It is a widely known fact that democracy and respect for human freedom are the most crucial components of U.S. foreign policy since promoting human rights and freedom contributes to society’s well-being as well as prosperity of the USA. In fact, from the perspective of U.S. foreign policy, democracy stands for a system of U.S. government which presupposes equality within society and providing it with the right to vote for government representatives during elections. What is more, democracy implies in securing peace, protecting citizens’ rights, avoiding humanitarian crisis and upholding human rights. Apparently supporting and promoting democracy programs is quite complicated for the U.S. government as it requires to put a lot effort to build trust with citizens and keep American democracy stable despite both internal and external devastating factors (Madison, James.,1788, February 8). Therefore, the paper addresses the question of the stability of American democracy, points out what factors contribute to its fortifying and what forces tend to destabilize it in the long run.
To begin with, it is historically proved that America has been a democratic country which treated its citizens with respect. By contrast, currently, the U.S. government’s policy is frowned upon since it contradicts the underlying tenets of a democratic country. To illustrate, on the one hand, America protects citizens’ rights and advocates free expression of opinions, thus it proves the fact that American democracy maintains stability (Levitsky., Steven., Ziblatt., Daniel., 2018 ). Though, on the other hand, increasing inaccessibility to press, the violence against lawmakers as well as propagating the power of money prove the fact that America’s stability is apparently under the threat. That is to say, the U.S. government fails to meet all the necessary democratic standards since violating such standards deteriorates the position of the government and society’s trust.
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Still on the subject of the stability of the USA, it should be underscored that the U.S. citizens tend to draw the line between democratic standards and undemocratic ones that are either followed or violated by the U.S. government. Namely, meeting democratic standards by the U.S. government is apparent since it protects citizens’ rights to vote, deters political violence, prevents electoral fraud and insists on human freedom. As opposed to democratic principles, manifestation of undemocratic tenets is also showed hence the U.S. government does not always grant citizens equal opportunities to vote, improves the state of oligarchy and suggests that money and power prevail, thus those who have money are likely to determine how the country should be governed (Bartels., Larry M., 2005). It becomes apparent that such violation of democratic principles undermines the stability of America, thus some experts suggest that it can be, unfortunately, destabilized in the long run.
Although undemocratic policy of the U.S. government poses a threat to democracy itself, there are still numerous factors that contribute to its stability and inviolability. Specifically, the implementation of democracy programs plays a crucial role in strengthening and maintaining democracy since it promotes the significance of human rights, electoral monitoring and parliamentary development. In other words, establishment of democracy programs and expansion of them tend to fortify the stability of democracy. Another critical factor that boosts the stability of American democracy is an economic growth of the country because in case economy is increasing at an unprecedented rate, the importance of adhering to democratic principles is also on the rise. To put it simply, the implementation of democratic policies, economic stability of the USA and avoiding of military conflicts are the primary factors that contribute to the stability of U.S. democracy (Bartels., Achen., 2016). Though, apart from beneficial factors, the USA democracy is affected by a great variety of devastating factors which undermine democracy.
To specify, the economic gap within U.S. citizens is the primary factor for destabilizing America’s democracy hence middle class and its role in the life of the USA is slightly underestimated due to their lack of financial means. That is to say, the U.S. government draws the line between middle class and well-off people where the latter have more opportunities, and are treated with more respect. In fact, this particular factor lays a foundation for the emergence of another significant destabilizing factor. In particular, this factor implies in democracy of the rich rather than democracy of all the U.S. citizens since the rich have become the most powerful political force in the USA that due to their money and power, tend to destabilize the position of the average people (Wilentz., Sean., 2008). What is more, experts even suggest that America has transformed into oligarchy since there is a great number of unlimited bribery and permissiveness of government officials and well-off citizens. Eventually the power of money and widening economic gaps make the rich prevail over average people, thus it deteriorates the general state of democracy and leads to destabilization of America’s stability.
To sum up, it is important to underline that democracy plays a crucial role for U.S. citizens and the USA in general since adhering to democratic principles and praising human rights and freedom are the fundamental tasks for the USA. On the one hand, the USA tries to maintain the stability of its democracy by implementing particular democracy programs and promoting human rights. But on the other hand, a gradual transformation to oligarchy, an increasing power of money and a certain inaccessibility to press demonstrate the decline in promoting democracy as such factors only undermine democracy’s vital role (Levitsky., Steven., Ziblatt., Daniel., 2018). Therefore, the U.S. democracy is not stable enough nowadays as numerous factors influence its inviolability, but still the U.S. government is liable to take preventive measures and increase the stability of democracy which is an integral part of society’s life.
- Bartels., Achen. (2016). Democracy For Realists: Why Elections Do Not Produce Responsive Government. Princeton University Press.
- Bartels., Larry M. (2005). Homer Gets a Tax Cut: Inequality and Public Policy in the American Mind. American Political Science Association.
- Levitsky., Steven., Ziblatt., Daniel. (2018). How wobbly Is Our Democracy? The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com
- Levitsky., Steven., Ziblatt., Daniel. (2018). This Is How Democracies Die. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com
- Madison, James. (1787, November 23). The Same Subject Continued. The Union As a Safeguard Against Domestic Faction and Insurrection.
- Madison, James. (1788, February 8). The Structure of the Government Must Furnish the Proper Checks and Balances Between the Different Departments.
- Wilentz., Sean. (2008). The Rise of American Democracy: Jefferson to Lincoln. W.W. Norton & Co.
