Democracy needs civic participation: A critical review

• Main Authors: Rasheed, Adnan, Abu Bakar, Hassan, Abdul Rahman, Nik Adzrieman
• Format: Conference or Workshop Item
• Language: English
• Published: 2018
• Subjects: PL Languages and literatures of Eastern Asia, Africa, Oceania
• Online Access: http://repo.uum.edu.my/25328/1/SMMTCPS%202018%2078%2085.pdf; http://repo.uum.edu.my/25328/

Democracy is an idea which often invoked but little understood into the literary world. Democracy plays a crucial part in the citizenry life of any country for the socio-economic development. Indeed, Democracy gives good living standards around the globe but in literary world, there are many scholars who raises many serious objections to many of the established features of democratic thoughts. Indeed, research scholars who involved in the research of democracy needs to focus on its ‘value’ in the society. Democracy is in deep problem with the lack of interest and confidence in state institutions by the citizens. As, Lasswell (1958) mentioned that the study of politics means to explore ‘who get what, when, how’. However, in the beginning of research on democracy starts to believe that a society which organized by democratic means would be ‘chaotic, arbitrary, meaningless and impossible’. Democracy has some basic flaws in democratic process which tends to fall in two related themes, as many political scientists identified earlier in the past. Some scholars believe that the democratic decision-making is ineffective and sometimes undesirable in the situation when democratic systems unable to compensate the desires of their citizens. In contrast, the other school of thought believes in participatory democracy which assumes as a deliberative understanding of democracy and engage the citizens in the democratic process. Many scholars focus on the value of democracy in the society with critical thinking of citizens engagement in the process of democracy and gives insight of the practical significance of democracy. As, Pateman (2012) noticed that the citizens have general lack of interest in the political activities and in politics