In the history of the formation of any state there are examples of people who fought for the freedom of the people, equality before the law and the culture of government. Democratic orders were established in different countries in their own way. Many scholars and researchers pondered the definition of democracy.
They looked at the term both politically and philosophically. And they were able to give an empirical description of various practices. However, the theory did not always bear fruit. Most often, the practice of states influenced the formation of the concept. Thanks to it, it was possible to establish and create normative models of a democratic structure. Today in political science it is difficult to find a single definition of a particular concept. Therefore, before we find out which democracies are left on the world map, let's deal with general terms.
Power to the people
Democracy is an ancient Greek term, which is literally interpreted as "the power of the people." In political science, this concept denotes a regime, the foundation for which is the adoption of a collective decision. In this case, the impact on each member should be equal.
In principle, this method is applicable to a variety of organizations and structures. But its most important application to this day is power. This is due to the fact that the state has a lot of power, and therefore it is difficult to organize and manage it.
So, democratic countries in this aspect should be characterized by the following features:
- The exercise by the people of fair and binding elections of their leader.
- The legitimate source of power is the people.
- Self-government of society occurs for the sake of satisfying interests and establishing the common good in the country.
Each member of society has its own rights, which are necessary to ensure popular government. Democracy is often referred to as a whole range of values, which is a "litmus test" in political experiments:
- Equality, both political and social.
- Freedom.
- Legality;
- Human rights.
- The right to self-determination, etc.
Inaccuracies
This is where the inaccuracies start. The ideal of democracy is difficult to achieve, so the interpretation of "democracy" varies. Since the 18th century, types, or rather, models of this regime, have appeared. The most famous is direct democracy. This model involves decision-making by citizens through consensus or by subordinating the minority to the majority.
Next you can specify and representative democracy. This type involves the adoption of a decision by the people through their electeddeputies or other persons holding certain positions. In this case, these persons make a choice based on the opinion of those who trusted them, and then they are responsible for the result in front of them.
What did you fight for?
You need to understand that a political regime such as democracy works to limit arbitrariness and abuse of power. This has always been difficult to achieve, especially in countries where civil liberties and other values were not recognized by the government and were left defenseless in the political system.
Now the concept of "democracy" has two sides of the coin. Democracy has now become identified with liberal government. Thanks to this type of democracy, along with fair and open periodic elections, there is the rule of law, the division and limitation of power, established by the constitution.
On the other hand, many economists and political scientists believe that it is impossible to realize the right to make decisions related to politics, as well as the influence of the people on the state system, without the establishment of social rights, a low level of inequality in the socio-economic aspect, as well as equality of opportunity.
Threats
Democracies are always threatened by an authoritarian regime. The main problem for such a system of government is always separatism, terrorism, the growth of social inequality or migration. Despite the fact that there are many organizations in the world that protect the freedom and rights of citizens, history is not without cases when controversialpolitical conflicts.
The current state of affairs
Before we look at the most democratic countries in the world, we should look at the big picture of the current situation. Despite the diversity of regimes of democracy, today the number of democratic countries is the largest in history. More than half of the world's population can participate in elections. At the same time, even such a regime as a dictatorship can easily exist on behalf of the people.
It is known that those countries that function under a democratic regime have endowed almost the entire adult population with the right to vote. But later they faced such a problem that interest in political life began to fall sharply. For example, in the US, 30-40% of the population takes part in elections.
There are several reasons for this. To fully understand the politics of your country, you need to stock up not just with patience, but also with a car of time. Some citizens believe that politicians devote more time to the political race and their own interests. Others do not see the differences between the opposing parties at all. One way or another, the current state of affairs is leading to a resurgence of interest in a direct form of democracy.
Analytics
Many political scientists have worked to ensure that every state in the world has its own definition. The British Research Center has calculated a methodology that could determine the ranking of countries in the world in terms of the level of democracy. Now 167 countries can be classified. Each of them has its own index of democracy.
Now it is difficult to say how objective the selection of states according to this principle can be considered. In total there are 5 categories of 12 indicators. The index was first used in 2006. During this time, there were several amendments related to changes in the political picture of the world. And even after 10 years, it is not known who is on the commission: perhaps they are employees of the research center, or maybe independent scientists.
Principle
So, in order to rank a state into four categories, it is necessary to measure the level of democracy within the country. It is also necessary to study expert assessments and the results of public opinion polls. Each country is characterized by 60 indicators, which are grouped into several categories:
- The electoral process and pluralism.
- Government work.
- Participation of citizens in the politics of their state.
- Political culture.
- Civil liberties.
Categories
According to this principle, countries can be divided into several categories. The first is full democracy. Many people still believe that this regime is an unattainable theoretical ideal. And yet, at the moment, 26 countries fall into this category - this is 12% of the total population. It is believed that almost half of all countries can be attributed to this type, but expert opinion varies slightly. They classify 51 states as “insufficient democracy.”
The third category is considered a hybrid regime, which is a symbiosis of democracy and authoritarianism. There are 39 in the worldpowers with this type. The remaining 52 countries still maintain an authoritarian regime. By the way, a third of the world's population can be attributed to the fourth category - more than 2.5 billion people.
First of the first
Last known indexing was done in 2014. In total, 25 countries can be attributed to full-fledged democracy. The top ten includes Iceland, New Zealand, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Canada, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Australia.
Norway has been considered the leader for several years in a row. This constitutional monarchy received an index of 9.93. This state in Northern Europe occupies part of the Scandinavian Peninsula. Now the king of Norway is Harald V. The unitary state is based on the principle of parliamentary democracy.
