Democracy Index

I would have ice-cream with the First President of the United States, the General of the Continental Army, and the wealthy plantation owner of his time. I would have ice-cream with George Washington. In my opinion, he is the least political of all the presidents that we have had. Personally, I am not a big fan of politics. I find them confusing and rather unnecessary in the grand scheme of our country. I have a feeling that Washington did not have a liking for politics either. It would be nice…

The Response to External Threats of Violence The formation of a modern state is based on its ability to supply security as a public good to its citizens. Security protects a state’s territorial claims, against external threats, and controls domestic disputes. The ability control the use of violence is what provides the foundation for other public goods: freedom to participate in politics, infrastructure, property rights, and a market place that facilitates trade. While a strong state provides…

In any given government, it is important to have checks and balances so as to ensure that no branch is more powerful than the other; a fundamental approach greatly expounded upon by the greatest political philosopher James Madison. According to Article II, Section I of the Texas Constitution, the government’s power is divided into the Legislative, executive and Judicial branches. The law-making branches consist of the executive branch, which has the governor, lieutenant governor and attorney…

Looking back on Bartels' passage, he expressed the public's ignorance about the government, politics and history that has to do with the way people vote. From the researches that were done, he believes that voters vote for who matches their preference, that they are making stupid choices and that the people are not becoming more educated on their vote. I agree to some extent with Bartel, that Americans are not informed like they need to be on their choices for the government. I believe that…

“The Only Way to Keep the Internet Free” Author, Besty McCaughey’s article, “The Only Way to Keep the Internet Free,” illustrates Hilary Clinton’s ideas with her internet policies and what ICANN proposes. ICANN stands for Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. ICANN will basically have full control and power over the internet, meaning that they may grant or deny any web addresses they please. Obama, as well as Hilary, of course, supports this policy and believes that it will…

Not only does peaceful resistance positively impact a free society, but it is absolutely essential in order to ignite change within a society. Peaceful resistance allows groups of people to band together and spread awareness for their cause. According to John Locke, if the government has an obligation to protect people's natural rights. If these rights are being violated, then the people must petition the government to change its ways. If changes are not made, the people must overthrow the…

Duncan Black noticed that “the more options that are on offer, and the more electors there are voting, the more severe this cycling paradox becomes, making it of particular importance in the large and complex systems of today”. The particular moment that the article focus, in the election of presidents in France, where the most voted candidates from a first round of voting go into a second round run-off, the National Front leader Le Pen came a close second in the first ballot of sixteen…

Life without the Constitution would be chaos. Think about how the Constitution affects our daily life. We wouldn’t be able to attend school, much less express ourselves. Heck, we wouldn’t even have access to so much social media as we do today like Facebook & Twitter. Without the Constitution, our freedom would be subject to the whims of any dictator with a little power behind them. We wouldn’t have the hobbies we have today. When you stop and think about it, we wouldn’t even really have…

Going back to how realism relates to covert action, according to a chapter titled “Covert Action” from a book, Partly Cloudy, the more specified activities in covert actions are divided into three, as follows; “1) Political operations, primarily meaning propaganda and financial support of foreign political leaders, groups, and dissidents; 2) coups d’état; and 3) assassination.” For political operation, it is done during the case when a particular regime has rebel groups that desire a reform…

restoration of democracy in the country, Catholic and Protestant churches’ influences have been strong in Guatemalan politics. INCOMPLETE. THESIS MISSING. Guatemala is a presidential democratic republic. However, democracy is a relatively new system of government, as military governments and coups d’états dominated the political scenery during the internal armed conflict — a civil war that lasted 36 years, from 1960 to 1996. It was not until 1985 when the transition to democracy started, but it…