The machinery of democracy along with dictatorship and military rule are not only the most commonly used governance styles since the ancient times but also the most popular ones as well (Schroeder, 2016). As a matter of fact, the emergence of democracy is seen as one of the most common prodigies of the “western political thoughts” (Peruzzotti, 2017). The focus of the construct is on the people of the nation and the governments of these nations are based on the mantra “for the people, by the people and of the people” (Meadowcroft, 2016). Helman, Malherbe and Kaminer (2018) are of the viewpoint that the major reason for the immense popularity that the governance style of democracy has been able to attain in the cannon of the modern world is because of its focus on the welfare of the people. In contrast to this, it was seen that the primary focus of the governance styles of dictatorship and military rule were either on the dictator which wielded the majority of the political power within the state or the improvement of the prospects of the nation (Briggs, 2018). However, in the recent times, it is seen that the notion of liberty has been attached to the construct of democracy and many of the nations like the United States of America, United Kingdom, Australia and others represent themselves as “liberal democratic nations” rather than just “democratic nations”. This essay will discuss about the factors which has made the nations the United States of America, United Kingdom, Australia and others success “liberal democratic nations”.
According to O’neil (2015), the concept of liberty gained popularity with the famous work of John Stuart Mill “On Liberty” (1859). However, the use of the concept of liberty can be traced back to the French Revolution of 1789 wherein the slogan of the Revolution was “Liberty, Equality and Fraternity” (Rodrik, 2016). In the 20th century, it was seen that the extensive usage of the concept of liberty began in the particular context of political theory and also the system of governance used by the various nations of the world like USA, UK, Australia and others (Öni?, 2017). Baradat and Phillips (2016) are of the viewpoint that despite the widespread of the concept of liberty it was only in the latter part of the 20th century that the concept was integrated within the democratic style of governance used by the majority of the nations of the world. Broadly defined, liberal democracy can be seen as a “liberal political ideology” and also as a style of governance wherein the nation is being governed by the political party in power through the effective use of the concept of classical liberalism (Rhodes, 2018). Furthermore, Ferrín and Kriesi (2016) have also suggested that the construct of liberal democracy tries to take the help of the concept of social contract to effectively manage not only the people of the nation but also its diverse affairs as well.
According to Hawkins (2016), “Liberal democracy is a form of government in which representative democracy operates under the principles of liberalism, i.e. protecting the rights of the individual”. The people of the present times have become much more conscious about their rights and at the same time the concept of free-will have also gained much significance in this regard. The primary focus of the concept of liberal democracy is to safeguard the liberty, free-will as well as the individual rights of the citizens of the concerned nation (Csillag & Szelényi, 2015). Thus, it is seen that the majority of the nations of the world like USA, Australia, UK and others which follow the governance style of liberal democracy within for the purpose of governing the nation have kinds of provisions for safeguarding the interests and also the liberty of its citizens. As per Cole (2017) the Fundamental Rights provided by the national governments of these nations for ensuring the liberty and also the free-will of the citizens of the nation is important one in this regard. The primary motive of these nations in providing these rights to the people is to provide the opportunity to the citizens of these nations with the kind of opportunities which would not only help them to fulfill the basic requirements of their life but at the same time to realize their maximum potential (Öni?, 2017). In addition to these, it is also seen that the national governments of the nations like USA, Australia, UK and others have taken active initiative to ensure the fact that the citizens of these nations not only have access to these rights but at the same time are being able to reap the benefits of these rights.
Baradat and Phillips (2016) are of the opinion that there are some basic features or characteristics which distinguish the liberal democracies from the other democracies of the world and at the same time the effective implementation or the utilization of these features have contributed towards the success attained by these nations. Some of the most common features of the liberal democracies are majority rule, protection of the interests of the minorities, bi-partisan or multi-partisanship, power sharing, emphasis on the protection of the individual liberty of the citizens of the nation, free press, pressure groups, impartial judiciary and others (Briggs, 2018). The effective integration of these precepts into the national constitutions of these nations has not safeguarded the individual liberty of the citizens of these nations but at the same time has propelled these nations to greater heights of success. A close analysis of the nations of USA, UK and Australia would reveal the fact that these features are some of the most basic entities of the constitutions of these nations.
USA is one of the largest as well as the oldest democratic nations of the world and in the latter part of the 20th century it was seen that the nation integrated the theme of liberty within the framework of its constitution (Usa.gov, 2018). The nation besides providing various kinds of Fundamental Rights to the individuals at the same time takes various initiatives to ensure the fact that these rights are not only implemented but also enjoyed by the people (Usa.gov, 2018). Furthermore, it is seen that the press of the nation is one of the most independent ones and very minimal amount of power is being exercised by the national government of the nation to curb the power of press except in emergency situations (Schroeder, 2016). In addition to these, the ruling parties are being selected as per the popular vote of the citizens of the nation and for the process of management of the constitution power is being shared by the two houses of the parliament of the nation (Usa.gov, 2018). This not only ensures the fact that the power provided to the ruling party of the nation which is entrusted with the work of governance is not being mis-utilized but at the same time this ensures the fact that the individual liberty of the citizens are not being misappropriated (Helman, Malherbe & Kaminer, 2018). Moreover, the judicial system is one of the most impartial ones of the world and it is seen that of the individuals are not content with the decisions of the lower courts then they can always reach out to the Supreme Court of the nation as well (Usa.gov, 2018). Finally, the nations takes into effective consideration the interests of the minorities of the nation like the African-Americans, immigrants and others and ensures that they have access to get kind of rights like the other citizens of the nation (Usa.gov, 2018). Thus, it can be said that it is the conglomeration of all these factors which has made USA one of the major liberal democratic nations of the world.
