Class 9 cvics chap 1

CHAPTER I
Democracy in the
Contemporary World
Bhanu kalra

• In this first chapter we see how democracy has
expanded during the last hundred years to more
and more countries in the world.
• The expansion of democracy has not been
smooth and straight. It has seen several ups and
downs in different countries.
• It still remains an unstable and uncertain
achievement.
• We will study the stories on the making and
unmaking of democracy from different parts of
the world.

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Salvador Allende(pronounced Ayen-they). He was then
the President of Chile, a country in South America.
on the morning of 11 September 1973, his government
was overthrown by the military.
Allende was the founder leader of the Socialist Party of
Chile
He led the Popular Unity coalition to victory in the
presidential election
In 1970. After being elected the President, Allende had
taken several policy decisions to help the poor and the
workers.

Reforms done by Allende
• These included reform of the educational
system,
• free milk for children and
• redistribution of land to the landless
farmers.
• He was opposed to foreign companies
taking away natural resources like copper
from the country..

• The landlords, the rich and the Church
opposed his policies.
• Some other political parties in Chile also
opposed his government

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On the morning of 11 September 1973, the military took
over the seaport.
The Defence Minister was arrested by the military when
he arrived at his office.
The military commanders asked the President to resign.
Allende refused to resign or leave the country.
But realising the danger to the country and to his life, he
addressed the people on the radio.
Then the military surrounded the President’s house and
started bombing it. President Allende died in the military
attack.
A government elected by people was overthrown by the
military through conspiracy and violence.

• General Augusto Pinochet (pronounced
Pinoshe), an Army general, led the coup.
• The government of the United States of America
was unhappy with Allende’s rule and is known to
have supported and funded activities that led to
the coup.
• Pinochet became the President of the country
and ruled it for the next 17 years.
• From a government that was elected by the
people, the power shifted to the military officers.
• A military dictatorship was established in Chile.

Condition of people under
Pinochet’s government
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Pinochet’s government tortured and killed several of
those who supported Allende
And those who wanted democracy to be restored.
These included General Alberto Bachelet of the Chilean
Air Force and many other officers who refused to join the
coup.
General Bachelet’s wife and daughter were put in prison
and tortured.
More than 3,000 people were killed by the military.
Many more were reported ‘missing’. No one knows what
happened to them.

Restoration of Democracy
• Pinochet’s military dictatorship came to an end
after he decided to hold a referendum in 1988.
• He felt confident that in this referendum,the
people would say ‘yes’ to his continuing in
power. But the people of Chile had not forgotten
their democratic traditions.
• Their vote was a decisive ‘no’ to Pinochet.
• The Political freedom was restored.

Result of referendum
• This led to Pinochet losing first his political and
then his military powers.
• Since then Chile has held four presidential
elections in which different political parties have
participated.
• the army’s role in the country’s government has
been eliminated.
• The elected governments that came to power
ordered inquiries into Pinochet’s rule.
• These inquiries showed that his government was
not only very brutal, but also very corrupt.

• General Bachelet’s daughter who was
imprisoned and tortured along with her mother?
• That girl, Michelle Bachelet (pronounced Mishel
Bashelet), was elected President of Chile in
January 2006.
• A medical doctor and a moderate socialist,
Michelle became the first woman to be a
Defence Minister in Latin America.
• In the presidential elections she defeated one of
Chile’s richest men.

victory speech
• she is saying to her supporters:
“Because I was the victim of hatred, I
have dedicated my life to reverse that
hatred and turn it into
understanding,tolerance and — why
not say it — into love.”

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com·mu·nism
[kom-yuh-niz-uhm]
noun1.a theory or system of social organization
based on theholding of all property in common, act
ual ownership beingascribed to the community
as a whole or to the state.
2. a system of social organization inwhich
all economic and social activity is controlled by ato
talitarian state dominated by a single and self-
perpetuating political party.
3. the principles and practices of the
Communist party.
4. communalism.

Democracy in Poland
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In 1980. Poland was ruled by the Polish United Workers’
Party.
This was one of the many communist parties that ruled
in several countries of East Europe at that time.
In these countries no other political party was allowed to
function.
The people could not freely choose the leaders of the
communist party or the government.
Those who spoke against the leaders or the party or the
government were put in prison.
The government in Poland was supported and controlled
by the government of the Soviet Union (USSR),
a vast and powerful communist state.

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On 14 August 1980, the workers of Lenin Shipyard in the city of
Gdansk went on a strike.
The shipyard was owned by the government. In fact all the factories
and big property in Poland wereowned by the government.
The strike began with a demand to take back a crane operator, a
woman worker, who was unjustly dismissed from service.
This strike was illegal,because trade unions independent of the
ruling party were not allowed in Poland. As the strike continued, a
former electrician of the shipyard,Lech Walesa (pronounced Lek
Walesha), joined the strikers.
He was dismissed from service in 1976 for demanding higher pay.
Walesa soon emerged as the leader of the striking workers. The
strike began to spread across the whole city.

