...Short Writing Assignment Is Brazil a Multiracial Democracy? There are so many comparisons between Brazil and the United States of America. Both Brazil and the United States of America are the largest multiracial societies in the Americas, as well they both share a history of slavery, and plantation slavery at that, and finally both societies have confronted the legacy of slavery in the form of deeply entrenched racial inequality(Racial Inequality in Brazil and the United States, page 229). With all these similarities you would imagine that they both would be making strides toward a more equal society. It is safe to safe that the United States of America is at a state of more equality than any time in the history of this country, but where does that put Brazil? Are they making the same strides as the United States of America? Brazil is most definitely a Multiracial population, which would lead you to believe that it is a multiracial democracy, but that assumption would be far from the truth based on all the research that I have done and based on the articles that I have read. In the year 1991 51.6% of Brazil’s population was white, while 42.6% of the population was brown, and 4%was black (Demographic Censuses). When you look at that compared to the United States of America in 1980 when 83% of the population was white, while only 11.7% of the population was black and 5% of the population had some other orientation (1980 Census of Population). When you look at Trivett 2 ...
Words: 1806 - Pages: 8
...Introduction- definition of democracy 3. Democracy in western states * United states of America-government and politics * Germany - government and politics Democracy in African countries * South Africa- government and politics 4. Comparison and contrast between African and western democracy 5. Conclusion 6. Referees INTRODUCTION Often do we come across the word democracy people are constantly trying to define it but most do not understand it. It has many definitions but what I term best fit is a government for the people and by the people. It is a form of government in which all eligible citizens are meant to participate equally either directly or indirectly through elected representatives or by establishment of laws in which the society is run. There are three main types which include direct democracy, presidential democracy and parliament democracy. Any form of democracy tries in its own way to ascertain the will of the people and to bring public affairs into line with it. This can be achieved by direct democracy or by a body of elected representatives. Within the group of representative democracies the focus may be on a strong president which is the presidential democracy or on a strong parliament which is the parliament democracy. As earlier mentioned the question is never on whether there exist some forms of direct participation or of representation but rather on how much importance they are given in a certain system. Democracy in western states UNITED STATES...
Words: 2491 - Pages: 10
...In the dictionary definition, democracy "is government by the people in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system." According to Lincoln, democracy is a government "of the people, by the people, and for the people." Freedom and democracy are often used interchangeably, but the two are not synonymous. Democracy is indeed a set of ideas and principles about freedom, but it also consists of a set of practices and procedures that have been molded through a long, often tortuous history. In short, democracy is the institutionalization of freedom. The description of democracy could take up more than 10 more pages, but to simplify this, democracy is basically a system which includes: people who have sovereignty, a government based upon consent of the governed, rulership of the majority, however serving to protect the rights of minorities--whether ethnic, religious, or political, or simply the losers in the debate over a piece of controversial legislation, guarantee of basic human rights for all, free and fair elections, equality before law, constitutional limits on the power of government, social, economic, and political pluralism, and values of tolerance, pragmatism, cooperation, and compromise. Although experiencing minor improvements in terms of democracy, progression of liberty for racial minorities, improvement in voting conditions, betterment in the equal distribution of town offices according...
Words: 266 - Pages: 2
...Decline of Democracy in America The founding fathers didn’t create a democracy because they thought it would work perfectly. They didn’t give people the right to vote so that everyone would find true happiness. They knew better than to create a utopia where everyone had their own white picket fence, went to church on Sunday and lead lives as model citizens. They understood that toes would get stepped on, feelings would get hurt and sacrifices would happen. The founding fathers didn’t start a revolution to make people happy, they started a revolution because they believed in the idea that everyone had the right to equality. They founded America on the belief that hard work will lead to prosperity in the land of opportunity. All the ideas we associate with America: capitalism, the free market, education, elections, these all came about because people wanted to have power over where their life took them. Being able to make decisions in your own interest: the founding fathers based America on that principal, and they structured the government so it would protect those interests. Today, this is not the case. Although it may appear that America has come a long way since the civil and women’s rights movement, increasing inequality and discrimination in the 21st century has created a democracy that no longer represents the interests of its constituents but its ruling elite. Despite people’s preconceptions that our society represents...
