Contents
Ø Acknowledgement
Ø Abstract
Ø Preface
Ø Historical origins of Democracy
Ø Derivation of democracy
Ø Definition of democracy
Ø Kinds of Democracy
Ø Definition of violence
Ø How does democracy create violence?
Ø Is democracy suitable for
Bangladesh?
Ø Types of violence in Bangladesh
Ø Conclusion
Acknowledgement
Profound admirable goes to my revere course
teacher Mr. Md. Touhidul Islam, Lecturer
of the Department of Peace and Conflict
Studies, University of Dhaka, to
access us in preparing this assignment (Democracy
and Violence) which is really creative and challenging. The spontaneous
guidance as well as right direction provided by our course teacher has assisted
us to shape up this work. So I thank to our department, especially Mr. Md. Touhidul Islam for giving this
chance of great and fabulous opportunity.
I am also grateful to my friend Mr. Motasim Billah, Student of the Department of Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Dhaka for helping me in
collecting my data. I am particularly indented to my respondents for providing
me their time, patience and attention.
Abstract:
Most of the countries of the present world are
governed by the democratic government. This democracy brings well being for
some countries. But all the democratic countries are not happy with this form of
government, specially the developing countries like Bangladesh which are facing
a little more political violence. So I have focused on the Democracy of
Bangladesh where violence is a affaire of daily life. Here I have mentioned the
disadvantages of democracy and delved into question whether democracy is
suitable for Bangladesh or not as a developing country and try to find out the
types of violence.
v Preface:
Democracy was originated in ancient
Greece. The people of Greece elected their representatives to govern the state.
This democracy is now all over the world. Though the democracy is a popular
form of government, capitalists use it for their own purpose in the developing
countries like Bangladesh. This democracy has totally failed to establish peace and stability in
the developing countries. Moreover it is creating more violence in those
countries. Capitalists influence on
democratic government in different ways so that they can take opportunity from
the poor and weak countries. This democratic system is not suitable for those
countries where literacy rate is very low. But such countries are trying best
to establish democracy. We see violence in every democratic country in the
present time like Bangladesh, Nepal, Maldives, Pakistan and other developing
and developed countries of the world. So it has been a matter great whether it
creates violence or not. Deniel Ross, the author of famous book “Violent
democracy” mentions that” democracy has violent hearts”. I will try to delve
into matter in the perspective of Bangladesh.
v Historical
Origins of Democracy:
The genesis of democracy can be
traced back to the Greek city-state of Athens. The democratic idea of a
government responsible to the governed, of trial by jury and of civil liberties
of thought, speech, writing and worship have been stimulated by Greek history.
Emphasis on liberty and the studies related to man were the main tenets of
ancient Greece. It was their sense of liberty and independence, individual and
collective, which inspired them to accomplishments in philosophy, politics and
science. The Greeks gave to mankind the idea of politics as the business of
citizens as against the arbitrary rule of the despots.
The democracy propounded by the
Greeks enjoyed a short span of life. The Romans, successor to Greek ideas and
institutions, at first seemed to embrace Athenian democratic principles. The
regime of the Romans was a mixture of kingship, aristocracy and democracy. Its
aim was the collective welfare of the society. But the exigencies of governing
an expanding empire led to the corruption of individual rights by the power and
expediency of monarchy and aristocracy. For a few hundred years, the Empire
ruled by well-disciplined Roman legions maintained conditions of relative peace
and security throughout much of Europe.
v
Derivation of
the word Democracy:
The term “democracy” is derived
from the Greek word “demos” and “kratos”. The meaning of demos is’ the people
“and the meaning of kratos is “power” .Democracy thus means the power of the
people.
v
Definition of
Democracy
There are a lot of definitions of democracy
have been given by different political scientists and scholars. Some of the
important definitions are followings:
Ø According the former president of
America, Abraham Lincoln:
“Democracy is the government of the
of the people, by the people and for the people”
Ø According to Aristotle,
the father of political science:
“He considered it as the perverted
form of government”
Ø According to lord Bryce:
“Democracy is that form of
government in which the ruling power of a state is legally vested, not in any
particular class or classes but in the members of the community as a whole”
[Modern Democracies;vol.1,page.20]
Ø According to Seeley:
“Democracy is a government in which
has a share”
Ø According to Gettell:
“Democracy is that form of
government in which the mass of the population possess the right to share in exercise
of sovereign power”
v
Kinds of
democracy:
There are two types of democracy. They are
followings:
§ Pure
or Direct Democracy
§ Indirect
or Representatives Democracy
¨ Pure or Direct democracy:
When the people themselves directly
express their their will on public affairs, the types of government is called
pure or direct democracy.
