77
votes
Why did some Enlightenment thinkers despise democracy?
One must be careful in reading the word "democracy" as it has multiple meanings - and many writers will deliberately conflate and inter-change the meanings with intent to deceive.
One sense ...
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71
votes
Accepted
Have there been any countries that voted themselves out of existence?
Frequently.
Newfoundland and Labrador
The most recent example might be Newfoundland and Labrador, which in 1949 voted to join Canada as its tenth province. A Dominion from 1907, the Newfoundland ...
- 72.5k
39
votes
Have there been any countries that voted themselves out of existence?
The present US state of Texas was (at least in its own eyes) an independently sovereign country from 1836 until joining the US in 1846. Mexico never really recognized its independence and there was ...
- 491
27
votes
Have there been any countries that voted themselves out of existence?
Another interesting example - though almost the opposite of voting to join another country - is Czechoslovakia, which voted to divide itself into two countries, Slovakia and the Czech Republic: https:/...
- 2,896
13
votes
Have there been any countries that voted themselves out of existence?
In 1707, the parliament of the sovereign state that was Scotland (with its own currency, parliament and legal system) voted to join an incorporating Union with England. This led to Scottish MPs going ...
- 239
12
votes
Have there been any countries that voted themselves out of existence?
In 1938 Austria had a referendum on becoming part of Germany.
The vote was not democratic as Austria had been occupied by Germany at the time, but it still led to the „Anschluss“ of Austria to ...
- 229
11
votes
Accepted
What is the historical significance of spoilt votes?
Despite some interesting exceptions (detailed below), the spoiling of ballots or the casting of blank votes as a protest has not, for the most part, been an effective 'political instrument' of the ...
- 108k
10
votes
Accepted
How were political factions in the late Roman republic different from political parties today?
In addition to the "patrician" Optimates and "plebeian" Populares, there was also a third group - the Equites - which today we might think of as a kind of 'upper middle class'. To complicate matters ...
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10
votes
Accepted
Did two unquestionably democratic states ever engage in war?
The Indo-Pakistan War of 1971 was fought between Pakistan and India. Both were run by democratic governments at the time. Obviously there was also the matter of the secession of East Pakistan (now ...
- 382
10
votes
Has a democracy ever transitioned (or reverted back) to a monarchy?
Short Answer:
Yes.
Long answer:
JacobIRR's question is badly flawed. They assume that the royal family owns the country as their private property in all monarchies which is highly inaccurate. They ...
- 19.4k
10
votes
Is there a quote that expresses Mill's opposition to Indian democracy?
Yes, he was. The book you're looking for is Considerations on Representative Government.
[A] people must be considered unfit for more than a limited and qualified freedom who will not co-operate ...
- 14k
8
votes
Did two unquestionably democratic states ever engage in war?
Does the War of 1812 count as two democracies? Enfranchisement was incomplete for both countries, and one even had slavery, but they were still democratic states. Or do those two qualities make them ...
- 97
8
votes
Were there political parties in ancient Greece?
Sometimes there were 'parties' quite similar to our modern understanding of 'organised political party' in 'classical democracy Athens'. At least that is what from quite early on historians used as an ...
- 80.8k
7
votes
Have there been any countries that voted themselves out of existence?
Since you posit the country remaining in some form as a subnational unit, such examples are actually rather common.
Apart from the examples already given, from modern history see the admission of ...
- 1,769
7
votes
Have there been any countries that voted themselves out of existence?
The Kingdom of Sikkim voted to unite with India, in a referendum in 1975.
It was in culmination of the internal strife in the country between the Crown and the pro-democracy Sikkim National Congress.
...
- 3,738
6
votes
Have there been any countries that voted themselves out of existence?
German post-World War II history has two examples of a free democratically elected goverment deciding to give up independence and join another state; in both cases, the state they joined was the ...
- 472
6
votes
Accepted
Which were the four villages in Attica affected by Cleisthenes' reforms? What happened to them?
According to The Formation of the Greek People, by A. Jarde:
The new system took no account of the old politico-religious
associations, but created new cults for the new groups; of the four
...
- 3,159
6
votes
Accepted
What is the reason that European Democracies developed without judicial independence?
Both separation of powers and checks and balances are important and in a way these two concepts contradict each other. The judiciary has to be independent to check the executive, but it must itself be ...
- 17.7k
5
votes
Was there ever a democracy where the three branches went to war?
To assume each branch of government will "go to war" is simply a misunderstanding of parliamentarism ("Parliament is supreme").
If OP did not mean, literally, the branches fight each other physically,...
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5
votes
Have there been any countries that voted themselves out of existence?
Scotland and England
By the Acts of Union 1707 the kingdoms of England and Scotland (which were in personal union under Anne) united to form the Kingdom of Great Britain.
Great Britain and Ireland
...
- 672
5
votes
Accepted
Is there any precedent to Duterte's "Shoot them dead" call for policy violators in a Democracy?
Martial law has been declared in the United states of America, a more or less democratic country, on several occasions.
And as I remember, during martial law or at other times orders have been given, ...
- 19.4k
5
votes
Accepted
Is it reasonable to claim that peaceful transfers of power began, globally, in the United States?
I think this is probably one of those things that is technically "true" as long as you very carefully define your terms. (I have seen a similar claim made which focused on the election ...
- 9,102
4
votes
Have there been any countries that voted themselves out of existence?
Relatively recently there is the Cocos (Keeling) Islands.
Technically they did not vote themselves out of existence but were given the choice of independence vs integration with Australia.
The ...
- 157
4
votes
Have there been any countries that voted themselves out of existence?
American Samoa used to be an independent nation. In 1900 the chiefs got together and gave their country to the United States, an event celebrated every year as Flag Day. When I lived there and worked ...
4
votes
How democratic was Imperial Germany?
Imperial Germany was NOT a democracy:
Only the Reichstag was elected by the people. The Bundesrat, the second chamber of the legislative, had its delegates picked by the governments of the states who ...
- 117
3
votes
Is Japanese democracy an isolated example?
Your question has several criteria:
Country is invaded by a foreign power
A "democratic" system is imposed upon the people who live there by the foreign power
After the foreign power leaves ...
- 7,519
2
votes
How accurate is Russell on liberalism versus fanaticism in war?
I beg to differ with the answers above.
If we look at the spirit of Russel's argument two things must be taken into account:
One side must be liberal, the other fanatical. This is important - it's ...
2
votes
How were political factions in the late Roman republic different from political parties today?
Understanding republican factionalism requires a bit of historiography. Interpretations of republican faction are driven largely by how revealing these historiographical frameworks are, not the other ...
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