of Law.” Plato Stanford. Web.
“Worldview and Politics.” Market Faith. Web.
Footnotes
- “Our Healthy Democracy Framework,” Democracy Fund. Web.
- US AID, “Democracy, Human Rights and Governance Strategy,” USAID. Web.
- “Worldview and Politics,” Market Faith. Web.
- United Nations Human Rights, “Human Rights and Constitution Making,” OHCHR. Web.
- Jeremy Waldron, “The Rule of Law,” Plato Stanford. Web.
- Era Dabla-Norris, Kalpana Kochhar, Nujin Suphaphiphat, Frantisek Richa, and Evridiki Tsounta, “Causes and Consequences of Income Inequality: A Global Perspective,” IMF Staff Discussion Note 15, no. 13 (2015): 2.
- Gina Heeb, “US Income Inequality Jumps to Highest Level Ever Recorded,” Business Insider, 2019. Web.
- IFT, “Why Free Trade?” Ifreetrade. Web.
- Grigore Pop-Eleches, and Graeme Robertson, “Information, Elections, and Political Change,” Comparative Politics 47, no. 4 (2015): 460.
- David Beer, “Data and Political Change,” Towards Data Science, 2018. Web.
- Doreen Massey and Michael Rustin, “Elections and Political Change,” Soundings 59, no. 2 (2015): 12.
- Dragana Nešović and Dušan Jerotijević, “Role and Importance of International Agreements in Regulating International Relations in Modern Conditions,” Economica 64, no. 3 (2018): 89.