Summary of National Reports on Democracy

General observations: There were many points of similarity between the submissions from the different countries. There appears to be diminishing participation by the general public in the political process, growing distrust of politicians and a feeling that people have very little access to power.

Voting - frequency of elections, level of participation, registration qualifications, types of electoral systems, voting rights:

Most countries responding held elections for the national Government every four or five years, some had a fixed term and others a more flexible system. Only Australia has compulsory voting, those who do not vote and who have not registered conscientious objections can be fined.

Participation levels vary greatly from about 25% in USA to over 85% in Australia, in most countries the numbers of those bothering to vote in elections is decreasing. In some countries citizens are automatically registered as voters at 18. Other countries demand individual registration, most countries where registration is necessary are trying to make this easier for those who are native born but countries vary greatly in how easy they make it for immigrants to be granted the right to vote.

There are a wide variety of voting systems, the majority of countries use a form of proportional representation with varying degrees of proportionality. The USA has a first past the post system; P.R. seems to encourage a greater spread of parties than FPTP.

All countries have a secret ballot (the notes from Australia indicate that they were the first country to adopt a secret ballot).

Constituencies vary greatly in size from country to country but this variation in size does not seem to alter people's perceptions of the politicians who represent them. Most countries have personal voting with a wide provision for voting by post. All citizens, apart from convicted criminals in most countries have the right to vote but in some countries there is a residential qualification for registration which militates against the poor and those whose work - often low paid - requires them to move around the country a great deal.

All the responses came from representative democracies but several have provision for referenda at local or national level although referenda are not called very often and the results may only be advisory.

Government. Tiers of government and their powers, centralisation, how representative of the broad spectrum of the population, coalition or single party government, outside influences on government.

Most countries have three tiers of government - national/federal, regional and local. In most countries each of these layers is autonomous and the only way decisions can be changed is by legal action, not by another tier of government. In some countries the national government has some fiscal control over the actions of other tiers.

Most countries wanted to see less centralisation except for the general feeling in Austria which seemed to be that more centralisation would be more cost effective. The areas of decision making which were devolved to lower tiers of government varied greatly.

In most countries white middle class men were well represented at all levels of government. Apart from Sweden women are underrepresented at all levels, as are most ethnic and religious minorities. Several countries are attempting to redress the balance to make all levels of government more representative of the whole population. In most countries the parties of the left have led the way in this.

Everywhere the poor are underrepresented at all levels.

In most countries with a PR system there is a coalition government and in those with First past the Post a more adversarial arrangement.

Only 2 countries - USA and Australia commented on the influence of multi-nationals on government, both thought their effect was detrimental to individuals. In many countries Trade unions had links with the Social Democratic parties but this was not always evident from the influence which they had with those parties when the parties were in government.

Some special interest groups have developed strong lobbying powers; often those with strong financial backing have strong influence with the parties of the right.

Political Parties and Civil Society

The number of political parties represented, the state of political parties, representation within parties, party democracy, membership growth, policy influence, the necessity for political parties:

Most countries have few political parties represented in Government, 2-4, in Sweden they seem to be proliferating with 7. In general most political parties are losing members. Most political parties in most countries are open to all although there are certain "invisible barriers" in some to those of certain ethnic backgrounds. Most parties claim to be democratically controlled by their members but in fact most have structures, which can only be scaled through patronage, influence or cultivation of "power broker". The Trades Unions in many countries are growing slightly after a decline; Non Governmental Organisations are growing more. Most individuals in most countries think that they have little influence on either Government or Party policy. Some of our groups consider they have some influence on their party policy, which can lead to government policy. Most groups who expressed an opinion consider that political parties are essential in a democracy.
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Religion. civil society and Politics.

Main religions in the countries, national churches, numbers of people in membership, growth of religious groups, religious institutions in state structures, exclusion/inclusion of ministers in political activities, religious leaders in government, the role of religion in politics, the authority attributed to the pronouncements of religious leaders, the influence of religious groups on government:.

Most of the countries answering the survey were predominantly Christian and many had state church but all had a plurality of religions within the country. The level of religious affiliation varies but in many countries it is high although in most countries the religious groups are loosing adherents. Most countries allow religious leaders full political activity but some churches restrict this. Although we have had no submission from the UK I know that a previous Co ordinator of the Christian Socialist Movement is being threatened by an arcane law with not being able to take his seat in the U.K parliament after the next election. This is because he was an ordained priest in the Roman Catholic Church, even though he has since resigned, Australia allows no ordained ministers to be politicians. In most countries attention is paid to religious leaders when they speak on social issues. Most responders thought that religious socialists had a duty to be involved in politics in the interests of justice. Most respondents also hoped that their groups had influence in the policies of their party and the country.

Chris Herries. ILRS 14.9.00

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