Ø According to Hearnshaw:
“A democratic form of government,
in the strict sense of the term, is one in which the community as a whole,
directly or immediately, without agents or representative performs the
functions of sovereignty”
[
Hearnshaw: Democracy of the cross ways page ;20]
This type of government was
established in ancient Greek. But now this of government is not practicable.
¨ Definition of Indirect democracy:
In a representative democracy the
will of the state is formulated and expressed not directly by the people
themselves, but by their representatives to whom the delegate the power of
deliberation and decision making.
Ø According to John Stuart Mill:
Indirect or Representative
Democracy is one in which the whole people or some numerous potion of them
exercise the governing power through deputies periodically elected by
themselves.
Ø According toBluntch:
In the representative democracy the
rule is that the people govern through its officials while it legislates, and
controls the administration trough its representatives.
This type of government exists in
the most countries of the present world as it is known as the popular form of
government. So I will discuss on and delve into the weakness and impact on
third world countries, particularly Bangladesh
v How does
democracy create violence?
Today democracy is a popular form of government of
the world. But this form of government is congenial for every country,
particularly in developing countries where education rate is very low. So
democracy has a bad impact on those developing countries like Bangladesh .I am
of the opinion that democratic
government is mainly responsible for the increase of violence I n Bangladesh
.If we want to trace out the causes of
violence ,we have to find out the
shortcomings of democracy. There are a lot of disadvantages of democracy which
lead to the creation of violence in third world countries. The main
disadvantages of democracy are following:
¨ Rule of fools:
Many political incompetent scientists consider
democracy as the rule of fools, and illiterate. If we see the current phenomena
of democracy in our country, we can find in competent representatives .On the
other hand most of the people are also illiterate .They are not aware about
politics and their candidates .They cannot verify the proper candidates in the
election .The do not know the manifestation of the contesting parties.
§ Views of scholars:
Many scholars of political science on this aspect
.These are followings:
Ø According to Plato, the author of
the famous book The Republic:
He sees democracy as the rule of
illiterate persons as he says “administration is an art which cannot be
acquired by the common man .Only Intelligent and competent persons can fully
understand the administration, but democracy is the rule of illiterate
persons”.
According to Aristotle:
§ Aristotle,
the father of political science and ancient philosopher sees the democracy as
the perverted form of government.
According to Lecky:
Lecky sees the democracy as the rule of ignorance.
He says “A decision upon the basis of vote is ultimately the rule of ignorance.
History shows that intelligence resides with the few and not with the many. Where
ignorance rules, Liberty is curtailed .Democracy is unfavorable to intellectual
progress and the advance of scientific truth.
Ø According to Sir Henry Maine:
He says “experience tends to show that popular
government is characterized by great fragility and that since its appearance,
all doctrine of liberty being irreconcilable with that of equality again adds
to the weakness and paves the way for the domination and operation of wire
pullers.
¨ Importance of quantity:
In democracy, importance is given
on quantity rather than quality. In democracy defeat and victory is determined by the number of
votes one is secures. The value of the vote of a highly educated person is
similar to that of a fool. While enacted laws in the parliament, all matters
are decided by majority votes and no importance is given to the views of the
educated persons. Government becomes brute majority. The decision of minorities
is not granted. They are neglected everywhere .They do not get much
opportunities as their size. So the street politics ….
¨ Expensive government system:
Democracy is expensive government
system. Money is spent here more than other forms of government. Elections are
more costly here. Election causes much excitement and sometimes turns into
violence. The numerous bodies of legislature and ministries are also very
expensive. For instance there a lot of ministries in Bangladesh .They have been
paid much every year. The democracy has no motives to economize. They are
liable of misadventure at the hands of financial adventures mountain banks.
That’s why we hear of so many financial scandals. The candidates often spend
huge amount of money in the election campaigns.
¨ Partisan Politics:
F a political ideology is, conflict
or confrontation is something inherent in politics. In Bangladesh, from
infusing dynamism in politics, the partisan ideologies have rendered it
volatile, violence prone even destruct. Leaders and activities of major parties
hear nothing but deep hatred for one another so much so that often the
encounter between their activities and supporters on the street turns violent.
It is very common in democratic system.
¨ Capitalists influence on democracy:
We cannot think about democracy
without capitalism today. Capitalists are the main preacher of democracy n the
whole world, particularly in the third world countries where people has not so
trust In their leaders. The capitalists exercise great influence upon the
elections held in the countries. They
give donation which is expected to win
in the elections. Money power of politics and patronage of venality or
corruption go hand in hand. Money power
begets venality and graft; it is an essential precondition for seeking
election, influencing votes and assuring a place in the place of power. These
capitalists are both from abroad and within the country. The capitalists give
money to the candidates intentionally and or forcibly in the elections so that
hey they can influence on the law making process and other policy making
process. This is a common phenomenon in all the democratic states of the world.
