Four Models of Democracy in America Explained

Introduction to Democracy and Its Origins

Democracy is a term whose origin can be traced to Ancient Greece, where it was used to refer to power or rule from the people. The two Greek words combined to create the term translate roughly as "rule by the people." Since its emergence, democracy has developed into a multifaceted system focused on guaranteeing the freedom of every individual citizen. 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. These different models explain individual involvement in the political process, the basis for governmental authority, and the link between government involvement and societal needs.

America's system of governance is characterized by a complex and multifaceted political process as well as extensive 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 society. America's democracy can be effectively explained through several relevant models, particularly as they are evident throughout the nation's history and in the framing of the Constitution. The models that best describe democracy in America include the legalist, liberal, participatory, and developmental models.

Legalist Democracy and the U.S. Constitution

Legalist democracy, 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 postulates a system of representation that entails separating governmental authority into three branches, controlled through a system of checks and balances and grounded in the principle of majority rule. In this model, the powers of every political institution and public administration agency are limited through effective rules, and government is expected to remain limited and accountable. Notably, this model rejects direct democracy by proposing representative institutions and a system of constitutional safeguards. The emergence of the legalist model can be traced 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 drew on James Madison's Federalist No. 10 and Federalist Nos. 47, 48, and 51, as well as Alexander Hamilton's Federalist No. 70, all of which promote the use of checks and balances to control governmental abuses. The Bill of Rights was subsequently added to the Constitution to provide further checks and balances. Hamilton's Federalist No. 70 promoted the establishment of an executive President but also emphasized legislative authority and separation of powers as checks on presidential power (Chase, par. 16). The relevance of the legalist model in America is also evident in the use of various theories of representation in political and governance processes, as explored in works such as Bernard Yack's review of theories of representation.

Liberal Democracy and Political Representation

Liberal, or competitive, democracy is the second model that best describes democracy in the United States, as 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 most successfully applied across different settings and objects (p. 185). The use of this model in America's democracy is grounded in that principle of association, which forms the basis for the creation of political parties through which representatives are elected. In America's political system, political associations are formed 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 party system has become entrenched in America's politics, reflecting the liberal or competitive democracy model (Tocqueville, p. 186).

The application of this model to America's governance is further reflected in the use of the party model of democracy, particularly as analyzed in Sir Ernest Barker's Reflections on Government, as well as in the emergence of interest groups in the democratic process. The prominence of political parties in representation has contributed to ongoing concerns regarding whether the electoral process is ultimately owned by parties or by the people.

Conclusion

America's political and governance system is based on democracy, which primarily refers to rule by the people. In this country, citizens have both direct and indirect influence in the governance process in order to promote the growth and development of the nation. This direct and indirect influence is evident through various models of democracy, including the legalist, liberal, participatory, and developmental models, each of which captures a distinct dimension of how American democracy functions in theory and in practice.

Works Cited

Chase, Harold. "Constitution of the United States, Part I: Its Genesis and Framework." Scholastic. Scholastic Inc., n.d. Web. 7 Dec. 2015.

Hacker, Kenneth L., and Jan Van Dijk. "Models of Democracy and Concepts of Communication." Digital Democracy: Issues of Theory and Practice. London: SAGE, 2000. 1–20. Print.

Tocqueville, Alexis de, Henry Reeve, and John C. Spencer. Democracy in America: Volume 1. New York: Schocken, 1961. Print.