Servant Leader

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Servant relationship is when the leader provides selfless service to those that he/she leads. In this case, the leader espouses an admirably distinct leadership style that is acceptable to workers from diverse backgrounds. At this juncture, those under the command of the leader feel a sense of gratitude and elevated spirits. There is no universally agreed upon definition for the word ‘leader’. However, according to Keith (2009), servant leaders have three primary responsibilities and that is going to work to serve others, listening to colleagues and customers for the sake of identifying their needs, and developing colleagues. An effective leader is the one who coaches, mentors, and trains his colleagues in the workplace.

Transformational leadership is about introducing innovative working concepts that work well for everyone. Transformational leadership, if embraced by all stakeholders at all times without any lapse, can lead to overall satisfaction and increased production of resources and ideas in the workplace. Bass and Avolio, as cited in Hickman (1998), describe transformational leadership as an “expansion of transactional leadership” (p. 136).

References

Keith, K. M. (2009). Servant Leaders: Observe three basic principles. Retrieved October 6, 2011, from http://ehis.ebscohost.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=3&hid=22&sid=af9969b0-03b4-44b8-9eb1-eb1d9044e116%40sessionmgr10

Hickman, R. G. (1998). Leading Organizations: Perspectives for a new era. SAGE Publications Inc.

Influence of Election-monitoring on Public Policy

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Election-monitoring, an establishment overseen by the United Nations and founded to ensure fair, smooth, and violence-free elections, is a democratic process that has now become universally accepted where democratic governance is the norm. It is a democratic process overseen by election observers whose primary challenges are to deter fraud and irregularities in elections. Using a variety of techniques, international election observers, through the use of broad and long-term observations, assess pre-election, election-day, and post-election periods in areas of deployment (Carter Center, 2011). Working in concert with the United Nations, the Carter Center, founded by Jimmy Carter, former president of the United States and his wife Rosalyn in 1982 (Carter Center, 2010), has transformed into a visible and gigantic election-monitoring organization in the last decade. The most recent election monitored by the Carter Center was in South Sudan that declared independence in July 2011 and separated from the north to become the newest nation. Election observers or election monitors follow fundamental sets of rules and regulations that are exclusive to them.

Election-monitoring is the responsibility of the Electoral Assistance Division (EAD) of the Department of Political Affairs of the United Nations that oversees plebiscites, referenda and elections needs of member states worldwide (United Nations, 2011). Historically, election-monitoring got off the ground in the late 1940s with South Korea becoming the first testing ground followed by successive observations in the era of trusteeships and decolonization (UN, 2011). Since then, the UN has been actively involved in election processes in a dozen member states most notably Timor-Leste, South Africa, Mozambique, El Salvador, Cambodia, Afghanistan, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Iraq, Nepal, Sierra Leone, and Southern Sudan. Election-monitoring is not possible without the presence of political parties or factions and intensive strategic lobbying.

Strategic Lobbying

Strategic lobbying is a democratic process and a tactical practice lobbyists use to influence political leaders. According to Henderson (2011, September 26), strategic lobbying implies the act of influencing certain decisions to the lobbyist’s favor. In the United States, according to the 1st Session of the 104 Congress (House of Representatives, 1995), the Lobbying and Disclosure Act of 1995 requires lobbyists and interest groups to register with the Clerk of the House and Secretary of the Senate. Lobbyists and interest groups in the US spend a lot of money to advance their aims and objectives. It has been estimated that lobbyists and interest groups in the US spent $2.21 billon lobbying Congress in 2005 (Jennifer, 2006).

Political Parties

Another important aspect of profound importance in the democratic process is the presence of parties or factions whose absence makes democracy null and void. In healthy democracies, such as those found in the western hemisphere, political parties jostle for power in order to control the resources of a nation. Driven by ideals, factions either stick to their governing principles or advance effective changes they deem commensurate with their mode of leadership. According to Dislavo (2010, p. 273), “more specifically, factions often drive the parties toward or away from the political center”. Thus, a party may take a different course which could be beneficial or detrimental to the party and its leadership.

