Author Question: What is universal suffrage? Why must participation in the electoral process be unforced? What ... (Read 72 times)

cookcarl · **on:** Jul 8, 2018

What is universal suffrage? Why must participation in the electoral process be unforced?

What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

Briefly explain how the balance between limited and effective governance is affected by the frequency of elections.

What will be an ideal response?

Pariscourtney · **Reply #1 on:** Jul 8, 2018

Answer to Question 1

Universal suffrage means that everyone must have the right to participate in the process that selects and removes government leaders. A government cannot require citizens to participate in politics in particular ways against their will, such as voting for or against particular parties or candidates. A country is a democracy only if all adults are treated as equals; no one can have more political rights than others, no one can be legally excluded from participating in politics, and everyone must have equal ability to freely express their political preferences.

Answer to Question 2

The length of a politician's term in office must strike a balance between limited and effective government. On the one hand, a lengthy term is an invitation for abuse of power and for a politician to ignore the public. On the other hand, we want politicians to have enough time to formulate and implement policies that are useful. It is difficult to know where to strike this balance; common sense suggests that holding elections every few years qualifies a country as democratic.