The American bond of democracy is called “dollar democracy”. Bangladesh, India
and other democracies are also dominated by the capitalists.
¨ Democracy spoils the harmonious among
society:
Democracy spoils the harmonious among the of
the existing societies. During the election more conditions re subordinate t
securing the large number of votes. Election propaganda misguides people. After
election the ruling party becomes autocratic and elected representative owes
responsibility to the party on whose ticket he contested the election. After
wining in the election , the ruling party create anarchy in the country. It is
happened mainly in the third world countries like Bangladesh. Dishonest persons
dominate the society and moral standard of the country deteriorates owing to
widespread corruption.
¨ Majority becomes autocratic:
In democracy majority becomes
autocratic and does not care the minorities. They neglect minorities during the
policy making. This helps in the establishment of tyrannical rule. For instance
the present government of Bangladesh is said that the oppositions are not given
opportunity to say something in the parliament. Moreover the governments do not
accept the advice of the minorities even in the time of emergency.
¨ Unstable government:
In democracy the government is not
stable. Government is changed frequently as its duration is five years.
Sometimes government falls by the military coups. In some states where
government cannot fulfill its tenure because of the movement of the opposition
parties. Nepal, Maldives, Bangladesh and other small countries of the world are
the glaring example of such kinds of government fall from the power. In
Bangladesh, no government was ousted by the movements of opposition parties,
but the government was ousted by the coup. So these types of government are not
stable and can be changed any time.
¨ Democracy is imaginary and does not
practice:
Many writers like Oswald Spangler,
and Barkar say that “Government is by the people is a sheer impossibility or
“Democratic equality is a monstrous fiction.” Common people lack the ability
needed to understand complicated problems of administration. Representatives
are elected masses who amateur, incompetent and inexperienced. A small group
rules the country in democracy. After election, the ruling party becomes
autocratic and not much consideration os given to the views of the people.
People cannot remove them before the expiry of five years.
¨ Corruption prone government:
Corruption in a
democracy is considered by some to be more extensive than in any other form of
government; and corruption is worse in its effect in a democracy because it
reaches own to all classes of the people.
[Political science and government
by …page.137]
Representatives become corrupted in
democracy and the ruling party goons also become corrupted. Administration and
other sectors indulge in corruption. It cn be exemplify the corruption of
Bangladesh where the democratic government exists. It has been champion in
corruption for several years.
¨ Democracy hinders progress:
Democracy hinders the progress of
the country. Democracy being the rule of ignorant, cannot appreciate the utility
of intellection progress. A democratic government cannot fulfill its projects
that approved within its tenure. As a result development process becomes
hampering. For instance, in Bangladesh many projects are rejected by the newly
government as a result country loses huge amount of money.
¨ It has no use in emergency:
Democracy cannot work
satisfactorily in an emergency which needs prompt actions. It is too slow in
arising decisions as it has to consult too many interests.
For instance, when anarchists started
to loot in some cities of Britain in 2011 it took much time to use force against the miscreants. Hence Mr. Baldwin
says “Democracy is always two years behind dictatorship.
v Is democracy suitable for Bangladesh?
The democracy is a popular form of government
of the present world. The western countries particularly America and its
alliance are the preacher of the democracy in the developing countries. They
try to establish their democracy. in those countries which are dominated by the
socialist and dictatorship. They establish democracy to get more privileges
from those countries. But if the dictators give all kinds of facilities and
govern his countries according to the doctrine of super power, the super power
will not try to establish e democracy in those countries. Egypt, Libya, Tunisia
are the glaring example of such kinds of policy of the super power. Moreover
they want to keep third world under their beck and call. Democracy has some
essential conditions without which the democracy cannot success and if these
conditions are not available in those democratic countries there will be
violence everywhere. These conditions are not available in Bangladesh. So we
see violence every in Bangladesh.
¨ Sound system of education:
Education is crucial need for democracy.
Healthy democracy cannot think without education. Uneducated citizens cannot
understand the democratic rule. They are not aware of their rights. The
citizens need mental and physical development .They should have qualities of
sacrifice, sympathy, selfless service of the country. But the now literacy rate
of Bangladesh is 56% [Statistics -2011] So how democracy can bring peace and
stability in Bangladesh?. As a result we See violence
¨ Enlightened citizens:
People should have the knowledge of their rights and
duties to make democracy as success. So long as the citizens do not perform
their duties the question of the success of democracy cannot arise.
Otherwise the government becomes
autocratic. The context of Bangladesh democracy is same as the people are not
aware of their duties to the state. So the democracy is giving opposite result in Bangladesh and contributing violence.
