Discuss the meaning, nature and evolution of democracy within the 20th century.

Introduction

Democracy within the 20th century.In 1992, 2500 years of democracy were enthusiastically celebrated everywhere the planet . This was an lrnusual celebration because, while anniversaries of statesmen, revolutions and therefore the founding of countries are quite commonly celebrated. no other political ideal has ever been celebrated during this way. Also, democracy within the times is sort of different from democracy because it was practised in ancient Greece 2500 years ago. The democratic ideas and practice? with which vie are here concerned belong to the fashionable world, but it might be useful to briefly note the chief features of democracy within the city-state of Athens - widely considered to be the foremost stable, enduring and model sort of democracy in Greece - in past .

The word democracy itself is of Greek origin. The Greek word demokratio may be a combination of the words demos (meaning the people) and kratos (meaning rule). this provides democracy its meaning as a sort of government which the people rule, whether directly - through personal participation - or indirectly, through elected representatives. the most difference between ancient and modern democracies, of course, is within the way during which 'the people' were defined. within the Ancient Greek polity, the 'demos' was rather restrictively defined, and notably excluded three main categories of persons: the slaves, women, and metics (the foreigners who lived and

worked within the city-state). This meant that hardly 1 / 4 of the entire population were members

of the citizen body. Nevertheless, the direct participation of a 40,000 strong citizen body was

no mean achievement. The e actual career of Athenian democracy was fairly troubled, as aristocrats,. generals and demagogues made periodic attempts to regulate power.

Democracy within the 20th Century

The 20th century was marked by political upheaval and revolution throughout the planet . additionally to 2 world wars, many conflicts associated with the conflict between the us and Soviet Union led to the increase and fall of variety of governments. Democracy spread globally during the 20th century in three distinct waves, each coinciding with a serious global event.

The first wave of latest democratic governments came within the early a part of the century, following the top of war I. The second wave is attributed to war II and therefore the end of colonialism throughout the developing world. The third wave is usually related to the top of the conflict and therefore the fall of communism. Let's take a glance at each wave and therefore the successes and failures of every .

A democracy may be a form of government , or a system of decision-making within an establishment or organization or a rustic , during which all members have an equal share of power. Modern democracies are characterized by two capabilities that differentiate them fundamentally from earlier sorts of government: the capacity to intervene in their own societies and therefore the recognition of their sovereignty by a world legalistic framework of similarly sovereign states. Democratic government is usually juxtaposed with oligarchic and monarchic systems, which are ruled by a minority and a sole monarch respectively.

democracy in 20th century, ignou mps assignment

Democracy in its earliest forms is usually related to the efforts of the traditional Greeks and Romans, who were themselves considered the founders of Western culture by the 18th century intellectuals who attempted to leverage these early democratic experiments into a replacement template for post-monarchical political organization. The extent to which these 18th century democratic revivalists succeeded in turning the democratic ideals of the traditional Greeks and Romans into the dominant political institution of subsequent 300 years is hardly debatable, albeit the moral justifications they often employed could be . Nevertheless, the critical historical juncture catalyzed by the resurrection of democratic ideals and institutions fundamentally transformed the following centuries and has dominated the international landscape since the dismantling of the ultimate vestige of empire following the top of the Second war .

First Wave-End of WWI

With the signing of the Treaty of Versailles following war I, new democratic governments were formed in Germany, Poland, and Austria among others. The Allied victory brought with it a desire for democracy across Europe. Western leaders, like Wilson and David Lloyd George, saw thereto that the people's are going to be done and non-democratic governments were within the works before the war concluded.

This wave of democracy, however, would be short lived. When the good Depression began in 1929, economic hardship was widespread throughout Europe and therefore the remainder of the planet . Poor economic conditions led to anger and dissatisfaction among voters, allowing the increase of fascism and eventually the outbreak of war II.

Second Wave-End of WWII/Colonialism

Following war II, European powers, namely France and Great Britain, were economically and militarily exhausted. Unable to take care of their territorial claims throughout Africa and Asia, both countries granted independence to variety of African nations from the 1940s through 1960s. New African democracies included Mali, Algeria, Niger, and Chad.

These African democracies had perhaps the toughest time of any to realize footing and stay in situ . Ghana is probably the simplest example of the trials and tribulations of fledgling democratic government, having four different governments installed over the course of a 40+ year battle for freedom.