Transitions to Democracy

Geography: Edexcel A Level, topic 10.3.3

Examples of Transitions to Democracy

Democratic countries tend to be more committed to the principles of human rights.

Modern-day China was founded as a communist country but has now moved towards being a socialist market economy, trading widely around the world.
Its economic success has had little regard for human rights.
Membership of trades’ unions is illegal, and workers are not allowed to protest about poor working conditions or low wages.
People who complain are often detained and ‘re-educated’ through hard labour.
Media and online freedoms are severely curtailed.
Trials are often conducted ‘behind closed doors’ and the death penalty is widespread.

India is a parliamentary democracy, consisting of 29 states and 7 territories.
While categorised as a ‘free’ country it does have a number of human rights issues:
Violence against Muslims (India is a predominantly Hindu country).
Caste-based discrimination.
Sexual abuse and violence against women (there have been a number of gang rape incidents in recent years).
There is a commitment to freedom of speech, but there is still some state censorship of the media.