Words: 1373 - Pages: 6
...1. Sarah Palin, governor of Alaska. Chosen by John McCain (senator of Arizona) to rub as vice president 2. Palin’s popularity declined because of her teen daughter pregnancy and saying things she shouldn’t have said. 3. Casual questions- concerned with what causes what. Such questions address the roots or origins of particular events or behaviors. They attempt to explain which factor or factors made a particular outcome occur. Answering casual questions in the realm of politics and government is what political science and this book are all about. 4. Knowing the fundamentals of your political system and good thinking is important because it allows you to keep your leaders, and family and friends accountable. 5. Single cause explanations flow from a particular or partisan posture or in the need to explain something in a sound bite 6. Correlation- a relationship between factors such that change in one is accompanied by change in one is accompanied by change in the other Causation- a relationship between variables such that change in the value of the others Spurious relationship- a relationship between variables that reflects correlation but not causation 7. Government- intuitions that have the authority and capacity to create and enforce public policies (rules) for a specific territory and people. There are about 89,000 governments 8. Government is different from other institutions in society in that it has a broad right to force, government...
Words: 1341 - Pages: 6
...destitution and at least three sustained and partly successful attempts to destroy and exterminate whole populations. Hundreds of millions of Europeans were killed, imprisoned, tortured, uprooted and expelled in the name of racial, political and national ideological goals. The thirty years of war was followed an unprecedented 45-year period of peace, even if it was a peace imposed by the Cold War. How should one tell the story of twentieth century European history? Was it the process of capitalism and liberal democracy, referring the world wars as aberrations of “true” European history? In Dark Continent, Mark Mazower highlights the historical contingency of this European era. “Though we may like to think democracy’s victory in the Cold War proves its deep roots in Europe’s soil, history tells us otherwise” (Mazower, 5) He ties his interpretation into his themes of decline, fall, and social struggles in Europe to his thesis that communism, Nazism, and democracy are more related than they might seem. Through these views of the forms of governments and the main social struggle of the era, Mazower helps the reader gain a greater understanding of interwar Europe. In this essay I will present how fascisms and communism were just as European as liberal democracy, as it is easy to retrospectively consider them anomalies of European history. Additionally I will focus on Mazower’s view on Nazism and how Nazism stood out from the other European visions and gained its power throughout Europe...
Words: 997 - Pages: 4
...Paula de Blas 18546633 Essay Plan To what extent are restrictions on freedom of speech justified in Australia? While there are laws that restrict Freedom of Speech in Australia in order to protect fundamental rights and to limit discrimination which emerged from multiculturalism, the same laws can also clash with the liberty of the citizens and with the right of Freedom of Speech itself. Introduction To establish the boundaries between the defense of Freedom of Expression and of minorities has become a challenge for modern states. The consolidation of different groups (ethnocultural , sexual diversity , immigrants, religious) within the base community has generated the need to redefine and strengthen the defense of the human rights. As Will Kymlicka explains, cultural mix requires an inclusive process, which involves the establishment of a group of rights that recognizes and protects the minorities. Conversely, the ongoing struggle of the minorities has a major difficulty: the delicate border between the defense of their rights and the violation of the rights of the community. Firstly, this essay aims to explain the current conception of Freedom of Speech, since it is a controversial issue, focusing on the importance of that right for the Australian society and for the world. Secondly, we will analyze whether Freedom of Speech needs limits and the role...
