Democratization of the Bahamas

The democratization process of the Bahamas is somewhat convoluted. On the one hand, this tiny island recognizes the Queen of England as its monarch (The Commonwealth, 2016). On the other, it has a dual party parliament that enables a fair amount of democracy. A brief overview of the history of this country alludes to some of its political complexity in relation to its democratic process. Firstly, the Bahamas was the island the Christopher Columbus initially landed on in 1492. Ever since that initial landing, the island has been colonized by various colonists. Colonial power eventually transferred from the Spanish to the British -- as such, the island became part of the British Commonwealth at the end of the 20th century (The Commonwealth, 2016). It is interesting to note that its status as part of the commonwealth helped to issue this country the amount of democracy that it currently has due to its parliamentary system. Democracy is a pivotal way to involve people in their government and to ensure that the latter actually benefits the former. Thus, President Obama stated that "we've urged all parties to work together to sustain...democratic institutions" (Birnbaum, 2016).

The complexity of the democratization process in the Bahamas is underscored by the fact that it has a parliamentary monarch with a constitution for its citizens (The Commonwealth, 2016). Viewed from this perspective, this system of government is technically a monarchy. However, the fact that it does feature a parliament and some of the conventional components of democracy -- such as a constitution -- evince the fact that the democratic process is certainly thriving in this part of the world. The best way to describe this system of government, which might appear contradictory otherwise, is to see it as a replica of the same government that exists throughout the United Kingdom, and in England in particular. This region still recognizes a monarch in the form of Queen Elizabeth II. However, it has a robust parliamentary system that greatly reduces the authority and involvement of this personage so that many aspects of the democratic process actually exist within it.

From a macrocosm perspective, the democratic process in the Bahamas is facilitated at a number of different level. Although the country formally recognizes the queen of England, it has a prime minster that acts as the head of the government (The Commonwealth, 2016). This prime minister is much more involved in the daily affairs of the country and its government than the Queen is. Parliament represents the legislative branch of the Bahamas. It is critical to note that these different entities within the government help to provide -- to a lesser extent -- a series of checks and balances of the authority of any individual much like that found within the three branches of the government of the United States. The prime minister is formally recognized as the leader of his or her cabinet, which itself represents the executive branch of government in the Bahamas. Furthermore, the parliament itself consists of a House of Assembly and of a Senate -- which is analogous to Congress in the U.S. Therefore, there are several different entities to the government and its branches in the Bahamas, which certainly helps to reinforce the democratic process which, in this instance, means that there are multiple avenues for the people to elect members of the government. Perhaps more so than any other facet of the democratic process, the direct input of the people through voting is emblematic of a true democracy.

Still, there are other aspects of the government in the Bahamas that reflect the fact that certain pivotal instances of the democratic process are at work. As previously mentioned, there is a constitution for this country which helps to enumerate certain rights for the people. In this respect the constitution acts as a means of preserving these basic rights, which is another means of circumscribing the autonomy of any of the individual facets of the government of the Bahamas. Limiting that individual power naturally extends it to the masses of the people, which is another key aspect of democratization: empowering the people and allowing them to exercise their sway in the governmental process. In fact, the correlation between the constitution of Bahamas and the democratic process is further underpinned by additional points of comparison between that document and the one existent in America. Both of these documents have strict provisions regarding civil liberties as they relate to the the media, speech, and religious freedom. In forms of government that are not democratic, these liberties do not exist or, if they do so, are extremely limited in how people can utilize them. Subsequently, the constitution in the Bahamas plays an integral role in the democratic process in this country (The Commonwealth, 2016), and remains one of the immutable means by which a country with a monarch is able to effect democratization.

There is another distinguishing trait of democratization that is reflected in the political process in the Bahamas, and which helps to secure the contributions of the individual people in that process. There are political parties within this country, much like their are in the U.S. This fact is extremely valuable in helping to further democratization in the former nation. Firstly, political parties denote the fact that there is a freedom of choice for involvement in politics in the Bahamas. If there were simply one political party such a statement would not not apply to this country. However, there are myriad political parties in this part of the world although, as is oftentimes the case, there some are more influential than the others.

The two most consistently powerful political parties on the island include the Progressive Liberal Party and the Free National Movement. As is typically the case with political parties, there is a definite partisan slant towards the tendencies of these respective factions. The Progress Liberal Party has a leftist slant that infuses its views and policies that it attempts to create; the other is much more conservative in its politics. Furthermore, the presence of these two parties is affected by the organization of numerous other parties, such as the Democratic National Alliance, the Coalition for Democratic reform and many others. Again, it is important to explicate the importance of political parties in a democratic process. The fact that there are myriad parties underlines the reality that the Bahamian people actually have a number of different options for effecting their political views and tendencies. These options are critical to allowing them to participate in politics in general. Additionally, the fact that political parties exists provides an avenue for the people of this country to vote and assert their sway in a government that might otherwise exclude them. Because they are able to select any variety of partisan tendencies, they are able to interact with the political system in a manner that is integral to the true meaning of democracy.

Finally, there are other aspects about the operation of the political system of the Bahamas that contributes to its democratization process. Perhaps one of the more important of these is the fact that the economy is largely based on two industries -- tourism and finance. This fact is significant because it alludes to some of the political allies that the Bahamas has, which is both the United States and the United Kingdom. These close ties with Westernized influences helps to fuel the principal industries in the Bahamas. Quite simply, a fair amount of the tourists that frequent the Bahamas and which help to provide a substantial source of revenue for the country's gross domestic product come from the U.S. and the U.K (Porter, 2013). The fact that both of these regions are democratic in nature certainly affects the number of tourists they have and the sort of business that takes place between them. One can infer that the U.S. and the U.K. would frequent the Bahamas as much as they do if the island was, say, communist. However, because it is a democratic nation and patterned after each of the more affluent parts of the world (the U.S. and the U.K.) (Nixon, 2011, p. 1), these countries are able to spur the tourism trade in the Bahamas. Moreover, Westernized culture in general tends to indulge in recreational activities on this island as well.

Finally, the other major industry of the Bahamas, finance, is another indicator of the democratic process at work in this country. The country has taken strong action to ensure that it attracts the attention of foreign investors. The government is attempting to encourage foreign investment to help stimulate its economy and to augment the tourism industry. These facts alone do not buttress the democratic process in this country, but when one considers that most of the investors are from countries that have democracies and encourage democratization around the world (such as the U.S.), the relationship between the financial prowess of the Bahamas and its democratic government become clear.

In summary, the Bahamas is a democratic country despite recognizing the Queen of England. It has numerous branches to its government, to balance their authority. It has multiple political processes to engage the people in politics. Furthermore, its chief industries are based on engaging other democratic countries, which underscores the degree of democracy that takes place in the Bahamas.

References

Birnbaum, M. (2016). Obama slammed Polish democracy on Friday. Here's how Polish TV proved him right. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/07/09/obama-slammed-polish-democracy-on-friday-heres-how-polish-tv-proved-him-right/

Fox, P. (2013). Off the tourist grid in the Bahamas. www.newyorktimes.com Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/03/travel/off-the-tourist-grid-in-the-bahamas.html?_r=0

Nixon, A. (2011). Imaginings in/of Paradise: Bahamian literature and the culture of a tourist economy. Anthurium: A Carribean Studies Journal. 8(1), 1-22.

The Commonwealth. (2016). Bahamas, the: Constitution and politics. http://thecommonwealth.org/ Retrieved from http://thecommonwealth.org/our-member-countries/bahamas/constitution-politics