Political Science Essay on Democracy

Democracy refers to a government in whose supreme power is usually vested on its people and also exercised by these individuals both directly and indirectly via a system of representation often including elections that are periodically held. I believe that democracy is usually the noblest type of government that any country can adapt. However, some countries are still fighting for democracy as they are ruled by authoritarian governments. Chapter six titled Actors, Public Opinion and Participation is an easy to read and well elaborate chapter that tends to document the various challenges that Arab countries face in their strive to achieve democracy.

Many of the world regions such as North Africa and Middle East have their citizens participating in both informal and formal politics with the aim of improving their daily conditions. Most of these individuals tend to talk about the significance of participating in their economic and political situation, elevating their living standards, giving back what they can to the society as well as working towards the achievement of better democratic record and human rights. Despite the fact that the wider populations in these regions are majorly motivated primarily by material interests, most of the social movements and civil society tend to seek for immaterial interests. However, I think that democracy in the Middle East does not really work. This is because; it is not empathetically the solution for the extreme complex societies found in Middle East. In addition, Western meddling tends to make matters incalculably worse.

I agree with the author that religion tends to play a crucial and important role in politics particularly in the Middle East. Most of the people believe that religious attachments and orientations within the Muslim countries tend to construct a normative climate that is deemed hostile to democracy. However, research reveals that democracy is an important political tool that tends to unite citizens of a country with the common goal of achieving success and prosperity. According to the author, citizens from many of the Arab counytries are usually skeptical of the United States efforts of promoting democracy within the region. As a result, America is not viewed as being an honest broker within the region. However, I believe that the United States can be a good driver of democracy within these countries. This is due to the fact USA has successfully used democracy for many years to encourage its citizens to select leaders of their choice. As a result, the country has risen up to be one of the economic and political giants in the world. However, I think that the main reason as to why citizens in the Middle East refuse to embrace Americans help is due to religious differences.

I concur with the author that in general, many of the Arab citizens are usually well informed. The author claims that majority of them usually follow news about government and politics in their particular countries. However, political interests are structured by other kinds of pertinent variables. For instance, those that are deemed more educated and learned are most likely to follow news when compared to their counterparts.

In conclusion, it is evident that democracy is one of the best governments that can steer a country into prosperity just as in the case with United States. However, in the Middle East, democracy is something that is not feasible due to religious influences and citizens lack of putting on relentless effort to achieve it.