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Communism

Latin American and Post-Communist Democracies Essay (Critical Writing)

November 17, 2020 by Essay Writer

The end of the 20th century is associated with the significant shift of many countries to following the democratic principles. Thus, the authoritarianism and dictatorship typical for the European communist countries and for the Latin American countries were changed with democracies in order to respond to the global requirements and new tendencies. However, the vision of democracy stated in the mentioned countries differs significantly from the patterns common for the Western societies because it is a long process to transform all the approaches to the political and social life typical for the authoritarian societies to establish the working democratic principles. Although the historical aspects of building democracies in the Latin American and post-communist countries differ, these countries follow the same type of democracy known as the delegative democracy and experience the similar challenges in building the new democratic society.

To compare the historical weaknesses of Latin American democracies and the modern vision of the post-communist democracies, it is necessary to determine the criteria according to which it is possible to assess the level of the democracy’s development in this or that country or region. The traditional vision of democracy is based on the free and fair elections when citizens are equal in their voting right, on the rule of law, on stating the civil liberties, on the presence of the organized and trusted political opposition, and on the independence of judiciary. Moreover, the decentralization of power is important to promote the democratic ideals.

Paying attention to the historical peculiarities of the Latin American countries’ route to their democracy, it is important to concentrate on the effects of dictatorship in controlling the media as the consequence of controlling the opinions opposite to the current government or on the delegative principles in holding the elections which are used by the largest party to continue guiding the situation (Burnell & Ware, 2007). According to the visions of many researchers, the contemporary post-communist countries also suffer from the effects of authoritarianism on building the democratic society (Burnell & Ware, 2007). Moreover, it is possible to speak about new variations of authoritarianism as the popular form of governance in these countries.

The challenges experienced by Latin American and post-communist democracies can be also compared. The elections which are claimed to be free and fair often depend on the money provided by the supporters of this or that party. The corruption is the main barrier to build the fair democracy in these countries. According to Burnell and Ware, “when economic reforms are put in place, there is more danger that the connections between money and politics lead to the trading of influence and, subsequently, the rise of corruption” (Burnell & Ware, 2007, p. 96). The connection between money and politics is significant and influential. Furthermore, the power in many Latin American and post-communist should be decentralized in order to build the real democracy according to the Western patterns.

The basic similarities in Latin American and post-communist democracies are associated with the type of democracy followed which is discussed by many researchers as the delegative democracy. The main differences are connected with the historical aspects and events which led to making the shift from using the authoritarian model to using the democratic model of governance. However, the major implications of the historical processes in these regions are comparable.

Reference

Burnell, P. J., & Ware, A. (2007). Funding democratization. USA: Transaction Publishers.

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