AQUINO Journal of Philosophy

The act of harnessing the dividend of democracy in most democratic states has been poor over the years, due to ineffective democratic practices. Democracy is a system of government by which power is either held by elected representatives, or directly by the people themselves. The supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or their elected agents under a free electoral system. Despite the adoption of democracy by many countries, Larry Diamond believes that there is a global decline in democratic institutions’ practices and values, marked by democratic backsliding, this enables the rise of authoritarianism and weaken support for liberal democracy, this he considers as democratic recession. Hence, what are the resilience in a democratic systems and the factors contributing to their vulnerability? The analytic method of research were employed in this study. Using the above research method unravels that for democratic structures to endure in a given society, the government must listen to the voice of their citizens, engage their participation, tolerate their protests, protect their freedoms, and respond to their needs.

Open Full Text (PDF)