Democratic governance has long been an aspiration of many of the world's nation states. It includes the various ways that a society organizes itself through the agreement of regulations, human rights, laws, policies, and social structures with the aim of ensuring its members are granted equal opportunities and responsibilities.
According to the United Nations, countries that are democratically governed hold free and fair elections, allow for free and independent media, have a separation of powers among branches of government to protect civil and political rights and encourage an open, civil society with a participatory representation of said society's members.
There are many challenges associated with ensuring democratic governance, as there are many degrees to which a society can be governed democratically, and there are many models of democratic governance. Determining the best democratic system for society is commonly a political discussion that must take into consideration many different factors.
While we could address the question from a theoretic perspective, and analyze the traditional challenges to democracy, including scarcity of resources, military rule, the democratic deficit, etc., it is also interesting to look at more modern challenges to democracy, such as technological advances. As governments become more technologically capable, they are using technology to interfere in elections, thus bringing into question entire systems.
Additionally, globalization and the rise of global corporations are posing challenges to democracy. With private corporations controlling so much of our lives through technology, the lines of communication and who is in control of what have become blurred. Governments must have the strength and ability to keep working for their citizens despite mounting pressure from huge industries, such as pharmaceutical companies, or the energy sector.
Determining the best democratic system for society, and protecting that system from both internal and external challenges will continue to be a delicate balance for all governments. This is the fundamental challenge policymakers are faced with on a day to day basis as they strive to protect their citizens while still encouraging freedom of expression and human rights for all.
Democratic governance is a system of government where institutions function in accordance with democratic processes and norms. These norms include transparency, representation, pluralism, and accountability. These are interconnected norms such that the weakening of one can weaken all. For instance, accountability cannot be achieved effectively if there is no transparency because the populace will not know what the government is doing. Similarly, a lack of representation can prevent the populace from holding politicians accountable.
One of the biggest challenges governments face in fostering democratic governance is the balance between transparency and the other norms. Insufficient transparency hinders accountability and makes representation less effective; however, full transparency would also require all state secrets to be made public knowledge, which could undermine national security efforts. So the need of the nation to protect its citizens conflicts with the need for transparency, creating a challenge to the development of democratic governance.
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