Political Science Assignment

Ques 1.

How do you contextualize the term democracy? Give a detailed account of the democratic set
up from early times to the contemporaneous era citing examples and case studies to support
your claim.

Ans.

State is a polity that maintains a monopoly on the legitimate use of violence, although other
definitions are not uncommon.

It can be classified into 3 types :

1 Incomplete State: In an incomplete state there is no law and order to regulate the behaviour
of the society. For example, before the social contract was entered into, the state was
incomplete as there was no law and order, people used to live in a state of nature.’ The
concept of state of nature has been propagated by Thomas Hobbes, John Locke and J.J.
Rousseau.

2 Complete State: In a complete state, there is law to regulate the behaviour of the people.
The laws are made by the monarch. In modern world, there are laws to regulate the society.
For instance, there is penal law to punish deviants who violate public morality in terms of
murder, rape, acid attack and so on.

3 Enlightened State: In an enlightened state, the monarch is the embodiment of justice.

Therefore, in this form of state, there is no need for law and order. For example, in the divine
origin theory the monarch has been exaggerated as the representative of God on earth and
State being a divine institution. The monarch’s wish is binding upon his subjects (people) and
hence law and order is not required since his commands are binding on everyone.

On the basis of power States can be classified as Totalitarian, Authoritarian, Monarchy and
Democracy.

Aristotle’s Doctrine of Political Change

The doctrine has 6 stages. The six stages are given below:
1 Monarchy: In a monarchical set up there is a King or Queen who treat the people as their
subjects. The system can be good or bad as the monarch can either look after his subjects or
exploit them. For e.g., the French Revolution (1789) occurred due to the inefficiency of King
Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette.

2 Tyranny: In this form of rule there is the absolute rule of the ruler. The ruler’s wish is the
command of the people. The liberties of the people are not considered at all. For example,
Fascism in Italy (1922-1943) believed in the principle of ‘State as means and Individuals as
end’ that means the ideology of the ruler is the ideology of the state and all people have to
accept it.

3 Aristocracy: In this form the rulers are people who hold high social rank. They are wise
enough to make decisions for the public. For example, the Royal British Family comes under
aristocracy since they hold higher social rank and the principle of hereditary is followed i.e.,
the eldest son/daughter will be the monarch’s successor. In this aspect, Queen Elizabeth II is
the successor of King George the VI and she will be succeeded by Prince Charles of Whales.

4 Oligarchy: In this the rule of a few people (may be 10 or 12). The rulers dominate the
market as well. For example, China is an oligarchy. The religion-based Chinese oligarchy
regained control after the death of Mao Tse-Tung in 1976. Claiming to be descendants of
Taoism’s “Eight Immortals,” members of the so-called “Shanghai gang” oligarchs control
most state-owned corporations, consult on and profit from business deals, and intermarry in
order to maintain their relationship to the Immortals.

5 Polity: In this there is a rebellion of people to snatch power. This happens when the people
are fed up of their exploitation, if any, by the rulers. For example, the Proletariat dictatorship
in Marxism. The working class, at the end of the ideology, is fed up of its exploitation by the
capitalists that they have a desire to usurp power. Another example is the Russian Revolution
of 1917 under Vladimir Lenin to throw off the Tzar.

6 Democracy: Finally, there is democracy in which people who are sovereign, elect their
government who represents them at the higher institutional level and draft policies as per the
requirements of its voters. In case the government is not able to meet the expectations of the
public, then the option of anti-incumbency is always available. For example, India, USA,
Japan, etc. follow democracy to elect their representatives.
 Requisites of Democracy:

The following are the requisites of a true democracy:

1 Representative Government: In a democracy, the government is the representative of the

people since it is elected by them. It represents the mood of the public in the legislature and
makes policies as per the wishes of the people. India for example, the largest democracy,
elects its representative (Prime Minister) after every five years.

2 Equality: In a democracy, each and every person is considered to be equal. He or She is not
supposed to be discriminated on the basis of gender, place of birth, religion, etc. The term
‘equality’ came after the French Revolution declaring everyone to be equal. The term was
incorporated in the Declaration of Peace. For instance, India in its preamble declares to
achieve equality for all its citizens.

3 Fraternity: In a democracy, everyone lives in fraternity i.e., brotherhood without any

prejudice for each other. The term ‘fraternity’ also came after the French Revolution of 1789.
This was incorporated in the Declaration of Peace. Countries like India which have multiple
diversities follow this ideal to maintain peace and tranquillity in the country.

