Democracy In The Contemporary World

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By 2005, 140 countries have held multi-party elections. More than 80 countries have made advances towards democracy since 1980.Still, there are many countries where people cannot elect their leaders.

In Myanmar, the elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been imprisoned by the military rulers (1990). No amount of international support has helped in her release.

1. Most countries in Asia and Africa were colonies under the control of European nations.
2. People of the colonised countries had to wage struggles to achieve independence.
3. They not only wanted to get rid of their colonial masters but also wished to choose their future leaders.
4. Many of these countries became democracies immediately after the end of the Second World War in 1945. India achieved Independence in 1947.

The next big push towards democracy came after 1980, as democracy was revived in several countries of Latin America.

Poland and several other countries became free from the control of the Soviet Union during 1989-90.

1. The story of modern democracy began at least two centuries ago.
2. Throughout the nineteenth century, democracy in France was overthrown and restored several times. Yet the French Revolution inspired many struggles for democracy all over Europe.
3. Through the eighteenth and the nineteenth centuries, series of political events reduced the power of the monarchy and feudal lords.
4. In the nineteenth century struggles for democracy often centred around political equality, freedom and justice.
5. One major demand was the right for every adult citizen to vote.