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Larger demands. They wanted the right to form
independent trade unions.
They also demanded the release of political prisoners
and an end to censorship on press.
The movement became so popular that the government
had to give in.
The workers led by Walesa signed a 21-point agreement
with the government that ended their strike.
The government agreed to recognise the workers’ right
to form independent trade unions and their right to strike.
After the Gdansk agreement was signed, a new trade
union called Solidarity (Solidarnosc in Polish) was
formed.

• It was the first time an independent trade union
was formed in any of the communist states.
• Within a year, Solidarity swept across Poland
and had about one crore members.
• Revelations of widespread corruption and
mismanagement in the government made
matters worse for the rulers.
• The government, led by General Jaruzelski,
grew anxious and imposed martial law in
December 1981.

Thousands of Solidarity members were put in prison.•
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Freedom to organise, protest and express opinions was once again
taken away.
Another wave of strikes, again organised by Solidarity, began in
1988.
This time the Polish government was weaker, the support from
Soviet Union uncertain and the economy was in decline.
Another round of negotiations with Walesa resulted in an agreement
in April 1989 for free elections.
Solidarity contested all the 100 seats of the Senate and won 99 of
them. In October 1990,
Poland had its first presidential elections in which more than one
party could contest.
Walesa was elected President of Poland.

Two Features of Democracy
• We have read two different kinds of real life
stories.
• The story from Chile was of a democratic
government led by Allende being replaced by a
nondemocratic military government of Pinochet,
followed by restoration of democracy.
• In Poland we tracked the transition from a non-
democratic government to a democratic
government.

compare
• Differences between:-
• Chile was ruled by a military dictator,while
Poland was ruled by a political party.
• The government of Poland claimed that it
was ruling on behalf of the working
classes.
• Pinochet made no such claim and openly
favoured big capitalists.

common features:
• The people could not choose or change
their rulers.
• There was no real freedom to express
one’s opinions, form political associations
and organise protests and political action.

What is democracy ?
• Democracy is a form of government
that allows people to choose their
rulers.
• In a democracy: only leaders elected by
people should rule the country, and
people have the freedom to express
views, freedom to organise and freedom
to protest.

MAP 1.1: DEMOCRATIC
GOVERNMENTS IN 1900-1950

MAP 1.2: DEMOCRATIC
GOVERNMENTS IN 1975

MAP 1.3: DEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENTS IN 2000

• Democracy has expanded throughout the
twentieth century.
• Democracy did not spread evenly in all parts
of the world.
• It was established first in some regions and
then spread to other regions.
• While a majority of countries are democratic
today, there are still large parts of the world
that are not democratic.

PHASES IN THE EXPANSION
OF DEMOCRACY
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Before the twentieth century.
French Revolution of 1789 we have seen
the popular uprising did not establish a
secure and stable democracy in France.
Throughout the nineteenth century,
democracy in France was overthrown and
restored several times. Yet the French
Revolution inspired many strugglesfor
democracy all over Europe.

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In Britain, the progress towards democracy started much
before the French Revolution. But the progress was very
slow. Through the eighteenth and the nineteenth
centuries, series of political events reduced the power of
monarchy and feudal lords.
The right to vote was granted to more and more people.
Around the same time as the French Revolution, the
British colonies in North America declared themselves
independent in 1776.
In the next few years these colonies came together to
form the United States of America. They adopted a
democratic constitution in 1787. with limited right to vote

struggles
for democracy
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political equality, freedom and justice.
One major demand was the right for every adult citizen
to vote.
In some countries only people owning property had the
right to vote.
women did not have the right to vote.
In the United States of America, the blacks all over the
country could not
exercise the right to vote until 1965.
Those struggling for democracy wanted this right granted
universally to all adults — men or women, rich or poor,
white or black.
This is called ‘universal adult franchise’ or ‘universal
suffrage’

• By 1900 New Zealand was the only
country where every adult had voting
right.
• Early democracies were established
in Europe, North America and Latin
America.

End of Colonialism
• In Asia and Africa were colonies under the
control of European nations.
• People of the colonised countries had to
wage struggles to achieve independence.

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Many of these countries became democracies
immediately after the end of the Second World War
In 1945. India achieved Independence 1947.
The case of Ghana, a country in western Africa,
illustrates the more common experience of former
colonies.
Ghana used to be a British colony named Gold Coast. It
became independent in 1957. It was among the first
countries in Africa to gain independence.
It inspired other African countries to struggle for freedom.
Kwame Nkrumah (pronounced Enkruma), son of a
goldsmith and himself a teacher,was active in the
independence struggle of his country.

• After independence, Nkrumah became the first
prime minister and then the president of Ghana.
• He was a friend of Jawaharlal Nehru and an
inspiration for democrats in Africa.
• But unlike Nehru, he got himself elected
president for life.
• Soon after,in 1966, he was overthrown by the
military. Like Ghana
• Most countries that became democracies after
gaining independence had a mixed record. They
could not remain democracies for long.

Recent phase
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The next big push towards democracy came after 1980,
as democracy was revived in several countries of Latin
America.
The disintegration of the Soviet Union accelerated this
process.From the story of Poland we know that the then
Soviet Union controlled many of its neighbouring
communist countries in Eastern Europe.
Poland and several other countries became free from
the control of the SovietUnion during 1989-90.
They chose to become democracies.
Finally the Soviet Union itself broke down in 1991. The
Soviet Union comprised 15 Republics.
All the constituent Republics emerged as independent
countries. Most of them became democracies.

