DEMOCRACY

by
Haura Atthahara,S.IP.,M.I.P
Democracy
 • Philippe C Schmitter:
"Democracy is a system of
government in which the ruler
is accountable for his actions
to the citizens of the country,
Definition acts directly through
competition, and cooperates
with the people's
representatives."
 • Robert Dahl: Democracy
implies the existence of
civil and political
liberties, namely the
freedom to speak,
Definition publish, assemble and
organize, which are
necessary for political
debate and the conduct
of election campaigns
Democracy is the best system of government for a modern country.
According to Robert A. Dahl (1992), the characteristics of a democratic
system include: elected officials, free elections, the right to vote and vote,
freedom of the press, right to information, freedom of association, etc.;

Democratic transition is the time interval between non-democratic

(authoritarian) regimes to democratic political regimes. Another term that
means more or less the same is "transition from an authoritarian system".

Democratization is the next stage of the democratic transition after political

liberalization (O'Donnell & Schmitter, 1993). Or the process of changing from
an undemocratic system to a democratic system;

Constitutional democracy is the idea that a democratic government is a

government whose powers are limited and that it is not justified to act
arbitrarily against its citizens. These restrictions are regulated in the
constitution.
 Democratic Values

(1) Liberty
(2) Equality
(3) People's Sovereignty
(4) Tolerance
(5) Rule of Laws
(6) Peaceful Conflict Resolution
Features of Democracy (Robert Dahl)

1. Elected officials. Oversight of government decisions regarding policies is

constitutionally in the hands of elected officials;
2. Free and fair elections. The elected officials are determined in general elections which
are often held and carried out honestly and fairly;
3. Inclusive voting rights. All adults have the right to vote in the election of officials;
4. The right to stand for election. All adults are entitled to nominate themselves to fill
positions filled by general election;
5. Alternative information. Citizens have the right to seek alternative sources of
information. Alternative sources exist and are protected by law.
6. Freedom of expression. Citizens have the right to express opinions without danger of
harsh penalties on political matters
7. Associational autonomy. Citizens have the right to form relatively free associations or
organizations, including independent political parties and interest groups.
 1. Accountable executive
2. Representative legislative)
Democratic
3. Free justice system
institutions/Pillars
Democracy 4. Sistem kepartaian yang tidak
partai tunggal
5. Multiparty system
 respect human
avoid tyranny
rights

general self-
freedom determination
Kelebihan
Demokrasi moral human
autonomy development
(Robert
Dahl) take care of the
main personal equal rights
interests

peace prosperity
Type Demokrasi
 Table of Differences in Procedural Democracy and substantive
Democracy (R.Siti Zuhro, dkk.Dempkrasi Lokal:Peran Aktor Dalam
Demokratisasi. Yogyakarta:Penerbit Ombak, 2009. hal:23-24)

Variable Formal-procedural measure of Substantive-qualified measure of

success success
Partisipation the quantity and quality of voters • critical voter
• there is no discrimination for
voters

Competition • election quality

number of competitors and
candidates are fulfilles
Civil Liberties formally recognized
final election results local head elections
• Political equality
no hijacking of political rights for
citizens
• accountability
• bringing government closer to
the people
• improve public services and
people's welfare
 Why democracy is backwards?
(1) (Syamsuddin Haris)
Tornquist (2018), and Edward Aspinall (2018) have indicated a
similar phenomenon through different terms, backward, stagnant,
or moving in place. There are many factors suspected to be the
cause, including state inconsistency in upholding law and human
rights, corrupt bureaucracy, sectarian-based discrimination and
intolerance, hijacking of democracy by oligarchs in politics and
business, both at the national and local levels, state governance,
government, and bad policies, as well as the absence of
institutional commitment and moral integrity of political actors
and state administrators. Thus, although at the public level,
democracy has received significant support, ironically, politics is
controlled by anti-reform and anti-democratic elites.
Why democracy is backwards? (2)

There is no mutual trust between the various elements of civil

politics, in fact, the consolidation of democracy necessitates the
consolidation of all elements of civil power.
 Why democracy is
backwards? (3)
Political parties as one of the main actors in the
democratic system, not only do not have a clear
political agenda and direction regarding the direction
of post-New Order democracy, but are also largely
trapped by personal and oligarchic leadership. There
is no internal democracy, regeneration system and
standard recruitment system.
 Why democracy is backwards? (4)

• The state's ambivalence in responding to the rise of radical

movements, so that what is publicly visible is the absence of
state consistency in law enforcement. For exemple:
persecution of Ahmadiyah, Syiah etc
 Why democracy is backwards?
(5)

• After 25 years of reform, the development of democracy and

human rights has remained relatively unchanged, and has even
tended to get worse.
 Findings
• although not the majority,
there are some people who
are afraid to talk about
politics (39%), afraid
because of the arbitrariness
of the law apparatus (32%),
afraid to join organizations
(20%), and afraid to practice
religion (11%).(Syaiful
Mujani, Feb-March 2021
“Democracy is the
worst form of
government, but
the best among all
forms of
government that
have been tried
from time to
time."
Winston Churchill,
1947