Week 7 of lecture session was on 27th February 2013. At this time, Mr AP Hamid R. Nedjat was giving lecture about democracy. At first, he explained about the definition of governance and kinds of governance. Then, we discussed about democracy.
Governance is the act of governing. It relates to decisions that define expectations, grant power, or verify performance. It consists of either a separate process or part of decision-making or leadership processes. In modern nation-states, these processes and systems are typically administered by a government. When discussing governance in particular organisations, the quality of governance within the organisation is often compared to a standard of good governance.
Democracy is a form of government in which all eligible citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Democracy allows eligible citizens to participate equally—either directly or through elected representatives—in the proposal, development, and creation of laws. It encompasses social, economic and cultural conditions that enable the free and equal practice of political self-determination. The term originates from the Greek δημοκρατία (dēmokratía) “rule of the people”, which was coined from δῆμος (dêmos) “people” and κράτος (kratos) “power” or “rule” in the 5th century BCE to denote the political systems then existing in Greek city-states, notably Athens; the term is an antonym to ἀριστοκρατία(aristocratie) “rule of an elite.” While theoretically these definitions are in opposition, in practice the distinction has been blurred historically. The political system of Classical Athens, for example, granted democratic citizenship to an elite class of free men and excluded slaves and women from political participation. In virtually all democratic governments throughout ancient and modern history, democratic citizenship consisted of an elite class until full enfranchisement was won for all adult citizens in most modern democracies through the suffrage movements of the 19th and 20th centuries. The English word dates to the 16th century, from the older Middle French and Middle Latin equivalents.
After that, Prof Evangelos Afendras explained about democracy in his country, Greece. Most of the lecture was about the age of enlightment. I myself reflected that the governance system had the good aim, but the running of the governance was not the same with its purpose in the beginning. For example: democracy. Its purpose was to to give freedom to the citizen. However, in practical, the people were too free in their life until they disobey the rules and the regulations.