4 Fundamental Rights of the People: In a democracy, all people are given a set of
Fundamental Rights. For example, the Third Part Indian Constitution, grants a set of
Fundamental Rights to its people that are

• Right to Equality

• Right to Freedom

• Right against Exploitation

• Right to Freedom of Religion

• Right to Cultural Education

• Right to Constitutional Remedies

The concept of Fundamental Rights was adopted from the ‘Bill of Rights’ in the U.S.
Constitution.

5 Liberty: In a democracy, basic civil liberties are ensured to the people in terms of vote,
expression, faith and gender. Liberty to press and media is also ensured which is another
hallmark of a true democracy. Liberty as well was incorporated into the ‘Declaration of
Peace’ that was signed after the French Revolution. India aims to achieve liberty in respect of
thought, faith and expression as per the preamble of the Indian Constitution. This is a
hallmark of a valid democracy and also essential in terms of avoiding conflict in its diversity.

6 Independence of Judiciary: The judiciary should be independent in a democracy so that it

can resolve disputes through application of laws of government and general public as well
without any fear or favour. In India judiciary is said to be independent as the judges are well
paid, their decisions or conduct cannot be discussed in the legislature until or unless they are
being impeached.

7 Welfare State: Lastly, a democracy is a welfare state since it is committed to ensure welfare
of the public in terms of allocation of resources to all the members of the society. India is a
welfare state since it aims to achieve social equality and gives equality of opportunity to all
its citizens without any discrimination on the grounds of caste, class, religion, gender and
place of birth.

Kinds of Democracy

There are two kinds of democracies:

1 Direct Democracy: Direct democracy is where citizens themselves vote for or against
specific proposals or laws. Ancient Greece followed this system.

2 Indirect Democracy: Indirect democracy, or representative democracy, is when citizens

elect representatives to make laws for them. Most countries follow this system today i.e.,
Japan, India, USA, UK to name some.

Merits of Democracy

1 Representative and Responsible Government: A democracy is considered to be the best

system since the people are able to develop an organised, representative and responsible
government.

2 Full Participation of the Public: In a democracy, all the people are equal partners in
organising, working and controlling the government. For example, the 2019 Lok Sabha
Election’s voter turn out was 67% which is the highest ever displaying the involvement of the
Indians in the country’s political process.

3 Peaceful Change of Government: In it, the people get a chance to change the government,
after regular intervals. Periodic, secret, free and fair elections ensure such an opportunity. In
2014 for example, the UPA under Dr, Manmohan Singh was removed and in place of it the
NDA Government under the leadership of Narendra Modi was brought to power.

4 Political Education for all the People: A democracy provides adequate to the people by
involving them in the activities of the political system. For example, during the First General
Elections (1951-1952) everyone was trained regarding the election process.

5 Little Chances of Revolution: A democracy provides little opportunity to the public to plan
and stage revolutions. In contemporary India, for example, no revolution has been planned or
staged yet.

Demerits of Democracy

1 Minority Voice not Heard: A major demerit of a democracy is that it does not takes into the
consideration of the minority while taking any decision. The principle of First Past the Post
System or Simple Majority Vote Victory System is followed in a democracy i.e., only
majority is heard of while making anu decision.

2 Delay in Decision-making: Another demerit of a democracy is that there are delays in

decision-making since all the decisions have to pass through various deliberations and checks
and balances in the system. In India, the political executive has to face questions in the
parliament for each and every decision that delays the implementation of policies framed by
it.

3 Equality is a Myth: Critics advocate that equality is neither possible nor really desirable.
All the people are not equally capable of exercising political power. For example, if a person
is of unsound mind, he cannot hold the office of the President, Prime Minister, judge or even
as an MP or MLA. Therefore, even if law views everyone equal inequality is still embedded.

4 Weak Government: The government in a democracy is considered to be weak since it has

to undergo various political, social, economic checks and balances placed upon it. For
example, someone may challenge a law framed by the government in the judiciary even if its
beneficial or not.

5 Expensive System: Democracy is an expensive system since the elections involve a lot of
expenditure on the part of the government which organises and contest the elections. The
Government of India for example, spends in crores for each and every election that take place
after every five years.

6 Evil of Party Politics: The political parties and interest groups keep the people fragmented
and give rise to the problem of maintaining national unity and integrity. For example, some
political parties like SP, BSP and the Congress follow minority (Muslim) appeasement policy
in order to use them as their vote bank. The best example in this aspect is of turning the
Supreme Court’s decision of Shah Bano case on its head in the Parliament by the then present
Congress leadership under Rajiv Gandhi.

In conclusion, according to Winston Churchill, “Democracy is the worst form of government

until or unless some other experiment is conducted.”

Lord Acton stated in 1628, “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”