Abstract
This chapter examines the history of democratic decision-making, a tale in which a Western interpretation has come to dominate other less adversarial methodologies. It next considers some of the illogicalities of placing so much emphasis on the two-option majority vote. Finally, it chronicles some of the horrendous consequences of majoritarianism, not least as applied to the right of self-determination.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
The quotation comes from an official us government website. <http://usinfo.org/enus/government/overview/docs/ang.pdf > (accessed 23 May 2010). It then adds a second core value, namely, ‘to protect individual rights and civil liberties.’
- 2.
The ioc used three plurality votes followed by one majority vote, with the supposedly least popular option dropping out at each round. Doubtless because of the frailties of such a procedure, the results of all but the last round were kept secret.
- 3.
On 18.3.2003, the House of Commons voted by 412 to 219 to say (a) it ‘regrets… it has not proved possible to secure a second Resolution in the un,’– yet a second resolution was not even debated, not, that is, in formal session; and (b) it ‘supports the decision [to] use all means necessary to ensure the disarmament of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.’ Two days later, Iraq was invaded.
Hansard, http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/2003/mar/18/iraq-1
(Accessed 19 Jan. 2010.)
- 4.
In the late 1990s, many planning applications were approved in rather dubious circumstances, and a number of politicians received ‘payments’ equivalent to thousands of pounds.
- 5.
In the hope of overcoming the legacy of the genocide, the Rwandan Government has initiated a process called gacaca (Sect. 1.1) based on their traditional methodology of conflict resolution. Like mini-Peace and Reconciliation Commissions, these meet throughout the country in order to identify not the leaders but the foot soldiers of the Interahamwe, then to administer restorative justice to the guilty. To see how the process was being received, the National Unity and Reconciliation Commission, nurc, initiated a nation-wide survey which was funded by the British and Swedish governments. The report, a European’s analysis of several binary questions (Republic of Rwanda 2003: annex 4) was published in 2003 at a press conference in Kigali, which the author attended. When the debate was opened to the floor, one participant remarked, ‘Asking yes-or-no questions in very unAfrican’.
- 6.
In 1990, at the invitation of the late Zurab Zhvania mp, the author gave a press conference in Tbilisi, in Russian, on the need for a non-majoritarian form of governance.
- 7.
On 3.10.1999, in an 88% turnout, 97% of the electorate in Abhazia voted for independence; the presidential elections were held on the same day and, in a throw back to Soviet times, there was only one candidate. He won by 99%.
- 8.
South Ossetia has had four referendums since 1990, two of them in 2006: the South Ossetians voted for independence in one and boycotted the other, while the Georgians voted to federate with Georgia in the second ballot and boycotted the first.
- 9.
By the time of the vote in Nagorno-Karabakh, the minority was in exile, or dead. On 10.12.1991, in an 82% turnout, 108,615 people voted ‘for’ and only 24 voted ‘against’ independence: that is 99.89% to 0.02%.
- 10.
Kosova is the preferred Albanian spelling; Kosovo or Kosovo-Metohija is more frequently used by the Serbs.
- 11.
Admittedly, there were many other points of contention. The present text relates only to the referendum.
- 12.
Article 1.1 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights was adopted by the un General Assembly in 1996. The right of self-determination was first introduced by President Woodrow Wilson as one of his fourteen points in 1916. He later reflected, ‘I never knew that there were a million Germans in Bohemia.’ (Eban 1998: 38)
- 13.
In Russia, the term used is ‘matrioshka nationalism’. (Reid 2002: 136)
- 14.
The phrase was first used by some wit on bbc Radio 4.
- 15.
From an interview conducted in February 2005. <http://www.unlockdemocracy.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2007/01/2-robin-cook.pdf> Accessed 23 May 2010.
References
Aristotle (1992) The politics. Penguin Classics, London
Davies JK (1993) Democracy and classical Greece. Fontana, London
Deutscher I (1982) Stalin. Pelican, Harmondsworth
Duverger M (1955) Political parties. Methuen & Co., London
Eban A (1998) Diplomacy for the next century. Yale University Press, New Haven
Emerson P (1999) From Belfast to the Balkans. The de Borda Institute, Belfast
Emerson P (2005) Reforming the house of lords: choosing from the options. Representation 41(4):276–285
Emerson P, Šedo J (2010) Electoral systems and the link to the party systems. In: Stojarová V, Emerson P (eds) Party politics in the Western Balkans. Routledge, Abingdon
Emerson R (1966) From empire to nation. Beacon, Boston
Flint J, de Waal A (2008) Darfur, a new history of a long war. Zed Books, London
Gallagher M (1996) Ireland: the referendum as a conservative device? In: Gallagher M, Uleri PV (eds) The referendum experience in Europe. Macmillan Press, London
Kapuściński R (2002) The shadow of the sun. Penguin, London
Klein N (2007) The shock doctrine. Penguin, London
Kobach KW (1994) Switzerland. In: Butler D, Ranney A (eds) Referendums around the world. The AEI Press, Washington
Lakeman E (1974) How democracies vote. Faber and Faber, London
Lijphart A (1999) Patterns of democracy. Yale University Press, New Haven and London
Lloyd GER (2008) Democracy, philosophy and science in ancient Greece. In: Dunn J (ed) Democracy, the unfinished journey, 508 BC to AD 1993. Oxford University Press, Oxford
Mandela N (1994) Long walk to freedom. Little Brown and Company, London
Monbiot G (2003) The age of consent. Flamingo, London
Museveni YK (1997) Sowing the mustard seed. Macmillan, London
Nerburn K (1999) The wisdom of the native Americans. New World Library Novato, California
Obama B (2006) The audacity of hope. Three Rivers Press, New York
Othieno T (2007) Democracy and security in East Africa. In: Matlosa K et al (eds) Challenges of conflict, democracy and development in Africa. EISA, Johannesburg
Paine T (1985) Rights of man, Part II. Penguin, London
Pakenham T (1991) The scramble for Africa. Abacus, London
Prunier G (1995) The Rwanda crisis. C. Hurst and Co., London
Prunier G (2005) Darfur, the ambiguous genocide. C. Hurst and Co., London
Reader J (1998) Africa. Penguin, London
Reid A (2002) The Shaman’s coat, a native history of Siberia. Phoenix, London
Republic of Rwanda (2003) Participation in gacaca and national reconciliation. NURC, Kigali
Riker WH (1988) Liberalism against populism. Waveland Press, Long Grove
Šedo J (2010) The party system in Macedonia. In: Stojarová V, Emerson P (eds) Party politics in the Western Balkans. Routledge, Abingdon
Sigmund PE (ed) (1966) The ideologies of the developing nations. Frederick A. Praeger, New York
Wigley D (1996) A real choice for Wales. Plaid Cymru, Cardiff
Woodward SL (1995) Balkan tragedy. The Brookings Institution, Washington
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2012 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Emerson, P. (2012). The Myths of Majority Rule. In: Defining Democracy. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-20904-8_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-20904-8_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-20903-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-20904-8
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)