In conclusion, intense competitions between rival parties driven by the desire to control national resources are part of the processes that influence public policy. In the presence of checks and balances, strategic lobbying and political parties are two mutually supporting principles that subsist to formulate healthy democratic processes for the common good of all citizens. In case of negative influences, political irregularities or misappropriations, the long arm of the law is there to take the lead and bring culprits to books. Thus, lobbyists and interest groups can effect change in modern democracies as they have the capacity to generate remarkable developmental projects that benefit not only themselves, but the constituencies they live in.

References

Carter Center Calls for Calm as Parties Await Electoral Results (2011). Retrieved from http://www.cartercenter.org/news/publications/election_reports.html

The Carter Center at a Glance (2010). Retrieved from http://www.cartercenter.org/resources/pdfs/news/annual_reports/annual-report-10.pdf

United Nations (2011). Electoral assistance. Retrieved from http://www.un.org/wcm/content/site/undpa/main/issues/elections/

Henderson, B. (2011, September 26). RE: Week 4-Discussion (Online Discussion group). Retrieved from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5680882&Survey=1&47=9462243&ClientNodeID=404822&coursenav=1&bhcp=1

Lobbying Disclosure Act (1995). House of Representatives report. Retrieved from http://lobbyingdisclosure.house.gov/HReport104-339.pdf

Watkins, Z. L. (2008). Lobbyists and interest groups. Retrieved from http://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/RS20725.pdf

Disalvo, D (2010). The Politics of a party faction: The liberal labor alliance in the Democratic Party, 1948–1972, p. 273. Journal of Policy History, Vol. 22, No.

Democratic governance

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Democratic governance is often illustrated by the existence of political parties. A political party is usually an organization with broad political agendas whose main aim is to control government policy. Despite espousing different political views, leaders of political parties often sort out their political differences through cooperation and compromise. Unlike oligarchic and dictatorial regimes where a few leaders hold absolute power to suppress political fragmentation and dissent in their realms, in a genuine democracy, the smooth-running of the government of the day is the prerogative of elected political leaders. The terms party and faction have been used interchangeably by political leaders, researchers, and students of political science. According to DiSalvo, “factions are engines of political change that develop new ideas, refine them into workable policies, and promote them in government” (2010, p. 269).

Parties are the most important organizations that control the resources of a nation. In the United States, two conflicting and competing political parties, the Republican Party and the Democratic Party, have been the torchbearers of the nation for many years (Belloni and Beller, 1976). Because these two political parties have been dominating American political arena for such a long time, the prospect of smaller parties emerging in a landslide victory have always been hampered by the domineering tactics of the bigger parties. It is common for political parties to align themselves with interest groups such as religious and secular organizations for the sake of emerging the majority party in the electoral process. A presidential hopeful may give a lecture at an institution or before a church that has a large following simply to garner support as did former president Ronald Reagan at Jerry Falwell’s Liberty Baptist College in 1980 (Williams, 2010).

Political parties play vital roles in the democratic process by injecting new ideas and implementing viable projects that they deem beneficial to the nation’s social, economic, and political wellbeing. Because members of political parties are accountable to the voting public, they have to avoid removal from office at all cost by making valuable contributions to the society they represent. As opposed to the clangorous Indian, Turkish, Taiwanese, and Somali parliamentary debates known for political pugilism , the United States political party deliberations always convene in peaceful atmospheres.

References

Belloni, F. P., & Beller, D. C. (1976). The study of party factions as competitive political organizations. Political Research Quarterly, 29(4), 531–549.

DiSalvo, D. (2010). The Politics of a Party Faction: The Liberal Labor Alliance in the Democratic Party, 1948–1972. Journal of Policy History, Vol. 22 Issue 3, 269.

