Models of Democracy in the U S

¶ … Democracy in America

Democracy is a term whose origin can be traced to Ancient Greece where it was used to refer to power or rule from people. Actually, the two Greek words which were used to create the term democracy combine to refer to rule by the people or individuals. Since its emergence, democracy has developed to become a multifaceted complex that focuses on guaranteeing the freedom of every individual or citizen in a country. Given its ever increasing role in governance systems across the globe, political theorists have developed several models that explain societal ideals in order to provide context and understanding of democracy. The different models or theories of democracy explain individual involvement in the political process, the basis for governmental involvement, and the link between government involvement and societal needs.

America's Democracy

America's system of governance is characterized by a complex and multifaceted political process as well as governmental involvement. Throughout its history, the country has increasingly focused on enhancing citizens' involvement in the political and governance process in order to ensure that the government meets the needs of the society. America's democracy can be effectively explained through different relevant models of democracy that are evident throughout the nation's history, particularly the framing of the Constitution. Some of the models that best describe democracy in America include

Legalist Democracy

Legalist democracy, which is also known as protective democracy, is a model that focuses on protecting individuals' freedom from authoritarian rule by the government (Hacker & van Dijk, p.9). This model of democracy postulates a system of representation which entails separating governmental authority in three powers that are controlled using a system of checks and balances and based on the principle of majority rule. In this model of democracy, the powers of every political institution and public administration agency are limited through effective rules and have to be small and effective. Notably, this model of democracy rejects direct democracy through proposing and establishing populism, which is feared in some cases. The emergence of the legalist model of democracy can be traced back to the 17th and 18th centuries when it was introduced to help protect citizens from governmental encroachment.

This model best describes democracy in America since the framing of the nation's Constitution involved utilizing the prevailing political philosophy of controlling governmental abuses. The framers of the Constitution utilized Federalist 10 File and Federalist 47, 48, 51 File by James Madison as well as Federalist 70 -- The Presidency File, which promote the use of check and balances to control governmental abuses. In addition, the Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution in order to provide checks and balances. Hamilton's Federalist 70 File promoted the establishment of an executive President in the U.S. but also established legislative authority and separation of powers to establish check and balances on presidential powers (Chase par, 16). The relevance of legalist model of democracy in America is also evident in the use of various theories of representation in political and governance processes such as The Federalist on Representation in Congress and Review of Theories of Representation by Bernard Yack.

Liberal Democracy

Liberal or competitive democracy is the second model of democracy that best describes democracy in the United States since it is based on a procedural concept of representative democracy (Hacker & van Dijk, p.10). In this model, the election of representatives is regarded as the single most important process in the political and governance system. According to Tocqueville, America is the country where the principle of association has been increasingly used successfully across different settings and objects (p.185). The use of this model in America's democracy is based on the principle of association, which is the basis for the creation of political parties through which representatives are elected in the political system. In America's political system, political associations are formulated as partisans of an opinion unite in electoral bodies and select delegates who act as their representatives in a central assembly. Based on the principle of association, a representative system to a party is entrenched in America's political system, which is a reflection of liberal or competitive democracy model (Tocqueville, p.186).

The use of this model of democracy in America's governance and political system is reflected in the use of the party model of democracy, particularly Sir Ernest Barker's Reflections on Government and emergence of interest groups in the democratic and political process. Actually, the use of political parties in representation has contributed to concerns regarding whether the electoral process is owned by parties or the people.

Participatory democracy

The third model that best describes democracy in the United States is participatory or plebiscitary democracy, which entails direct communication between politicians and citizens. These direct communications are not geared towards strengthening the positions of these political leaders and administrators but amplifying the voice of citizens. The voice of citizens in turn influence decision making processes since their views are increasingly considered by representatives and policy makers. Actually, this model of democracy was developed to focus on encouraging more citizen participation in the governance process. The central tenet of this model of democracy is to ensure more citizens' participation and control governmental rules as well as non-governmental ones towards the welfare of citizens.

Tocqueville states that the sovereignty of the people and freedom of the press have been correlative institutions through which citizens enhance their participation and influence governmental decision making in the United States (p.178). Actually, American citizens have not only admitted the doctrine of sovereignty of the people but also applied it consistently in a perfect manner towards influencing decisions by representatives and policymakers. The Elections and Citizen Participation File is an example of citizens' participation in the governance process through influencing decision making.