¨ Political wakening:
In a democracy people should have political
awakening. Where there is no political awakening the citizens fail to realize
political problems. They are unable to elect their representatives properly. In
Bangladesh people have no political wakening. Think election as the festival
and they take money from the candidates and vote for them without any consideration.
As a result criminals also become the people’s representative and create
violence in the country.
¨ Freedom:
Freedom is another essential condition of democracy.
Democracy guarantees the freedom of expression, freedom of press, freedom of
religion and freedom to form association. These freedoms are also the causes
the of creating violence. News papers propagate much wrong news which leads to
the violence. We can remember the incident of sathkhira where religious riots scattered
on the basis of wrong news published by a local newspaper in the first week of
April 2012. We hear blasphemy of
religion in democratic Bangladesh. These lead to the creation of violence in
the country.
¨ Law and order:
The maintenance of law and order in society by the
government is another condition for the democracy. But democratic government of
Bangladesh follows the dual policy in this context. Law should be enforced
impartially and equally to maintain law and order. But the ruling party does
not do so. The ruling party of Bangladesh does not give punish to the criminals
existing its party even the president gives clemency of the killer. On the
contrary government gives punishment the general people. So such kind of
democracy provokes more violence in the society
¨ Sprit of co –operation:
Every democracy has to face many
economic, social, political religious and other problems. In dictatorship,
these problems are solved by the dictator according to his own whim. In
absolute monarchy, the situation is similar to dictatorship, but it is
different in a democracy. In democracy the prime Minister, the President cannot
act arbitrarily but they have to find the solution of problems according to
wishes of the parliament or of the people and government, gap between
government and opposition parties. As a result confrontational politics is seen
frequently. The problem is that the government wants one thing and the people
want the other things. For instance the current ruling parties abolished the
caretaker government system. This has created the gap between government and
people. So violence has been inevitable.
¨ Democracy of powers and local self government:
For the success of democracy decentralization
of powers is essential. The concentration of power makes the government
autocratic. But there is no such condition in Bangladesh. The government of
Bangladesh wants to rule by one hand. As a result, it did not hand over the
power to the Upozila Chairman. So the governing system is in the hand of the
central government. So the governing system is not able to govern properly.
¨ High Moral Standard:
The success of government depends
upon the high moral standard of the people. Where there is dishonesty, black
marketing, hoarding and smuggling and where the ministers and public servants
are corrupt, the question of success democracy does not arise. In Bangladesh, where
corruption, nepotism, black –marketing, hoarding and smuggling are common affairs.
So democracy is not congenial for Bangladesh. It is creating more anarchy in
Bangladesh.
v
Types of
violence in Bangladesh:
Bangladesh is
a democratic country. It has experienced democratic rule about 20 years after
the gaining of independence in 1971. But we do not see Bangladesh as the
peaceful country. Violence is everywhere in Bangladesh. There is any sector
which is free from violence. Beginning from family life to state life
everywhere is violence. What is the reason? Scholars are the opinion of the
blemished politics is the main cause of violence of Bangladesh. I will discuss
the different types of violence of Bangladesh behind which democracy is
responsible.
¨ Political violence:
Political violence is the main problem of
Bangladesh. Every many people die centering the political violence. The
government becomes autocratic after the victory in election. Government runs
the country at their sweet will. It does not care the demand of the people. On
the contrary democracy gives the oppositions parties to protest against the
government for the anti democratic activities. So the opposition parties start
the street politics rather than discussion. Consequently violence spreads in
the country Democracy has given the people right to demonstration, hartal and
blocked. Such kinds of rights lead to the creation of violence .Government use
its force to suppress the people who oppose the government policy. As a result
violence becomes inevitable. Now the country is passing through such kinds of
violence.
¨ Violence in economic sector:
Democracy follows the capitalism. This capitalism is
not able to make economic justice among the people. Many capitalists’ countries
have fallen in the economic crisis. Bangladesh also follows the capitalism. So
there is economic disparity in Bangladesh. Many investors of capital market
have been bankrupt. So these people have demonstrated and create violence. But
the government has failed to recover it and try those who looted money from
capital market as these criminals are the goons of the government. Because
corruption is inherent in the democracy .So violence is increasing in the
country.
¨ Violence in judiciary :
Judiciary of Bangladesh
is not free from intervention of government. Every government of Bangladesh use
court for their own purpose and to protect their partisan criminals. As result
complaints don’t get legal aid from the court. So they take
v
Conclusion:
Democracy is suitable
for developed countries not for developing countries. Democracy pushes the developing
countries towards more vulnerabilities as super powers are trying to rule all
over the world with this theory. Bangladesh as a developing country, it cannot
cope with the democracy. So the violence is increasing every sphere in
Bangladesh. If the political leaders and the people of Bangladesh are not aware
of their rights and responsibilities and they don’t change their minds the
democracy will not be peaceful.
