What aurguments can you make, for and against, the assertion that Essay

What aurguments can you make, for and against, the assertion that democracy has made striking progress in the world during the past decade - Essay Example In a democratic system of governance, eligible citizens choose and replace the government via free and fair elections, all citizens enjoy the protection of human rights, there is freedom and rule of law, and citizens participate actively in all national matters. As such, democracy respects human rights, elections, women, and civil society. Democracy contrasts a monarch or an oligarchy.However, there has been an assertion that democracy has made striking progress in the world during the past decade. This paper will draw arguments for and against the progress of democracy in Turkey, Libya, and Egypt. Turkey may assume the definition of a democratic, unitary, and constitutional nation with a huge cultural diversity. It has a parliamentary system of governance and its constitution governs the centralized state. The nation has respect free and fair elections where eligible citizens elect a president for a seven-year term. The nation has universal suffrage for both sexes where all citizens above 18 years of age have the right to vote. Indeed, all citizens can participate in independent political organizations, access information and services, and own private property. In the past decades, Turkey has grown in terms of protection of fundamental rights and freedoms where perpetrators of extrajudicial killings can now face trial. Moreover, the military have taken control of the government for three times but later withdraws to allow for the resumption of democratic governance. (Turkone 1). Additionally, Turkey have shown great respect for the rule of law and the Sacred Law, as well as embracing cultural diversity and respect for the ethnic minority. Notably, previous governments introduced successive phases of limited democracy in preparation for full democracy as they encouraged the rise of civil society. However, the progress of democracy in Turkey has been very challenging as the country faced various controversies (Lewis 1) about individual liberties and freedom of w omen. Indeed, the country’s address on the  Kurdish issue (Turkone 1) contracts democratic ideals and human rights in Turkey faced international condemnation where Turkey violated the most human rights in the Council of Europe. The country had no respect for Kurdish rights, the right to life, women's rights and press freedom, and freedom from torture. The country exercised major crackdowns on press freedoms and arrested many journalists. Moreover, the constitutional problems in Turkey challenge democratic ideals. Notably, Turkey lacks a democratic identity and a democratic tradition but has made significant progress in the last decade. On the other hand, Libya is a parliamentary nation under a temporary Constitutional Declaration and governed by the General National Congress. Libya has depicted total disregard for democracy in the past decade. Indeed, the former president of Libya, Gaddafi rose to power through a military coup and ruled for 40 years. He had no respect for d emocracy as he retained all power, disregarded civil society, had no respect for human rights, and did not allow for active participation in national matters by the Libyans (â€Å"UN† 1). Libya banned all political parties from 1972 and all elections were nonpartisan under law. Indeed, Libyans did not participate in democratic elections for 47 years (â€Å"Foreign and Commonwealth Office† 1). However, the urge for democracy led to the revolution, which removed the Gadhafi government. Indeed, the National Transitional Council introduced multiparty democracy as the face of the revolution. Notably, the NTC declared Libya as a new democracy in 2010 where it promised to guarantee the rule of law, respect for civic and human