Williams, D. K. (2010). Jerry Falwell’s Sunbelt Politics: The Regional Origins of the Moral Majority. Journal of Policy History, Vol. 22, No. 2, 126.

Representative Democracy, Constitutional Democracy, and Republic

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Representative democracy, constitutional democracy, and republic are governing systems that preserve the rights of the individual citizen. Citizens vote the type and government of choice through the ballot box. Representative democracy, a form of government whose basic elements are political representation and democratic governance, is the prerogative of voters who elect representatives in a given calendar year (Lovett, 2006). It is a form of government in which the top elected brass governs until the next elections. Representative democracy allows citizens to elect representatives at all levels of society from city to the federal level. These representatives then carry on with the responsibilities accorded them by their voters until next election session when they can either reclaim their seats or be replaced by new members. A change in government representation is made possible by frequent elections and that winning a seat is determined by the number of votes garnered by a representative.

Constitutional democracy is a system of government based on popular control where structures, powers, and limits of government are set forth in a constitution and that is an amendable authoritative document. Nations like Panama, Sierra Leone, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Ghana are constitutional democracies (CIA, 2011). However, questions remain whether some countries that call themselves democracies are really democratic or just exist in name only. Some are pseudo-democracies where there is widespread corruption and manipulation in electoral processes. For governments that are partial democracies, the ruling party upholds absolute power such that it manages the constitution and denies opposition certain rights. In contemporary America, states have greater degree of control over matters pertaining to self-government and have the right to resist imposition of centralization by the federal government (Ritchie, 1936).

A republic is a form of representative democracy where elected deputies or representatives vote on acceptable legislation. In a republic, according to Roust and Shvetsova (2007), voters give consideration to representatives who they deem have the ability to reverse existing trends for the better. The United States, known for its strong democratic tradition, is a constitution-based federal republic. Nations like France, Finland, Georgia, Indonesia, Italy, South Korea, Moldova, and many others are republics. Iran is a theocratic republic; Mexico, Ethiopia, and India are federal republics while Iceland is a constitutional republic.

References

Lovett, F. (2006). Republicanism. In E. N. Zalta (Ed.), The Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy (spring 2010 Ed.). Retrieved from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/republicanism/

CIA (2011). Field Listing: Government Type. Retrieved from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2128.html?countryName=&countryCode=®ionCode=M

Ritchie, A. C. (1936). The Constitution and the states. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 185(1), 16–21.

Roust, K. & Shvetlova, O. (2007). Representative Democracy as a Necessary Condition for the Survival of a Federal Constitution. The Journal of Federalism volume 37 number 2, pp. 244-261.

Essential Concepts and Principles of Democracy

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For generations the concepts of democracy have been subjects of discussions or debates among legislators, between people in academia, and the ordinary citizen. What makes democracy distinct from the many political and philosophical thoughts is the freedom that comes with it. In antiquity, especially in the era of the Athenians, the application of eleutheria, a word that corresponds in meaning to “being free”, has been the driving factor that guided the principles of liberty. As opposed to douleia which implied “being a slave”, eleutheria signified the equality of the citizens of the state and foreign nationals (Hansen2010). Further, Hansen (2010, p. 3) states that “eleutheria was regularly invoked as a basic democratic ideal in debates that contrasted democracy and tyranny”. In essence, almost everyone involved in the discussion of democracy employs a different interpretation that edge toward a political dispensation unique to personal thoughts and imaginations. According to Landow (2011), democracy has been contentious in past American history with squabbling and confrontations being some of its noted features among legislators.

According to Prothro and Grigg (1960), for a democracy to be successful, there has to be consensus within the social fabric. However, to political scientists, there is no general agreement in mind as to the exact proportion of what constitutes consensus in government. Conversely, for the purpose of constitutional amendment, three-fourths is a good measure to reach an accord. King (2000, p. 661), argues that “any theory that might justify the use of a three-fifths (60%) or two-thirds (66.6%) decision rule should be equally effective at justifying a nine-tenths (90%) decision rule or even the rule of a single person (99.9999%)”.

