Democracies and Progress - Essay Example

? Democracies and Progress Democracies and Progress Briefly discuss, in one to two paragraphs, different types of democracies and explain where the U.S. fits in and why There are three types of democracy in the world today. These are the moderate, liberal, and extremist forms of democracy. In liberal democracy, the state in question has very little influence or control over the lives of its citizens. In addition, liberal democracies do not visit stringent rules on their citizens or force them to follow given directions where the subject of politics is concerned. The United States would fall under this category (Fishkin and Laslett, 2003). In the moderate type of democracy, the ruling government has a moderate in directing the daily lives of its citizens. This means that while the state does not fully control its citizens’ lives, it also does not have a peripheral role where there lives are concerned. In extremist democracies, the reigning government has a central role in the lives of its citizens. The citizens do not have political freedom to choose the parties of their choice. There lives are completely governed by what the state determines. In addition, the state also controls aspects such as the media and the internet. This means that the citizens cannot begin protests or even plan them so as to find a way of having more freedom. 2. Comment on the following: It has often been said—by Presidential administrations and major media alike—that the U.S. should export democracy to other regions of the globe. What foreign or global reaction does this policy often have? Why do people in different places around the globe interpret the U.S. intent to deliver democracy so differently? Democracy is viewed the world over as having been started by Americans. This means that nearly every nation that seeks to embrace democratic principles or has sought to do so in the past has relied on the American experience so as to know how to implement democracy within its boundaries. Democratic advocates in Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, and Hungary copied the American experience when they wished to implement democratic ideals. Most nations in Latin America, during the nineteenth-century copied the example of the U.S. government. A few decades ago, with the fall of communism, Eastern European nations turned to America for inspiration. This appears to have imbued the American government with the authority to persist in exporting its democratic ideals to other nations. Moreover, there have been times when America encouraged democracy in other nations with ulterior motives. When this happens, the likely outcome is that the nations which are having democratic ideals forced on them will become pseudo democracies. As more and more citizens from different nations around the world have grown to be aware of this, the any attempts at foreign influence from America have increasingly been met with suspicion and outright rejection (Witten, 2009). In worst cases, American suggestions can even cause political instability. Nations that benefit from substantial annual contributions from the American government, such as many of those in Africa, will likely want to embrace American style democracy. However, there are other nations, such as those in the Middle East, whose citizens are years away from even minor forms of freedom like those found in most African nations. In some Middle Eastern nations, women are second class citizens, and are equated with children, for instance. The rulers of such nations have built their power on the helplessness of their fellow citizens, and so will understandably be reluctant to embrace any type of democracy. In such cases, the lofty goals of democracy can be attained through a lengthy struggle conducted by the citizens who are denied their freedom. This is probably a painful truth, but is correct, all the same. 3. If anything, what can be done, in your view, to improve the image and respect of the U.S. when it comes to intervening in the affairs of other countries? American style liberal democracy is something that is admired by citizens from nations all over the world. To this day, there are no other nations that receive as many requests for citizenship like America does. This is because people from all over the world realize that their families are more likely to thrive and overcome problems in a society that prizes hard work and penalizes powerful officials who seek to crash the rights of ordinary citizens. There are so many people yearning to become Americans that the nation’s government has even been forced to erect walls on its Southern side in order to stem illegal immigration This, however, has not done much to stem the flow of depurate people who want to make a better life for themselves and their families. In the recent past, however, America has suffered from a tainted image due to its increased imperiousness in choosing to invade other countries for flimsy reasons which really cover strategies of self interest. The Iraq war has been a very controversial conflict because the American government launched a war against Iraq when United Nations specialist had proved beyond doubt that there were no weapons of mass destruction there. Indeed, many citizens of the world felt that it was Iraq’s oil that was being targeted. Others supposed that new markets were needed for weapons manufacturers and that this is what truly prompted the war. To regain its image, America cannot just cease to try and dictate to other nations. It has to participate in actions that might costs it a lot in terms of finances, but which will convince the rest of the world that Americans are sympathetic to other nations. This could be accomplished through multilateral trade agreements that address the subject of farming subsidies. America could also seek to do more to protect the environment, while also investing heavily in controlling global pandemics such as the AIDS menace. While all these suggestions are expensive undertakings, they will be more effective in endearing America’s style of government to other global citizens than coercion and war ever will. References Fishkin, J., & Laslett, P. (2003) Debating deliberative democracy. New York: Wiley-Blackwell. Witten, H. (2009). Democracy - American style: One man's view on how to make a great country even better. New York: Xlibris Corp. Read More