What is democracy?

Democracy comes from the Greek `demos' (people) and `kratos' (power). It is about the power that people have by right to contribute to the process by which their country or area or group is run.

While the people of many countries believe in democracy (it is Article 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights), some argue that it is unsuitable or impossible for their country. There are many different systems and it is difficult to say one system is democratic and another is not. For example, in a country with only one political party, it is possible to hold elections so the people can choose between different members of the party who might represent alternative viewpoints. Is this democracy?

Ways of voting and electing representatives in national democratic systems vary. In principle, they all try to reflect the views of the people through a representative body like Parliament. Comparing the systems of India, Ghana, America and the UK illustrates how different systems can be. Sometimes they differ between national or local levels. China's national government is not democratic, yet over the next year the majority of the population will cast their votes to elect local leaders. So far, the majority of leaders elected are not from the ruling Communist party.

Having elections every few years does not necessarily mean that everyone feels involved. In the UK, a MORI poll in 1997 indicated that almost 90% of young Black people say they will not vote because they feel the political parties do not listen to them and they don't have enough power to influence the political process.
All democratic systems have rules about who has the right to vote. In most countries, no one under the age of 18 is allowed to vote. In others, women or minorities or indigenous people are excluded from voting. In the UK, homeless people are not allowed to vote.

Some people argue that referendums - when people can vote on a specific question - should be held regularly, but others argue that, because political parties lay out their beliefs during an election, the election vote is enough.
There are other ways of influencing decisions besides voting. Many grassroots organisations, special interest or local area groups want to be heard at other times. They lobby representatives directly, get the media to write about their ideas, use petitions, marches and peaceful demonstrations.

Many wars are fought over what kind of political system is used and who has the right to be part of it. The biggest challenge in fighting for democracy is getting dictators to give up their power and privileges.
Democracy is often described as an `evolutionary process'. But we should not assume that people within democracies have `succeeded' while others have not. Many people in the UK and in other `democracies' believe that their systems are not democratic enough. Some also would argue that the Western democracies have not always supported movements in other parts of the world which were fighting for democracy. For example, should the UK government have shown more support for the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa?
The recent problems in Albania and Bosnia show how difficult it is to introduce and maintain democracy. On the other hand, democracy appears to be doing well in India, a country which had to struggle for its independence from Britain.

There is a lot of debate about the link between democracy and economic development. Many believe that if people don't have the right to influence policies that affect their lives, sustainable development will not be possible. Others, like China's recent leader Deng Xiaoping, have argued that democracy can only come after development, and that addressing poverty must be the top priority.

Poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, human rights abuses and inequality can exclude people from the democratic process. But, throughout the world, people are striving to have a say in the way their countries are run and believe that this is a basic human right and a way of achieving a more positive future.