Democracy According to Dahl; Schmitter Term Paper

The fall of the
Berlin Wall would show the genuine commitment to that goal as those
recently liberated coalesced to the democratic orientation of the larger
nation. For Russia, by contrast, a public's absence of exposure to the
systems and conditions of democracy has rendered a people today deeply
susceptible to exploitation, with the current Russian leader, former chief
of the Soviet KGB, Vladamir Putin, imposing suppression of political
opposition, journalistic freedom and social liberties. Here, democracy has
proven less-than-feasible due to an absence of internal will to or resource
to seize on the opportunity. A history of oppression has rendered
democracy abstract and unattainable, even in the face of charades such as
Russian free elections.
In an article by Dahl, we are presented with an argument recommending
certain ground rules for the effective adoption of democratic order. Among
them, the author makes a strong case in favor of the maintenance of
normalized electoral periods and processes. As the author argues, "if we
accept the desirability of political equality, then every citizen must have
an equal and effective opportunity to vote, and all votes must be counted
as equal." (94) This point drives one of the basic assumptions of
democracy, which is that proper public representation comes from the proper
and effective entitlement of the public and its various sectors to take a
direct part in placing such representation.
To play devil's advocate, one might present the argument against Dahl's
claim by
remarking that elections, when too frequent, can diminish the focus of our
elected representatives on effectively meeting the nuanced responsibilities
of the office. An over-emphasis on electoral procedure may well diminish
the availability of time, interest and priority for policy affairs.

Works Cited
Dahl, R.A. (2005). What Political Institutions Does Large-Scale Democracy
Require. Political Science Quarterly, 120(2), 187-197.

Schmitter, P.C. & Karl, T.L. (1991)…