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very difficult, creating the need for a representative form of government. Given this,
some have argued that some of the virtues of classical democracy such as active
participation in the political process (even when not entirely utilized) could, at least, be
partly implemented on grass roots or local levels (See Macpherson, C. B., 1977; Miller,
D., 1983; Mansbridge, J., 1983). Such a procedure could also be augmented by
promoting civic associations that, as Toqueville suggested, would mediate politics
between citizens and their government (Sullivan, W., 1982; Petracca, M., 1991).
Although there is no consensus, most scholars would agree that democracy in modern
nation states means the presence of political rights and civil liberties (see Gastil, R.,
1991; Diamond, L. et al., 1995 for instance). Political rights include the right to vote,
right to run for office, and the presence of fair and free elections; civil liberties include
the presence of due process, freedom of speech and assembly, and equality before the
law. In modern representative democracies, it is the leaders, not the people, who rule.
However, citizens could control their leaders by holding periodic elections; those leaders
whom citizens consider trustworthy, accountable, responsible, and responsive would be
reelected and those who are not would be replaced. In addition, democracy is also about
the presence of choices and rights. Citizens are legally free to decide what to do in life,
including the career they want to pursue, the religion they want to practice, and the
political group they want to be a member of. Moreover, arbitrary barriers to economic
and political ambitions and opportunities are, for the most part, disallowed.
There are merits and shortcomings in the two major theories of democracy. While the
classical model of self-rule may not be used in modern-nation states, its theoretical
inspiration lies in the assumption that citizens are politically equal. The reason why
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