Democracy in India

THE FUTURE OF DEMOCRACY Part One: The entire world is in transition. The developed parts of it, principally the nations of the so called “West”, have achieved multi-generational democracies, while most of the world’s population still lives under regimes that are thinly disguised vestiges of 8th century, pre-democratic autocracies. There is always a local transitional moment, that chaotic time period before the achievement of any democracy in a given place but after the demise of the predecessor regime. Whenever the identifiable trajectory of change is toward a more democratic situation a new transitional model tends to emerge. This model is_proto__-democracy._ Chaos accompanies these transitions. In these situations it can fairly be said that democracy is civil war by other means. In fact, this is one definition of a proto-democracy. The realization of Fukuyama’s dream will be hard fought, and the outcome in most of the world will be problematic for the entire 21st century. Some Broad Definitions. As we go through the following list of elements, three things should be apparent: Five Elements of Viable Democratic Governance A viable mechanism that produces objectively verifiable election results at regular intervals such that the process cannot merely be cancelled by the winners of the prior election. Sufficient civil order (think of violent tribal rivalries) that an election can be carried out in practical terms such that the will of a decisive majority of the people can reasonably be determined. An implementing legal system that accords primary legitimacy, authority, and official power to the majority’s will (via its elected representatives or otherwise) as determined by valid elections. A modality of governance that gives all significant minorities and their allied groups an ongoing representative voice in policy formation (thus obviating the incentive for civil war by providing a