Main navigation
Content
Background
Democracy: the most successful form of government there is
Democracy is the political form of humanity.
Democracy is the only political system that guarantees people political and civil liberties and the right to political participation. No other form of government has proved to be so successful, so humane and so conducive to development. Not only are consolidated democracies less likely to engage in armed conflict, it becomes more difficult for governments to violate human rights or abuse their authority if their power is democratically controlled by the people over whom they rule.
Many developing countries are democracies in formal terms but they still include elements of an authoritarian state. Often, for example, specific sections of the population are excluded from the political decision-making process. Or it is made very difficult for the opposition to participate in elections.
Democratic developments
The Bertelsmann Transformation Index (BTI 2016) classifies 74 of the 129 countries evaluated as democracies. Only 19 of those are rated as consolidated. 40 are considered defective and 15 highly defective.
According to the "Freedom in the World 2015" report by non-governmental organisation Freedom House, fundamental human rights and political liberties are respected in 89 of the 195 countries examined. In 55 countries Freedom House deems this to be only partially true and it considers 51 countries "not free".
The Fragile States Index 2015 compiled by the Fund for Peace research institute declared alert, high alert or very high alert status for a total of 38 countries. Most of the fragile states it lists are located in Africa, with Sudan, South Sudan, the Central African Republic and Somalia having been assigned to the very high alert category as a sign of the dramatic situation there.
Approaches to promoting democracy
For a democracy to function properly, democratic principles must be firmly rooted in society. Much more than merely ensuring a formal election process, democratisation is a far-reaching, long-term undertaking. It must be supported by internal forces, not imposed externally. This is why development work to promote democratisation processes cannot provide a quick-fix solution for success.
Moreover, there is some dispute among scholars as to the most promising strategy to pursue. The assumption behind what is known as the "sequencing approach" is that democratisation should always occur in a particular sequence. The sequencing concept dictates that functioning governmental institutions must first be installed, followed by an effective administration and the rule of law. Once these are in place, the work of the various political parties and professional media can commence. Democratic elections cannot be held until the rest of the sequence has been completed.
The gradualism approach, on the other hand, is based on the assumption that democratisation is one part of political, economic and social change. The phases described above often run parallel to one another, which means development measures to support them can also be implemented in parallel.
Since there are positive and negative examples for both approaches, the first step should be an in-depth analysis of the situation in the country concerned, which can then be used to tailor democracy promotion projects accordingly.
For more information, please see:
More information
Information
See also
- Issues: Good governance
- Issues: Rule of law
- Issues: Fragile statehood
- Issues: Universal human rights
- Issues: Freedom of opinion and freedom of the press
External Links
- Transformation Index of the Bertelsmann Foundation - external link, new window - Visit website
- Freedom House: Annual Report 2016 - external link, new window - Visit website
- Fund for Peace: Fragile States Index - external link, new window - Visit website
Publications
- Freedom of opinion and the media in German development policynew window, PDF 2.4 MB, accessible 05/2015 | pdf | 2.4 MB | 20 P. | accessible
- Strategy on government-civil society cooperation in post-2015 development policy | BMZ Strategy Papernew window, PDF 514 KB 01/2015 | pdf | 514 KB | 14 P.
- Good Governance in Practicenew window, PDF 3.4 MB, accessible 10/2012 | pdf | 3.4 MB | 42 P. | accessible
- Good Financial Governance in German Development Cooperation | Promoting good governance in public finance | BMZ Sector Strategy Papernew window, PDF 756 KB, accessible 04/2015 | pdf | 756 KB | 32 P. | accessible