Of the many concepts of democracy, the four unique and guiding principles that I have chosen to highlight are popular sovereignty, equality, elections, and consensus. The major factor that endears people to have a democratic government is for the most part for the protection and promotion of their rights, interests, and welfare. Some important concepts of modern democracy are democracy, constitutionalism, and liberalism. Post (2009, p. 430) defines constitutionalism as the “law of lawmaking”.

Popular Sovereignty

In popular sovereignty, the people, meaning citizens, are the ultimate source and authority of government and that it is a fundamental principle of government. King Concurs (p. 609) that the current U.S. Constitution requires the votes of two-thirds of Congress or states to initiate an amendment.

Equality

Going by the adage “no one is above the law”, equality entails equality of all people before the law regardless of color, creed, religion, sex and gender, religious and political affiliation, and national origin. In liberal democracy, even those regarded as minorities have equal right before the law. If there was no equality in democracy, those enjoying majority rules would govern according to their wishes and thus trample on the inalienable rights of the minority. That is why it is incumbent upon leaders to uphold the law and ensure the equality of all races and sexes. Stratification and marginalization of a select group of people is unacceptable in a genuine democracy. Equal sharing of the fruits of the nation should apply to all citizens.

Giving preference to one religion over the other is undemocratic; likewise, favoring an able-bodied person over a disabled, in any form, is illegal and subject to prosecution before a court of law. An era of political unrest known as the civil rights movement, gripped the U.S. in the sixties mainly because of inequality of races. Similarly, South Africa under the apartheid regime experienced proliferation of political and civil rights movements and increased chaos between the white regime and the oppressed black population.

Free Elections

Elections alone, without being free, fair, and frequent, do not fulfill the wishes of people electing government of choice. Any liberal democracy that wishes to see proper governance has to have a form of genuine representation that evolves out of free, fair, and frequent electioneering processes. According to the U.S. Constitution, free elections are meant to empower every citizen the right to contest and hold office without encumbrances. Regarding voting rights, the U.S. Constitution thus admonishes: “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude” (U.S. Constitution, 1870). “Fair elections” imply fundamentally honest elections that never hinder voters from voting for the right candidate. “Frequent elections” means that there have to be elections now and then so that people can have control of the government. In pseudo-democracies, ruling parties enjoy leverage over the opposition by frequently proclaiming majority votes in major and minor elections at times corresponding to 99.99%. Opposition’s fear of government repression and refusal by the ruling elite to submit to defeat has been harbinger for continuous manipulation in many election processes where the rule of law is mandated by dictatorship.

Liberty

Liberty, a word having many connotations, is used to describe varieties of rights. The freedom to follow one’s conscience is described as personal liberty. The right to contract and follow one’s avocation or calling is economic liberty. When a citizen votes or partakes in an election process with the aim of making changes to the government of the day, that citizen is exercising his political rights. Civil liberty allows a person to join certain unfettered reforms while social and cultural liberty benefits people who are inclined to social and cultural beliefs (Stevens, 1998). A modern political inclusion or proposition, consensus is a fundamental principle that is essential to democracy and that it implies unanimity or general agreement though we are not told the nature and kind of agreement. Political consensus enables all sides of the political spectrum to agree on an agenda and reach a unifying solution.

Mill (1860) concurred that Christianity was restricted to Europe and European descendants, a reasonable occurrence that may have transpired during his lifetime. However, in the last few centuries, Europe and its descendants took their religion to greater heights while at the same propagating democracy far and wide. Mill’s explanation of individuality as being equivalent to development is an undeniable fact. It is evident from Mill’s essays that he exhaustively focused on various aspects of democratic tenets before concluding what constitute an essential democracy. His pioneering ideas and philosophical thoughts and works have impacted the nature of democratic governance we cherish today in many spheres of the globe.

