Question

What are the difficulties that people face in a non-democratic country? Give answers drawing from examples given in this chapter.

Answer 1

Hint: Various forms of government have existed and functioned throughout history. Some have persisted, some have modified while others have failed. Experimentation with forms of government was carried out to determine which form of government was most suitable for a country and its people. These forms have included—autocracy (civilian and military dictatorship), monarchy, democracy (direct and representative), oligarchy (aristocracy, theocracy, plutocracy, etc)

Complete answer: Under a democratic government, people are the source of government authority and thus, they either directly contribute to decision making or elect representatives who make decisions on their behalf. These representatives are then accountable to the people for their actions. Everyone is treated equally and given a range of political rights and freedoms which are protected by the State like freedom of speech and expression, freedom of movement, freedom of association among others. This ensures that everyone can openly share their opinions and have a right to be heard. In an autocracy, however, there is a supreme power (dictator) that rules and people have no say in the election of the power or the decision making. Similarly in a monarchy, a hereditary monarch rules over the people. While, in an oligarchy, it is a group of people that rule, either the noble class or the wealthy or the religious elite. People in non-democracies do not have the power or the say in electing their government or ruler. They are bound to obey the laws made without their consent. They do not have freedom of association by which they can organise or protest against their rulers. There is no way of removing the rulers from office. Often there is a total disregard for individual human rights.

Note: Some non-democratic countries in the world currently include— Saudi Arabia and Brunei which are absolute monarchies, North Korea which is run by a single supreme leader and Vietnam and China which are one-party communist states