SUMMARY MODULE 2: DEMOCRACY

What is a political regime?

A political regime refers to the system of government and the set of rules, institutions, and
practices that govern a state. It defines how political power is distributed, exercised, and
regulated through a particular political entity. Political regimes are mainly classified into
autocracies and democracies.

➔ Autocracy

First, there are authoritarian regimes, in which an individual has absolute power and
authority over the government and the state. This individual may be a monarch, dictator, or
self-imposed leader. Autocracies often lack of meaningful checks and balances, and
decision-making is highly centralized. Closed autocracy is characterized by extreme
concentration of power, political repression, and lack of political competition, while electoral
autocracy maintains elections that look democratic, controls and manipulates the process to
ensure the continuous rule of the regime in power.

➔ Democracy

On the other hand, in democracy, political power resides in the people, and decisions are
made through a process that includes and citizen participation. But in reality, it is not always
as perfect as it seems. Ideally, liberal democracy has the objective not only to include free
and fair elections, but also to emphasize the protection of individual rights, the rule of law,
and the existence of checks and balances within the government, where its power is divided
and limited to ensure that it is fair. In reality, it is more realistic to talk about electoral
democracies, where the main focus is on the electoral process itself, however, in practice,
there are multiple complications that make democracy not entirely fair, such as violence and
corruption.

Democracy theory

The concept of democracy has evolved over time and has been influenced by various
factors. Over centuries, the scale of democracy expanded from city-states to nation-states,
leading to a transformation in the limits and possibilities of democracy. Furthermore, its
historical development has been influenced by a combination of Greek, Roman, medieval,
Renaissance, and later notions that have generated multiple debates between factors such
as who is part of the “people”, what it means to govern, what determines whether or not
someone is capable or competent to govern and how efficient democracy is, depending on
the magnitude of its scale. This kind of dilemmas that have resulted in many inconsistencies,
thats why, currently, democracy can still be a difficult term to define precisely.

Democratic political systems

Additionally, different political systems have emerged from democracy that have managed to
stand out for certain aspects that differentiate them from each other. First of all, presidential
democracy is characterized by the fact that the government and the president are separate
and independent powers, the president is directly elected by the people and holds executive
power, but he cannot take charge of the legislative power, which is in charge of the Congress
(Ex. USA and Brazil). In the parliamentary system, on the other hand, the government is
responsible to the legislative assembly. The assembly is elected by the people and the
government is formed by the majority party or coalition in the assembly. The head of
government, usually called the prime minister, is elected in the assembly and is accountable
to it, while the head of state, often a president, may have limited powers and is usually a
ceremonial figure (Ex. UK and Germany). However, there is also a mixed system where
there is a combination of presidential and parliamentary elements. The government is
responsible to the legislative assembly, but there is also an independently elected president
who holds executive power. (Ex. France and Russia).

And.. in Colombia?

Finally, in the case of Colombia, it has represented democracy in an exemplary manner

since its constitution in 1991 compared to other Latin American countries such as Chile,
Brazil and Argentina, which have had repeated experiences with authoritarianism. However,
the path continues thanks to the fact that violence and drug trafficking continue to be a
problem that causes Colombia to continue being a democracy under siege, where despite
the progress that different governments have achieved (such as the peace process), only
mitigate the armed conflict temporarily, since, even today, new post-demobilization groups
such as the ANSA threaten the beginning of new periods of violence, and with it the violation
of rights for civil society.