Why Democracies Fail

I'd like to answer my critics before they accuse me of being an "American Hater." The United States Constitution is one of the most important political and legal documents ever written. It was visionary in that it is adaptive to the changing times, and further it implements strategies that provide an elaborate set of checks and balances that have preserved Freedom in America for over two centuries. An indepth analysis as to why this is, at this time, is out of the scope of the topic at hand.

Nations transitioning to Democracy generally face four fundamental challenges in the promotion of Human rights.

1. The challenge to integrate minorities and address horizontial inequality between ethnic groups or geographic regions.
   
2. The arbitrary exercise of power. When elite groups act as if they are above the law, or when elected representatives arbitrarily remove judges, civil servants and others, faith in Democracy weakens.
   
3. Neglecting to address the economic dimension of Human Rights.
   
4. Failing to deal adequately with the legacy of an authoritarian past can lead to a recurrence of violence and the reversal of Democratic rule.
   

While there are many challenges to an emerging Democracy, the ultimate goal is too not return to an authoritarian regime. And to this end, civil society organizations cannot by themselves provide all the answers. Reasonable progress requires a political framework conducive to Human Rights, and there is far more to that framework than democratic elections.

The way forward is a four part agenda for creating an Inclusive Democracy.

Protecting the rights of minorities and addressing Horizontal inequalities. These typically translate into discrimination and marginalization for minority groups. The lack of belonging spurs alienation from the political and economic system controlled by the majority.

1. Incorporating minority groups requires a more enlightened view of sharing economic and political recourses than a simple majoritorian Democracy.
   
2. Widening Participation and Expression. A precondition for building an Inclusive Democracy is ensuring the right to elect representatives. Another key element in deepening inclusive Democracies is a legal framework that protects the right to participation and free expression. Civil society orginizations and open media are vital for monitoring violations of rights. People's participation in local institutions including school boards is as important a feature in Democracy as free elections.
   
3. Implementing the Seperation of powers. When elected leaders behave like military rulers, arbitary power undermines a basic principle of Democracy, violating the checks and balances at the heart of Democratic Government.
   
4. Incorporating Human Rights into Economic Policy. These rights imply that economic policy must be open and transparent, allowing debate on the options and conferring the authority for the final decision on elected representatives.
   
   The following guide was in reference to the Human Development report 2000, published for the UNDP. So it would appear that Sen. Jim Webb was accurate in his assesment after the State of the Union address.
   
   “The president took us into this war recklessly,” Webb states, “We are now, as a nation, held hostage to the predictable — and predicted — disarray that has followed.”