Pippi Longstocking's Homeland
Second place goes to Sweden (9.73). This state is located next to Norway. It is also located on the Scandinavian Peninsula. The state is ruled by Carl XVI Gustav. The form of government is also built on the principle of parliamentary democracy in symbiosis with a constitutional monarchy.
Small state
Third place with an index of 9.58 is taken by Iceland. On the map, this country can be found next to Europe. This is an island nation.
The President is Gyudni Johannesson, who took office in June of this year. He is an independent candidate. He is also famous for having a scientific degree - professor of historical sciences. Despite the fact that Iceland is on the mapbarely noticeable, this country is not only in the top three democratic countries, but is also famous for its other records. For example, as the largest island of volcanic origin.
In good hands
New Zealand took fourth place (9.26). This state is located in Polynesia, in the southwestern part of the Pacific Ocean. As in Norway, it is dominated by a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy. This country is ruled by the famous Queen Elizabeth II. By the way, in addition to being the head of the British Commonwe alth of Nations and Britain directly, she is also the queen of 15 independent states, including Canada, Belize, Barbados, Grenada, etc. Directly in New Zealand itself there is a Governor General Jerry Mateparai.
Women's custody
Denmark also fell into the democratic countries and took fifth place in the ranking (9.11). Another state that is located in Northern Europe. This power is also ruled by a woman - Margrethe II. Therefore, Denmark is a constitutional monarchy. The Queen is assisted by a unicameral parliament called the Folketing.
Complex political structure
Switzerland is in sixth place (9.09). It is a federal republic, a confederation that operates with a bicameral parliament and a semi-direct democracy. Switzerland has a complex political structure. President Johann Schneider-Ammann is the chairman of the Federal Council, but he is not in fact the head of state. This role has been assignedto all council members. Although in case of difficult political decisions, his vote will be decisive.
The President is considered first among equals and has no authority to lead the members of the Federative Council. Elected only for a year. And this is not done by the people, but by the members of the council. There are only seven of them. In addition to the fact that they collectively govern the state, each of them has its own department. For example, the current President is responsible for the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research.
Multinational country
Seventh place went to Canada (9.08). This state is located in North America. As mentioned earlier, the head of state is the Queen of Great Britain. But domestically, Governor General David Johnston rules. Canada is a federation with a parliamentary monarchy and a parliamentary democracy.
The state consists of 10 provinces. The most popular is Quebec. This is where most of the French-speaking population lives. The rest of the provinces are mostly "English".
Stability
With an index of 9.03, Finland took eighth place. The characteristic of the country is mainly based on the assessment of the power as the most stable. In 2010, the state became the best in the world. It is located in the north of Europe. It is a parliamentary-presidential republic based on parliamentary democracy. Sauli Niinistö has been the head of state since 2012.
President electedpopular vote for a period of six years. The supreme executive power belongs to him. Part of the legislative power is also in the hands of the head of the country, but the other half is controlled by the Parliament – Eduskunte.
Mainland State
Australia ranks 9th in the ranking of the world's democracies (9.01). This power is located next to New Zealand and occupies the mainland of the same name. The head of state is the Queen of the British Commonwe alth of Nations. Governor General - Peter Cosgrove. Australia is a parliamentary monarchy, which exists like all the dominions of Great Britain. The activities of the government are directly connected with Elizabeth II and the Privy Council.
Australia is recognized as one of the most developed countries in the world. It has a stable economy, high GDP per capita. It ranks second in the Human Development Index and could easily be number one in the ranking of democracies.
Top 10
The Netherlands completes the top ten countries with a full-fledged democracy (8.92). This state is a constitutional monarchy. At the moment, the head of the kingdom, Willem-Alexander. The Netherlands has a bicameral parliament based on parliamentary democracy. The capital of the state is considered to be Amsterdam. It is here that the monarch takes the oath of allegiance to the kingdom. But there is also the actual capital of The Hague, where the seat of government is located.
Other leaders
The 26 full-fledged democracies also include the UK, Spain, Ireland, the US,Japan, South Korea, Uruguay, Germany, etc. But perhaps it is worth mentioning the last places in the rating, those countries that are subject to an authoritarian regime. North Korea is in 167th place with an index of 1.08. Slightly higher in the ranking are the Central African Republic, CHAD, Equatorial Guinea, Syria, Iran, Turkmenistan and the Congo.
Russia ranks 117th with a rating of 3.92. Before it is Cameroon, after - Angola. Belarus is even lower than Russia, in 139th place (3.16). Both countries belong to the category of "authoritarian regime". Ukraine is in 79th place in the category of transitional regime and with an index of 5.94.
No development
Over the past few years, the democratic countries of Europe have lost their positions. This is especially true for the eastern territory. Together with Russia, the rest of the CIS countries also fell in the ranking. Some lost their positions slightly, some - by 5-7 steps.
Since 2013, global democracy has stopped. There is no regression in this regime, but there is no progress either. This situation refers to the general picture of the world. In some examples, however, a regression is noticeable. Many states are losing their democratic processes. This is especially affected by the economic crisis.
Authoritarian regimes, on the contrary, have become even more powerful. Thus, democracy, which has been building up in the world since 1974, now has a recessive character. In addition to the fact that confidence in political institutions is beginning to decline, this is especially true for Europe. Alsothe process of democracy itself does not bring the desired result to the population.