Conclusion

The absence of one democratic concept or principle is cause for democratic failure. All the concepts/principles of democracy are interdependent and inseparable. Taking away one concept is like depriving a human being of one his/her senses: vision, smell, touch, hearing, and so on. Of the many principles of democratic governance in the world today, liberal democracy towers above others when it comes to rendering developmental services to the cause of humanity.

References

Hansen, Mogens H. (2010). Democratic Freedom and the Concept of
Freedom in Plato and Aristotle. Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies 50 (2010) 1–2. Retrieved from http://www.duke.edu/web/classics/grbs/FTexts/50/Hansen1.pdf

Landow, P. (2011, August 10). Midlands Voices: Contentious democracy a tradition. Omaha World Herald. Retrieved from http://www.omaha.com/article/20110810/NEWS0802/708109938

Prothro, James W. & Grigg, Charles M. (1960). Fundamental Principles of Democracy: Bases of Agreement and Disagreement. The Journal of Politics, Vol. 22, No., pp. 276-294.

Post, Robert C. (2009). Democracy, Popular Sovereignty, and Judicial Review. California Law Review, Vol. 86:429, pp.

King, Brett W. (2000). Wild Political Dreaming: Historical Context, Popular Sovereignty, and Supermajority Rules. Journal of Constitutional Law, Vol. 2:3, p. 661.

The Constitution of the United States (1870). Amendment 15 - Race No Bar to Vote. Ratified 2/3/1870. Retrieved from http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html#Am14

Stevens, M. (1998). The Philosophic Concept of Liberty. California State University. Retrieved from http://faculty.ncwc.edu/mstevens/default.htm

Mill, John S. (1860). On Liberty. Harvard Classics, Vol. 25.
Collier & Son, retrieved from http://www.constitution.org/jsm/liberty.htm

Federalism and Separation of Power

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Federalism and separation of powers are two commonly identical democratic concepts that share almost equal connotations and play a pivotal role in the endearing democratic system of governance exclusive to Western governments. Federalism is a political system in which power that was once concentrated in the hands of a central governing body is dispersed to allow for decentralization to take effect and enhance autonomy in the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government. In other words, federalism is a system of governance where several states or regions surrender power to a central government while maintaining a limited measure of autonomy. To Cameron and Falleti (2004), at the sub-national level, federalism acts as a constitutional pact that guarantees the establishment of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government.

James Buchanan, an influential American leader, in defense of federalism, is remembered for his resounding political stand regarding the effectiveness of the application of federalism. To Buchanan, competitive federalism was a means to extending the market economy and organizing the political configuration of the nation (Migue, 1996). The system of federalism specified by Buchanan was meant to deny the majority broad powers.

Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, a French politician and socialist who lived to see the historic French Revolution prognosticated the spread of federalism long before anyone contemplated its global significance. Proudhon (1863) succinctly hypothesized the relevance of the spread of federalism and freedom from government in the twentieth century. For Proudhon, failure to implement federalism would have been purgatory for humanity. Proudhon’s political prophesy finally materialized as 40% of world governments today embrace some form of federalism (Cameron & Falleti, 2004).

Separation of powers is embodied in the U.S. Constitution and detailed in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Articles. The framing of the separation of powers in the U.S. resulted in the creation of 50 states. The American system of separation of powers divides branches of government into the Legislative branch which is the House of Representatives and the Senate and depicted in the 1st Article; the Executive branch composed of the President, Vice-President, and the Departments and mentioned in the 2nd Article; and the Judicial branch depicted in the 3rd Article and composed of the federal courts and the Supreme Court of the United States. In essence it is a means to ensuring the existence of checks and balances (U.S. Constitution, 1870).

Federalism and balance of power fare better than other forms of governance where power is concentrated in the hands of a central government. Federalism and separation of powers have been found to be effective political tools in that they are a relief in the effective running of governments and that they allow for checks and balances. Checks and balances help alleviate misconceptions because elected representatives perform their tasks in accordance with the demands of the state. Every leader is held accountable to the state and to the society he or she represents. Leaders found to be underperforming may be subject to disciplinary action at times resulting in removal from office. In oligarchic, theocratic, monarchic, and dictatorial governments, power is concentrated in the hands of a select few. Such governing styles contravene federalism and separation of powers enjoyed in the West.

