POLITICAL COALITIONS: Coalitions happen when two or more parties join forces with other parties during periods of conflict of interest. They are formed either to resolve a conflict or to foster cooperation. The main aim of coalitions is to defeat or gain advantage over an external opponent. In this way, they exclude others from so that they can exercise power over them. Coalitions could exist at a small-scale where a ruling party’s president includes in his/her cabinet few people from and another party. It can also be an alliance for example most cabinets of European democracies are put this way (Germany, Italy, Denmark, etc).
POLITICAL POWER: All politics involve power. In politics, those who have the power rule over those who don’t. However, those who exercise such people must be accountable to those who give them the power, the people. Those who wield power may be replaced in two ways: through a peaceful and democratic process or through violence. Political power comes in three forms: influence, coercion and authority.
POLITICAL INFLUENCE: In the game of politics, the people, on their own free will and voluntarily, choose to agree or disagree. It is therefore the duty of political leadership to persuade people, to convince them to want to do what the leadership wants. People have a choice: they can agree because they believe that the action taken by political leadership is right or justified, or because they think they will reap personal benefits from it. To influence people, politicians have to appeal to people’s intellect, their passion, their self-interest, and to their solidarity.
Political leadership, in order to succeed in influencing their people, must have the knowledge and intelligence through research so as to construct convincing arguments. They must also produce effective advertising through spending money and training experts. They can appeal to wealthy people to offer inducements or offer career prospects like jobs, contracts and patronage. Better still, political leadership may approach political scientists for their inputs on policy or even policy outputs (promise to legislate in ways that benefit their supporters).
Influence in government is presumed. It is a must-be-there factor. Elections are won by persuasion. Once in office, politicians must persuade their constituencies or the nation to do or not do certain things. In other words, influence is necessary in controlling or modifying social behavior. Influence is inevitable in any functional democratic system. The hiatus of influence always happens during general, parliamentary or presidential elections, in which candidates for office must win elections by persuading their fellow citizens to vote for them.
Liberal Democracy is both a form of government and a political system. Democracies come in two ways; there is pure democracy and representative democracy. Liberal democracy falls under representative democracy. It is democracy in which the ability of the elected representatives (also known as Members of Parliament, Members of Provincial Parliament, Senators, etcetera) to exercise decision-making power is subject to the rule of law, and not the rule of a few people. The entire liberal democratic machine is moderated by the constitution (written or unwritten) which assigns and defines political power and protects the rights and freedoms of individuals.
Four Pillars of Liberal Democracy
Liberal democracies are built on four pillars, namely: the rule of law, the constitution, elections, and freedom (or the protection of people’s rights and liberties). These four pillars constrain political leaders on the extent to which they can exercise their political power. They also safeguard the will of the majority against the rights of minorities. Elections in liberal democracies are conducted in order to grant the people an occasion to elect leaders of their choice. This is usually conducted through a variety of political parties. In order to balance the will of the majority against that of the minority, and to limit the powers governments can exercise at any given time, liberal democracies assign powers or The Separation of Powers, to different branches of government. Thus, political decisions are made through an independent legislature. An independent judiciary interprets the law. An executive or the state has monopoly on law enforcement.
Seven Elements of Liberal Democracy
First: Liberal democratic politics prefer political change to be effected through the ballot and not bullets. This is antithetical to dictatorial regimes which force power on the people. In liberal democratic arrangements the people have both the power and the right to choose their leaders through the exercise of franchise, or the right to vote. People are the masters and they can choose, through a united voice the people they think can deliver results for them. They can also remove from power the leaders who abuse power or who are ineffective. This right is one of the most important elements of liberal democratic politics.
Second: In liberal democracy, the military is subordinate to the authority of elected civilian officials. In systems where the military is elevated above the civilian rule, power is abused and the people are ruled by the barrel of a gun. In such regimes, people cannot freely express their opinions for fear of being arrested or even tortured. People eventually lose the right to choose.
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Third: Liberal democratic politics ensure that civilians have multiple channels for political expression. For example, they can form political parties in which they forge a manifesto for political leadership. Political parties serve as the base for leadership training for political office. They also aggregate people’s interest into a united force so that their opinion and desires are expressed. Civilians can also express their ideas and opinions through independent associations, pressure and interest groups, and various movements which they have the freedom to form and join.
Fourth: Liberal democracy grants individuals rights and freedoms such as belief, opinion, discussions, assembling, speech, publications, petitioning, and even demonstrations. Many liberal governments safeguard these rights and freedoms through a constitution (
Fifth: Liberal democratic politics ensure that citizens have free access to media sources for information, including independent media. An independent and unbiased media is a necessary sign of political maturity. Without an independent media, government loads upon the people, and excuse its deeds through propaganda. Almost always, where the media is biased or dependent upon government’s whim, people live under s shadow of dictatorship. They cannot hear and watch what they want. But most importantly, the political machine imposes upon the people its own views and uses the media as a form of political indoctrination.
Sixth: Liberal democracy, through the Separation of Powers, divides government into three branches. These are the executive (the Queen in
Seventh: The hallmark of liberal democracy is contained in the fundament truth that civilians are politically equal under the law. The concept of the Rule of Law equalizes the led and the leaders. Under this principle, the president or if the Prime Minister is the head of government, is equal to an unnamed citizen in the rustic part of his nation. The constitution is the supreme law of the land. The doctrine of the Rule of Law places law higher above men and women’s whims and caprice. The rule of the constitution is above the rule of a single individual. The people, by their elected officials, enact laws which are binding on any member of such a society. The same laws and principles apply to all regardless of position, rank or title. The Rule of Law accords one person one vote, and no one vote is more vital than the other. It also ensures that any one can join, participate and choose to enter and leave politics as he or she wishes. It also empowers the electorate to choose any candidate they like, join any political party they like, and stand for elections for any position they like, if certain constitutional terms are met. The rule of law protects citizens from human rights abuses
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Popular Sovereignty
These elements are based on popular sovereignty that calls for majority rule expressed at the ballot box. Liberal democracies tend to be characterized by tolerance and political pluralism. Political pluralism is defined as the presence of multiple and distinct political parties. People are permitted to have different social and political views. Liberal democracies periodically hold elections where groups with different political views have the opportunity to achieve political power.
Liberal democracies have universal suffrage which grants all adult citizens the right to vote regardless of race, gender, or property ownership. According to the principles of liberal democracy, the elections should be free and fair. The political process should be competitive, and should involve two or more political parties competing for key political offices.