Developments Flashcards
what has developed and spread?
Liberal economies
the rule of law
democracy
what is liberal democracy?
Liberal democracy is a political regime in which there is rule of law a capitalist economic system and the essential features of democracy including free and fair elections genuine choice participation representation and accountability
what is the rule of law?
The rule of law is a system in which no personal institution is above the law relating to others in positions of power may not disregard civil liberties and rights act in contravention of the rules of the political system
These liberties and rights are guaranteed by statute law and the Constitution they are in forced by an independent and neutral judiciary
what is a liberal economy?
Liberal economy is a capitalist system where wealth creation is largely driven by the private sector with the government playing a minimal role in regulating the operation of the market
Wealth and property ownership is also protected by law
origins of liberal democracy:
The origins of liberal democracy are found in medieval England the rebellion by English nobles against King Johns arbitrary government resulted in the signing of the Magna Carta in 1215
The Magna Carta established the principle of the rule of law in particular that subiects could not be imprisoned at the whim of the King a legal process had to be followed in which charges were brought and a trial would take place
origins of liberal democracy:
The establishment of Parliament soon followed where representatives of the nobility and later the gentry would be consulted on taxation
origins of liberal democracy:
Charles I’s attempts to rule without parliament brought about the English Civil War 1642 to 49 parliament won the war and for a brief period Parliament became the sovereign power and ultimate authority
But the restoration of the monarchy in 1660 saw a return to monarchy
Charles the second careful stewardship saw a revival of royal authority but this was squandered by his brother lames the second who like his father tried to exercise absolute authority and revived religious controversy by his conversion to Catholicism
origins of liberal democracy:
The glorious revolution of 1688 sealed the ascendancy of Parliament and the demise of monarchical government
gradually a modern system of government emerged and a truly representative legislature evolved through the extension of the franchise in 1832 1867 1884 1918 and 1928
spread and development of liberal democracy:
The English Civil War began a gradual process of democratisation in
England and served as an example to other countries
The American revolution airy is a code of the English civil war in the war of independence from the British with the cry no taxation without
representation
The French Revolution similarly took inspiration from the English to bring down the Ancien Regime
spread and development of liberal democracy:
Over the late 18th and early 19th century and limited form of democracy representing a privileged elite spread to Germany Italy and other parts of western Europe
spread and development of liberal democracy:
The creation of new states in central and Eastern Europe in the aftermath of World War I provided opportunities for the spread of liberal democracy
but these democracies were fragile and soon fell prey to the expansionist ambitions of Nazi Germany
or to collapse due to failure of the liberal political system to respond effectively to the aftermath of the war and economic crisis as was the case in Italy
spread and development of liberal democracy:
Eastern European countries had to wait until the fall of the Berlin Wall before they could complete the transition to liberal democracy which they had began in the early 20th century
The spread of liberal democracy elsewhere also depended on the end of the Cold War in different ways USA and Soviet union both promoted and sustained authoritarian political systems among their allies
The Soviet union actively promoted communism through organisations such as Cominform And subsidies to fellow Communist systems for instance Soviet subsidies to Cuba somewhat compensated for the trade embargo imposed by the USA
The USA was more concerned with preventing the spread of communism Thought it was promoting label democracy which often meant it supported right-wing dictatorships such as Pinochet in Chile
It was not until the beginning of the 20th century that most countries became liberal democracies
spread of liberal economy:
The spread of liberal economies through the industrial revolution seemed to coincide with democratisation
As with democracy England was the 1st to industrialise industrialisation began in the late 18th century with a number of inventions that allowed for the mass production of manufactured goods such as iron steel cotton and woollen cloth
Industrialisation then spread through western Europe and the USA in the 19 century
spread of liberal economy:
The acceleration of globalisation in the latter half of the 20th century due to the promotion of free trade and liberal economic policy by international institutions like the IMF and WTO has led to more states adopting the neoliberal economic orthodoxy
Developed states benefit most from the expansion of liberal democracy and continue to enjoy significant advantages over developing states
the 21st century:
By the end of the 20th century it seemed that liberal democracy had triumphed
Francis Fukuyama first in his 1989 essay the end of history and the last man and then in his 1992 book of the same name put forward the view that Marx’s deterministic predictions of the endpoint of human development being communism would not be realised
Instead the intermediate stage of that development which Marx believed was capitalism is in fact the final stage of human development
If you can Yama was writing at the time of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet union Eastern European states were becoming democracies and even China was moderating its communism to allow for catalyst style economic development it seemed as if no other political idea could rival liberal democracy