The United Kingdom until recently was governed by the Crown of the nation and the major affairs of the nation are being decided by national government and also the Crown (Gov.uk, 2018). For the effective working of the parliament the parliament of the nation follows the bi-partisan system with the presence of two houses, namely, the House of Lords and the House of Commons (Gov.uk, 2018). The constitution of the nation, just like the constitution of the USA, provides various kinds of Fundamental Rights which helps the nation to safeguard the liberty as well as the free-will of its citizens (Gov.uk, 2018). Furthermore, recently it has been seen that the nation takes active initiatives for the protection of the individual rights and also the interests of the minorities of the nation (Gov.uk, 2018). The nation realizing the role as well as the importance of free press within the construct of modern society has provided a substantial amount of liberty or freedom to the press wherein they can provide an actual portrayal of the incidents to the people without having to take permission from the national government or the Crown (Helman, Malherbe & Kaminer, 2018). At the same, it is seen that the nation is known for its impartial judicial system wherein all the individuals of the nation have equal kinds of rights and are entitled to protest against the same in case of infringement (Baradat & Phillips, 2016). Finally, the government of the nation is being formed solely on the basis of the popular vote of the people and the nation ardently follows the major precept of democracy, namely, “for the people, by the people and of the people” (Gov.uk, 2018). Thus, it can be said that the effective integration of all these factors have gone a long way to make the nation of UK a liberal democratic nation.
Australia is a part of the Commonwealth nations and a few decades ago it was under the rule of the British Crown (Australia.gov.au, 2018). However, in the recent times, it is seen that the nation has emerged as one of the major democracies of the world because of its initiatives to safeguard the liberty and the other interests of its citizens and also to provide the actual power of the nation in the hands of the people of the nation (Ferrín & Kriesi, 2016). Furthermore, just like the national governments of USA, UK and others, the Australian government also provides various kinds of Fundamental Rights to its citizens which are mainly directed at safeguarding their individual liberties and also for the purpose of providing them with the kind of opportunities which will help them to realize the goals of their lives (Australia.gov.au, 2018). Moreover, the bi-partisan system that the government follows not only ensures the fact that power is being effectively shared but also ensures the fact that it is not being mis-utilized to infringe on the liberty of the people (Csillag & Szelényi, 2015). In addition to these, the national government has adopted a very liberal attitude towards the press or the media of the nation (Cole, 2017). Furthermore, the rights of the minority people of the nation like the aboriginals, indigenous and others are being not only taken into effective consideration but at the same time safeguarded as well (Australia.gov.au, 2018). It is the conglomeration of all these factors which has made the nation of Australia a liberal democratic nation.
To conclude, the notion of liberty has emerged as one of the most important ones within the framework of the modern world. The diverse countries of the world are not only required to take into effective consideration the concept of liberty but at the same time ensure the fact that the right of liberty of its citizens is being safeguarded as well. In this regard, the nations like USA, UK, Australia and others become important because of the nature of the governance style that they follow, namely, liberal democracy. These nations provide various kinds of facilities to its citizens so as to equip them with the kind of rights which will not only help them to enjoy the right of liberty provided to them but also to help them to effectively utilize it as well.
References
Australia.gov.au (2018). Home [online]. Retrieved from https://www.australia.gov.au/
Baradat, L. P., & Phillips, J. A. (2016). Political ideologies: Their origins and impact. Routledge.
Briggs, J. R. (2018). Immersive Wearables: Their Political and Social Effects and What Both Mean for Western Liberal Democracy. International Journal of Sociotechnology and Knowledge Development (IJSKD), 10(3), 54-71.
Cole, J. R. (2017). Academic Freedom as an Indicator of a Liberal Democracy. Globalizations, 14(6), 862-868.
Csillag, T., & Szelényi, I. (2015). Drifting from Liberal Democracy: Traditionalist/Neo-conservative Ideology of Managed Illiberal Democratic Capitalism in Post-communist Europe. East European Journal of Society and Politics, 1(1), 18-48.
Ferrín, M., & Kriesi, H. (Eds.). (2016). How Europeans view and evaluate democracy. Oxford University Press.
Gov.uk (2018). Welcome to Gov.Uk [online]. Retrieved from https://www.gov.uk/
Hawkins, K. A. (2016). Chavismo, Liberal Democracy, and Radical Democracy. Annual Review of Political Science, 19, 311-329.
Helman, R., Malherbe, N., & Kaminer, D. (2018). Young people’s reproductions of the ‘father as provider’discourse: intersections of race, class, culture and gender within a liberal democracy. Community, Work & Family, 1-21.
Meadowcroft, J. (2016). Commons, Anticommons and Public Choice: James Buchanan on Liberal Democracy. Economic Affairs, 36(2), 224-228.
O’neil, P. H. (2015). Essentials of comparative politics: Fifth international student edition. WW Norton & Company.
Öni?, Z. (2017). The age of anxiety: The crisis of liberal democracy in a post-hegemonic global order. The International Spectator, 52(3), 18-35.
Peruzzotti, E. (2017). Regime betterment or regime change? A critical review of recent debates on liberal democracy and populism in Latin America. Constellations, 24(3), 389-400.
Rhodes, E. (2018). The search for monsters to destroy: Theodore Roosevelt, Republican virtu, and the challenges of liberal democracy in an industrial society. In US Grand Strategy in the 21st Century (pp. 157-178). Routledge.
Rodrik, D. (2016). Is liberal democracy feasible in developing countries?. Studies in Comparative International Development, 51(1), 50-59.
Schroeder, R. (Ed.). (2016). Max Weber, democracy and modernization. Springer.
Usa.gov (2018). Official Guide to Government Information and Services | USAGov [online]. Retrieved from https://www.usa.gov/
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