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In this period major changes also took place in India’s
neighbourhood. Pakistan and Bangladesh made a
transition from army rule to democracy in 1990s.
In Nepal, the king gave up many of his powers to
become a constitutional monarch to be guided by elected
leaders.
In 1999 General Musharraf brought back army rule in
Pakistan.
In 2005 the new king of Nepal dismissed the elected
government and took back political freedoms that people
had won in the previous decade.

• More and more countries turning to democracy.
• This phase still continues.
• By 2005, about 140 countries were holding
multi-party elections.
• More than 80 previously non-democratic
countries have made significant advances
towards democracy since 1980.
• But,even today, there are many countries where
people cannot express their opinion freely. still
cannot elect their leaders. They cannot take big
decisions about their present and future life.

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Myanmar,previously known as Burma.
It gained freedom from colonial rule in 1948 and became a
democracy. But the democratic rule ended in 1962 with a military
coup. In 1990 elections were held for the first time after almost 30
years. The National League for Democracy, led by Aung San Suu
Kyi (pronounced Soo-chi), won the election.
But the military leaders of Myanmar refused to step down and did
not recognise the
election results. Instead, the military put the elected pro-democracy
leaders, including Suu Kyi, under house arrest.
Political activists accused of even the most trivial offences have
been jailed.
Anyone caught publicly airing views or issuing statements critical of
the regime can be sentenced up to twenty years in prison. Due to
the coercive policies of the military-ruled government in Myanmar

• About 6 to10 lakh people in that country have
been uprooted from their homes and have taken
shelter elsewhere.
• Despite being under house arrest,Suu Kyi
continued to campaign for democracy
• Her struggle has won international recognition.
She has also been awarded the Nobel Peace
Prize.
• Yet the people in Myanmar are still struggling to
establish a democratic government in their
country.

1. 4 DEMOCRACY AT THE
GLOBAL LEVEL?
International Organisations

• Does an increase in the number of democratic
countries all over the world automatically lead to
democratic relations among countries?
• There is a government of India, a government of
the United States of America, and so on. But
there is no government of the world.
• No government can pass any law that will apply
to all the people of the world.

• There is no single World Government, but
there are many institutions in the world
that perform partially the functions of such
a government.
• These organisations cannot command
countries and citizens in a way a
government can, but they do make rules
that put limits on what governments can
do.

• Who makes laws and rules to n the seas that do not fall within the
boundaries of any one country Or who takes steps to control environmental
degradation that threatens all the countries together.
• The United Nations (UN) has evolved many Conventions on these
questions that are now binding on most countries of the world. The UN is a
global association of nations of the world to help cooperation in international
law, security, economic development and social equity. The UN Secretary
General is its chief administrative officer.
• What happens when a country attacks another country in an unjust
manner? The Un Security Council, an organ of the UN, is esponsible for
maintaining peace and security among countries. It can put together an
international army and take action against the wrongdoer.

• Who lends money to governments when
the need. it?
• The International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Does so. The World Bank also gives loans
to the governments. Before lending they
ask the concerned government to show all
its accounts and direct it to make changes
in its economic policy.

• There are 192 member countries of the UN has
one vote in the UN General Assembly.
• It meets in regular yearly sessions under a
president elected from among the
representatives of the member countries.
• General Assembly is like the parliament where
all the discussion takes place. In democratic
way.
• But the General Assembly cannot take any
decision about what action should be taken in a
conflict between different countries.

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The fifteen-member Security Council of the UN takes such crucial
decisions.
The Council has five permanent members – US, Russia, UK,
France and China. Ten other members are elected by the General
Assembly for two-year terms.
The real power is with five permanent members.
The permanent members, especially the US, contribute most of the
money needed for the maintenance of the UN.
Each permanent member has veto power.
It means that the Council cannot take a decision if any permanent
member says no to that decision.
This system has led more and more people and countries to protect
and demand that the UN becomes more democratic.

I.M.F
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International Monetary Fund (IMF) is one of the biggest
moneylenders for any country in the world. Its 173 member states
do not have equal voting rights.
The vote of each country is weighed by how much money it has
contributed to the IMF.
Nearly half of the voting power in the IMF is in the hands of only
seven countries (US, Japan, France, UK, Saudi Arabia, China and
Russia).
The remaining 166 countries have very little say in how these
international organisations take decisions.
The World Bank has a similar system of voting.
The President of the World Bank has always been a citizen of the
US,conventionally nominated by theTreasury Secretary (Finance
Minister) of the US government.

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Nations are becoming more democratic than they were
earlier,
International organisations are becoming less
democratic.
Twenty years ago there were two big powers in the
world: the US and the Soviet Union.
The competition and conflict between these two big
powers and their allies kept a certain balance in all the
global organisations.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union,
The US appears to be the only superpower in the world.
This American dominance affects the working of
international organisations.

Class 9 cvics chap 1

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