References

Cameron, Maxwell A. & Falleti, Tulia G. (2004). Federalism and the separation of powers at the sub-national level. The American Political Science Association. Retrieved from http://www.politics.ubc.ca/fileadmin/user_upload/poli_sci/Faculty/cameron/Federalism_and_the_Separation_of_Powers_Aug11-04b1.pdf

Jean-Luc Migue (1996). Federalism and individual sovereignty: Comment on Buchanan. Th Cato Journal vol. 15 no. 2-3. Retrieved from http://www.cato.org/pubs/journal/cj15n2-3-9.html

Pierre-Joseph, P. (1863). The Principle of federation and the need to reconstitute the party of revolution (Toronto, Buffalo, London: University of Toronto Press, 1863), pp. 68-69.

U.S. Constitution (1870). Retrieved from http://www.usconstitution.net/xconst_A1Sec1.html

Suul Dhabaale

Cabdiraxmaan Dheere

Xoolahaba summaddaa
Lagu baadi soocaa

Dadna weedha sugan iyo
Sawraca tilmaantaa
Lagu kala sifeeyaa
Anna geelba sibir godon

Kugumaan salaamine
Sababaan tirsanayaa

Suul dhabaale waa hadal
Haddana waa si gooniya

Waxan sidaa Jacayl
Aan kula sugaaye
kugu simaye iga hoo

Sahra Axmed Jaamac

Cirku Sagal daruureed
Subaxdii u leeyahey

Waxa laga sugaa
Saadaasha roobkiyo
Xilli Seermo waydee
Inaguna sad iyo calaf

Iyo si Alle mooyee
Ka sal gaadhney caashaqa

Sanqashaduna waa hadal
Haddana waa si gooniya

Waxan sidaa Kalgacal
Aan kula sugaayee
Naftan ma isku sidignaa

Cabdiraxmaan Dheere

Surma seegto Waligeey
Iyo waxaad saluugtaba

Labadaba ka saahidey
Adna kaama sugayee
Sanqaroor gamaan leey
Sabar geenyo ugub leey

Quruxdii Suleeqiyo
Samirkii Ayuubleey

Suuldhabaale waa hadal
Haddana waa si gooniya

Waxan sidaa jacayl
Aan kula sugaayee
Kugu simaye iga hoo

Sahra Axmed Jaamac

San ku neef le adigaa
sadriga iyo laabtiyo

Qalbigaba ka sahansadey
Indhaha ruux aan saaroo
Kula simaba maan arag
Soomaaliya oo idil

Saami iigu muu hadhin
Adiguna iskeey sii

Sanqashaduna waa hadal
Haddana waa si gooniya

Waxaan sidaa Kalgacal
Aan kula sugaayee
Naftan ma isku sidignaa

Sirmaqabe by Sahra Axmed Jaamac

Sirma qabee Raxmaankow
Adigaa u sahan’e
waxba maan sameynine,

Gardaradu ma socotee
Sareediyo Samir iyo lugooyaan
kala saari waayo
sidey noqonba mooyee,

Haddey samadu furan tahay
Suuradaha QURAANKIYOO,

Salligaan u dirayaa
Inay kaan sugaayay
Sidaan ahay u sheegaan,

Nafta lalama socon karoo
Hadii caashaq saanyaal
seefaha la gaaree

Sahwiyo Daraaddii
sakalliyo saaci iyo abaar baan
kala saari waayoo
sanqadh bay igu oodaane,

Haddeey samadu furan tahay
Suuradaha Quraankiyo,

Saligaan u dirayaa
Inaay kaan sugaayay
Sidaan ahay u sheegaan