Democracy, For Most of the People, by Most of People
In his speech at Bayeux, General Charles De Gaulle spoke of how "the Greeks in earlier times used to ask the sage Solon, 'What is the best constitution?' He used to reply: 'Tell me for what people and at what epoch (Suleiman, 137).'" Can simply the organization of government help to stabilize democracy in a given country? "While no one particular constitutional arrangement ensures democratic stability and effective government, an institutional form of governance may exercise a strong influence on the whole political process (Suleiman, 137)." It is especially difficult to chose one specific institutional arrangement, given the broad differences that exist between different countries. However, in choosing the single most important factor that stabilizes democracy in Western European nations, the institution of the political party merits just as much attention as any constitutional arrangement. A democracy is a government "for the people," run "by the people." In representative governments, which all practical democracies are, political parties have become the primary forces in nominating, supporting, and electing candidates for office, drawing many to the conclusion that governments are for the parties, run by the parties.
The stability that parties bring to democracy is illustrated in France as well. Finally, France appears to have a government that will work for the ages. France's government differs from Germany in that it uses a presidential system, with a powerful executive ruling independently from the legislature. France also has essentially a multi-party system, however extreme views have not reached dangerous levels. It is a system "subdivided into bilateral two-headed poles," which has served to "considerably reduce the weight of the center and of the extremist parties (Suleiman, 147)." Though De Gaulle and his supporter's may have set out to eliminate parties from the Fifth Republic, "it was the first to recognize their existence and their importance (Suleiman, 146)." France uses its presidential system as a check on its party system, however. "The political system of the Fifth Republic is characterized by an interplay of three distinct majorities: presidential, parliamentary, and governmental (Suleiman, 148)." No president can exercise power effectively unless all three majorities coincide. This stabilizes democracy through the fact that it would be nearly impossible for a non-democratic group to attain power on all three levels, thus encouraging leaders to remain democratic. The presidential system is especially necessary in France, due to its proportional appropriation of seats to the National Assembly. Without the p
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Approximate Word count = 964
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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