“Democracy is all about the quality of the substance of political, social and economic life”. This is a substantive or qualitative definition of democracy. This quality includes human welfare, individual and social freedom, security, equality, social and economic equality, public deliberation, and peaceful conflict resolution.
Another definition which is known as “procedural definition” includes four points. This includes
i. The multiparty system with political parties competing with each other.
ii. Free and non-corrupt voting procedure.
iii. Universal and equal suffrage.
These are some minimum or core requirements of democracy.
There is also a practical or operational definition of democracy. This includes:
i. Freedom to form or join an organization
ii. Freedom of expression
iii. The right to vote
iv. Eligibility of public office
v. Right of political leaders to compete for support and votes
vi. Alternative source of information
vii. Free and fair election
viii. Institutions for making government policies depend on votes.
The explanation is given in the video.
“Rationalism” is a theory that focuses on the behavior of Individuals. It means that the unit of analysis for Rationalists is “Individual”. One of the core assumptions of Rationalism includes:
1. All humans are essentially self-interested actors. Human actions and behavior are not dependent on culture, gender, race, or ethnicity.
2. Faced with the same set of circumstances, we can expect all humans to make basically the same decisions.
3. Rationality is a universal trait.
4. Self-interest is a context-dependent.
5. Individuals do strategic calculations before taking any decision.
6. There Is also uncertainty and the possibility of bad choices. This is due to the lack of proper and adequate information.
While making decisions, individuals also face many constraints.
There two main explanations are given by rationalists for the transition of democracy. This includes:
1. Elite-Centered (Top-down democratization)
2. Mass-bases (Democratization from a blow)
There are two main groups in the elite list. These are “Hardliners” and “Soft liners”. There is a third kind of elite that exists outside the established elite. They are moderates and want political change. The explanation is given in the video.
0:00 Inception
0:39 Rational Choice
1:26 Elite Centered Explanation
10:26 Democratization from Blew
16:44 End
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