Words: 886 - Pages: 4
...Which of the following did NOT lead to American settlement in the seventeenth ce ntury? A) Q uesti oning the divine right of kings B) T he sp lit from the Church of England C) Belief in self - government D) Belief in intelligent design E) Hobbes and Loc ke’s social contract theories 3) A social contract theory of government was proposed by A) Plato and Aristotle. B) Aquinas and Luther. C) Newton and the separatists. D) Locke and Hobbes. E) Plato and Luther. 4) Locke's Second Treatise on Civil Government set s out a theory of A) the divine rights of kings. B) aristocracy. C) democracy. D) republicanism. E) natural rights. 5) Indirect democracy is based on A) consensus. B) unanimity. C) the system of government used in ancient Greece. D) representation. E) "mob rule." 6) Republics are A) representative democracies. B) direct democracies. C) a hallmark of unitary governments. D) frequently found in totalitarian regimes. E) another name for states. 7) In an oligarchy, rule is by A) the many. B) the few. C) one person. D) all people. E) people who own property. 8) A doctrine that society should be governed by certain ethical principles that are part of nature and can be understood by reason is called A) ethical law. B) contract law. C) natural law. D) Newton's law. E) constitutional law. 9) Who was the major author of the Declaration of Independence? A) George Washington B) James Madison C) Thomas Jefferson D) Benjamin...
Words: 705 - Pages: 3
...smooth transition to democracy, many Mexicans were later disillusioned on the lack of major changes that didn’t take place after the political power shift from the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) to PAN. In 2012, Mexico’s political power shifted back to PRI after PAN had taken office for two recurring presidential...
Words: 1814 - Pages: 8
...Raven Williams 10/2/2012 History of Political Thoughts TR 1:00pm Dr. Andrew Douglas Plato’s Plea Against Democracy Democracy is defined as a government by the people that exercise their rights through the elected officials and ruled by the majority. The written dialogues of Socrates by Plato take into account that democracy is actually inefficient and undermines the true values of their citizens. Plato’s best known and comprehensive work is the Republic. He criticized democracy as an inadequate form of government because it caused corruption of people through public opinions and created rulers whose main concern it to the ability to influence its citizen rather than being knowledgeable of proper rulership. Therefore, this government is capable of molding the perception and ideas of the citizens. According to Plato, democratic governance is a poor form of government due to the focus on self-interest rather than the welfare of society as a whole. In this essay, Plato’s background, views on politics will be presented first; then, his in-depth opinion of democracy and what he believed to be an ideal society. Plato wrote, in his autobiography Seventh Letter, that he could not identify himself with any political parties because they were heavily engage in corrupted activities. However, it was due to the execution of Socrates that provided Plato with the assurance that the existing governments were fallacious without any possible reparation. He perceived politics as unhealthy and...
Words: 2213 - Pages: 9
...Ex 1 Using material from the article as well as your own ideas, consider what the priorities of education should be for your country and justify your reason for choosing these priorities. In Singapore, education is more or less a political and social engineering tool that prepares Singaporeans for the workplace of the future. In the 1960s, education was driven by the need for Singapore to survive as a small, independent city state with limited resources. Thus, there was a strong link between education and economic development. Given its history, it’s not surprising that Singapore still values education as part of the nation-building process. The main priority of education in Singapore should be economic growth. Singapore has no natural resources other than its own people. Given this situation, it is imperative that our human capital is completely harnessed and developed for nation building. Education, which allows for the accumulation of knowledge and skills, thus becomes vital for sustained economic growth. In this century, economies all over the world are transformed by globalization, to remain competitive, Singapore needs to transform itself into a global hub of knowledge and innovation driven industries. To achieve this, a world-class workforce that is creative, entrepreneurial and adaptable needs to be cultivated to survive the many challenges of this new century. However, as the article pointed out, education is also a personal right, an entitlement. While the government...
Words: 2321 - Pages: 10
...Topic "Democracy is far more cumbersome form of government than dictatorship" ---------------------------------------- Since the end of cold war, many countries across the globe have chosen democracy as the form of government. Today, most of the world's powerful countries, international organizations and political science experts see democracy as a natual choice in comparison to dictatorship. Yet democracy remains a far more complicated form of government as compared to dictatorship. Some decisions that for the common good of the entire community might require some group of people to make some sacrifice e.g. farmers might have to leave their family land and go to some other place in order to make space available for some new industry. While this new industry can bring prosperity to the whole area and can offer better jobs and standard of living to the farmer's own children, many farmers would be reluctant to leave the land that has been ploughed by their forefathers, espacially if the land is fertile. Convincing them to accept monetary compensation or another piece of land can be a very difficult task in a democracy as compared to a dictatorship. Displacing millions of people for building a dam, as the the case when constructing the Three Gorges Dam in China, might have been much more cumbersome in a democracy. Democratic system of governments generally have an extensive system of election of government. Dictatorships do not need to spend effort in developing and mainitaining...
