PSC 1001 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Robert A. Dahl, Democratic Consolidation, Hereditary Monarchy
11 Apr 2017
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Document Summary
Democracy is a regime type that involves the selection of government officials through free and fair elections, a balance between the principle of majority rule and protection of minority interests, and constitutional limitations on government actions. The defining point of a democracy is free and fair elections. Elections must involve mass participation in the selection of representatives through elections (e. g. , south africa during apartheid could not be considered democratic; falsely staged elections cannot be considered democratic where the outcome is predetermined) Samuel huntington (1991) provides a procedural minimalist definition of democracy as the selection of leaders through competitive elections by the people they govern. Robert dahl lists seven criteria of polyarchy which include: 1) elected officials: free and fair elections; 3) inclusive suffrage; 4) the right to run for office; 5) freedom of expression; 6) alternative information; and 7) associational autonomy. A political transition is the interval between one political regime and another (o"donnell and schmitter 1986, 6).
