Democracy Index

“All states or dominions which hold or have held sway over mankind are either republics or monarchies” (Machiavelli, 5). Machiavelli states that both monarchies and republics are the most widespread, used forms of government; however, as Machiavelli critiques the way monarchies are run, specifically in Florence under the Medici family, The Prince highlights how republics could be more beneficial. Although The Prince, by Niccolò Machiavelli, discusses both forms of government, the text is still…

Relations, it is often stated that countries that practice democracy do not go to war with each other. Scholars often say that it is because of the core values that the countries practicing this form of government share. All leaders have different preferences for how they like to get things done, and what their core system caters to. Democracy is characterized by the belief that the power rests in the hands of the people. If two democracies declared war on each other, the common values that they…

The two distinctive types of electoral system, single member plurality and proportional representation, are adopted differently and implement distinctive methods. Voters in a single member plurality election can vote for only one candidate. The candidate that collects the most votes wins. This system is also identified as “ first past the post”(FPTP) system .As any other plurality-majority electoral system, this system is defended and supported because of its simplicity. The United Kingdom is…

Mission Command: Visualize Pablo A. Picacio Master Leader Course Mission Command: Visualize General Petraeus used the concept of visualization of mission command during the seizure of Mosul as the 101st Airborne Division entered Mosul, Iraq. Visualization is the mental process of developing situational understanding, determining a desired end state and envisioning an operational approach; by which the force will achieve that end state (pg. 1-4) The end state of General Petraeus…

The first presidential election I can remember in my lifetime was in 2008. I can only vaguely remember Bush. Obama was the first and only president I truly understood and was able to follow before Trump. Now, with Donald Trump in office, I have entered a new stage of my life. As I become an adult, I become more active in politics. Understanding what is going on with the president is more important now than it ever has been before. In the next election, I will be able to vote. I have to be…

social and political structure of the polis. The mindset developed in the interior of the phalanx and the ensuing political capital acquired by the middle class represented a threat to the aristocratic claim to power. Nonetheless, the transition to democracy was far from expedite and such form of government arose only after Kleisthenes’ reforms. Ironically, the aristocracy played a crucial and protagonist role in the development of previous reforms. According to Vassillopolus, the Athenian…

As Thoreau said, “we should be men first, and subjects afterwards.” Civil disobedience reminds the government that, ultimately, people have a say in laws affecting them. However, civil disobedience doesn’t necessarily imply an anarchy. In a true democracy, if the belief is supported by the majority, the government should act upon it, yet the rights of the minority will be respected. Gandhi, King, and even Benjamin Franklin used civil disobedience to represent the views of the people and, in…

Memorializing people or events is a delicate and fragile topic to plan. When planning to build a memorial, everyone involved has to be aware of the situation and historical facts about the person or event that is being memorialized. The organization or group constructing the project must consider how the public will view the memorial. The view that the people affected by or related to the memorial will have. These categories are crucial in whether the memorial will be a success or not. The…

There are many differences in Democracy and Authoritarian governments.One being the difference in how the leaders of the govenment come into power. Another is Democracy has many political parties whereas Authoritarian government has only one. These governments are very different in every perspective. One of the big differences in these two governments is how the leaders get their power. In a democracy which is what the U.S. is the people vote for the leaders. This way people have a say in what…

After interviewing my Uncle Todd, I have seen what it is like to serve on jury duty from a first hand experience. It seems like a very cool and unique process that I think we are lucky to be apart of. When asking him how he felt when he received the letter in the mail calling upon him to receive jury duty he said, “I was happy to just get a day off work, but I still wondered if there was a way that I could get out of this.” As most people probably feel, my Uncle Todd was not too excited about…