Words: 572 - Pages: 3
...In my opinion, the key principles of the Progressive Movement were democracy, municipal administration, efficiency, the regulation of large corporations and monopolies, social work, and conservationism. In my opinion, the most significant successes of the Progressive Movement were the constitutional amendments and improvements in the democratic process. Our text tells us “The Progressive use of the amendment created lasting effects on our political system and is often considered the greatest success of the entire movement” (Bowles, 2011). The 16th amendment allowed the federal government to begin collecting income tax from all workers. The 17th amendment gave citizens the power to elect U.S. senators and was a result of the direct primary reform in Oregon. This was important because it allowed voters to choose candidates for office instead of political party leaders (The Progressive Era, 2002). The recall, referendum, and initiative are all examples of Progressive reform that brought more democratic power to the common people. The Progressive Movement’s significant failure, in my opinion, was in regard to racial equality. Even though they fell short of their intentions, we must remember how ambitious their goals were. The Progressive Movement missed their target because they aimed to do too much. I do not think that World War I can be regarded as a Progressive conflict. The First World War was a road block to Progressive reform until the rich, who had fought...
Words: 304 - Pages: 2
...rights abuses are a norm among many governments in Africa. When we read about these two nations we see that, South Africa and Nigeria have a lot of influence on African Affairs. Nigeria and South Africa both are blessed their ethnicities and races, an asset to national and economic development. Nigeria and South Africa are both stratified societies. Both the countries were shaped by assumptions and definitions imposed by the British rulers. British imperial rule in both countries provided identities, languages and symbols for ethnic and racial groups. [2]In South Africa, for example, the colonists' policies deepened the differences between Zulus and Xhosas, Ndebele and Vendas, Tswana and Qwaqwa, etc. Also, those of mixed race were segregated from the white groups through culture, residence, occupation and status. These differences benefited the elite by fomenting conflict. [3]The case of Nigeria is similar, with the exception of the racial groupings. There are no significant populations of colored people or whites in Nigeria. Instead, there are indigenous ethnic groups who were encouraged to segregate by the colonialists. The...
Words: 1359 - Pages: 6
...Journal of Politics and Law Vol. 2, No. 3 Accountability from the Perspective of Malaysian Governance Ahmad Faiz Yaakob Faculty of Administrative Science and Policy Studies Universiti Teknologi MARA Terengganu, 23000 Dungun, Terengganu Tel: 60-12-222-7659 E-mail: faiziiu@yahoo.com Nadhrah A. Kadir Faculty of Administrative Science and Policy Studies Universiti Teknologi MARA Terengganu, 23000 Dungun, Terengganu Tel: 60-12-250-4302 E-mail: nadhr292@tganu.uitm.edu.my Kamaruzaman Jusoff (Corresponding author) TropAIR, Faculty of Forestry, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia Tel: 60-3-8946-7176 E-mail: kjusoff@yahoo.com Abstract Generally, accountability is often associated with a concept of answerability, responsibility, blameworthiness, liability etc. Commonly, the concept of accountability from the perspective of governance is the means to control the public administration in democratic countries. The classification of public accountability is normally seen in terms of external and internal mechanisms. Hence, this paper shall discuss both mechanisms with special reference to Malaysia. The discussion also focuses on the limitation of each mechanism which rendered some problems to the concept of accountability in Malaysia. Keywords: Accountability, Governance, Public administration, 1. Introduction Accountability is often associated with such concepts as answerability, responsibility, blameworthiness, liability and ...
Words: 10290 - Pages: 42
