Democracy In The

Democracy

The UK is a democratic country, this entails the way in which society is governed by the government, giving the people a chance to contribute to the running of the country, a key example of this is the First past the post system, this enables all people eligible to vote to cast their say in who they think should be elected for Prime Minister (PM) and Members of parliament (local MP), this system works by whichever candidate receives the most votes is then elected.

In history, we have seen some key people who enforced the right to democracy within their communities. Nelson Mandela was one instance of how one person exercising their right to democracy can change a nation, Mandela stood up for what he believed in and that was equality and human rights for the citizens of South Africa. Nelson was an Anti-Apartheid Activist, in a time where South Africa had an Apartheid Government in power, this government was in supported of Racial segregation, in retaliation from the government Mandela was imprisoned for going against his government’s racial segregation and was initially given a sentence of life imprisonment but only served 27 years, due to fears of a racial civil war breaking out against the way that Mandela was treated. After Mandela’s imprisonment, he later went on to become the first black president, in his presidency he dismantled the policies regarding racial segregation and gave all equal rights, resulting in Mandela receiving a noble peace prize in 1993. In addition to Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King was another person of importance in the nationwide spread of democracy. King was a social rights activist and a Baptist minister, in the era where racial segregation was being imposed nationwide. King lived in a town called Montgomery in Alabama USA where segregation was imposed, in most aspects of daily living including the transport system. This transport system upheld the racial segregation that was thrust upon African Americans until the Montgomery Bus Boycott happened. The Montgomery bus boycott was a protest resulting in all African Americans withdrawing from the service due to a woman called Rosa Parks being arrested for being seated on a bus and not following the segregation restriction on the bus. The boycott was orchestrated by the Montgomery Improvement Association, which king was the president of, this upstage lasted 381 days, this came to a conclusion on the 20th December 1956 with the US supreme court ruling racial segregation was a violation of the 14th amendment, this marked an end to the segregation in Montgomery, Alabama.

Within the UK, there are organizations that have the democratic infrastructure to assist in the running of them. Organizations such as City Councils are composed of elected members from different political parties, making up a cabinet. The cabinet deals with issues such as waste and recycling, street cleaning and leisure etc. Decisions are made when once they have been discussed between the cabinet members and a clear understanding of a decision is made then the proposal goes forward that is agreed on by all cabinet members, this could be an insightful way to make decisions regarding the local communities in a democratic way with all aspects and opinions covered. Democrat infrastructures can also been seen in Student Unions, student unions are a group of appointed students who have the interest and opinions of other students to debate and choose which ones need the most attention, once this has been decided on the topic will be presented to the head of the educational environment in which the students are based, this is a useful organisation to have implemented to address matters of which may go unnoticed by faculty.

Within the UK, there is many different forms in which people can exercise their right to Democracy. Some of these ways include eligibility to vote in political races for a confidence of your own choice if you believe in their views and opinions, another form of democracy someone could participate in could be taking part in a lawful protest or marches.