The Age of Sham Democracy

Introduction

Democracy is very popular these days as an idea. Many countries have the word Democratic in their name, but often these are lands whose systems other countries might judge particularly authoritarian and undemocratic. This highlights the problem I seek to discuss in these essays; that democracy is seen as a virtue to be claimed, but not necessarily practiced. Democracy is often manipulated to ensure the will of the people as expressed, usually in votes, co-incides with the will of the powerful and serves to maintain their dominance in society.