Thought Paper on On Huntington Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 From Page 3 to page 108 - Essay Example

Democracies have become intricate, multi-layered systems that no longer truly function as purely representative entities through which the people wield true power. The constant push-pull between lawmakers and external actors who influence the legislative process has, particularly in the U.S., often blurred the line between the elected and non-elected. The resultant deal-making is undemocratic because it plays out behind the scenes, far from the political arena, and often places non-elected power brokers in a position of control over elected representatives.

“If these democratically elected decision makers become, however, simply a facade for the exercise of much greater power by a non-Democratically chosen group then clearly that political system is not democratic” (Huntington, 10). In the U.S., special interest groups, lobbyists, and privatized government services, many of which are co-opted into government agencies, are at the very heart of the Democratic process and often behave in ways that run counter to the notion of purely representative government.

Bureaucracy In the U.S., the governmental bureaucracy is a powerfully entrenched, often insidious force. The sheer size, scope and complexity of bureaucracy overwhelms the average American Democracy Behind the Scenes 3 citizen’s ability to comprehend how it functions vis a vis elected officials. This enables individual segments of the bureaucracy to play out their roles and impact the business of Democracy in ways that are not directly responsible to the public. Over the past 50 years, most presidential candidates, particularly Republicans, have made “big government” a cause celebre, campaigning against a vague yet politically effective concept.

But what fails to attract the attention of these candidates, or the people who vote for them, is that the big government to which they refer is not governed in a truly Democratic fashion. The business that takes place in bureaucratic organizations plays out beyond the scope of elective politics and, as such, does not involve the voters. Nevertheless, the outcomes of these bureaucratic activities generally affect citizens quite directly. Americans exhibit a characteristically contradictory attitude towards bureaucracy in that they expect government to be sensitive and responsive to their needs, yet often decry what is considered undue influence wielded by professional bureaucrats.

Such unrealistic expectations reflect a fundamental lack of understanding about the nature of bureaucracy in a democracy, though it does not obscure the fact that the work that goes on within the bureaucracy takes place far from the public gaze and so can be considered inherently undemocratic. Regardless of the party or administration in charge, successful Democracies are inextricably linked to bureaucracy through their need for functional efficiency, which in the modern world relies heavily on a strong bureaucracy.

The work that goes into the refinement and enacting of policy goes on behind closed doors. Democracy Behind the Scenes 4 Special interest groups Special interest groups present a unique challenge to Democracy in that they represent a subtle, imperceptible erosion of checks and balances within the political system. Interest groups have long held a presence on the American political scene, but their influence on the body politic reached