Political Development of Western Europe Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Political Development of Western Europe - Essay Example From the revolution time to the period during the Franco-Prussian war, France had experienced different dictators led by the famous Napoleon and minimal political advancement was made until the emergence of a democracy in the late 19th century (Lecture 2). Germany’s democratization process was even slower in its own unique way because of issues to do with unification of the country in different aspects (Ertman 224). Germany was reunited as a nation in the 19th century coming from disintegration in the period before but even with its unification, its constitution and rule were solely an imagination of the princes and not with the involvement of the people as was the case with other advanced nations like England and the United States. By the end of 19th century, Germany could be said to have achieved a social democracy with dominion of power of the people through labor unions. Britain on the other hand has been on monarchy system of government for the longest time in the 19th ce ntury. Some aspects of democratic governance during this period may be inferred from Britain’s government institutional set up where crucial bodies such as the judiciary, local government and parliament were in place though working under the monarchy administration (Ertman 156). Additionally, an electoral system which could be termed as free and fair existed with desirable frequency of election activities though characterized by discriminative participation only allowing the rich and mighty at the expense of the poor and the common people. Even with successive legislation passed and efforts by the civil society forming social movements such as the... This paper stresses that democracy has been described variously but it basically means the form of political system that is guided by the power of the people. Although Europe was and still is one of the civilized regions of the world in the 19th century, the process of democratization in virtually all countries was complex and challenging and took different dimensions depending on country’s historical orientation politically, economically, and socially. During the period, Britain’s governance system was nearer that of a democracy compared to some other select countries like France and Germany. This report makes a conclusion that countries that encourage democratization must embrace the power of the electorate to influence political and governance decisions through majority rule and guided by the constitution and rule of the law, with eligible citizens given the opportunity to elect their representatives and run for public offices. There should be freedom of expression and worship, promotion of right for access to information, and opportunity to frequently change governments fairly and equitably through periodic elections. Even more, the rule of law as guided by the constitution must be observed and respected to avert inequalities and promote fair treatment for all. The promotion of individual freedom and dignity through human rights is fundamental in any democratic society where laws are set in line with the constitution to ensure that the rights of citizens are observed and respected. Democratic countries usually set up governance institutions to support and oversee effec tive adherence to these democratic principles.