Democracy has long been the cornerstone of American identity, but in recent years many have begun to wonder if that ideal still holds true. Since Donald Trump’s election in 2016, Congress has witnessed dramatic political shifts, polarized government, and the extreme extent of presidential authority. Voting patterns have all contributed to uncertainties about whether the United States of America is treading away from the democratic values it claims to hold, although, historically, the U.S. often regresses before progressing above its previous achievements.
Critics counter that the country’s democratic character has always been imperfect — giving examples of earlier exclusions such as the denial of voting to women, Native Americans, and African Americans at the very early stages of the Republic. Some argue that government practices like the Electoral College, unequal Senate representation, and campaign funding provide biases supporting elite control. Given these factors, has the United States ever functioned at all as a pure democracy? Perhaps its system of politics can better be explained in terms of a hybrid model, always evolving and being debated, rather than as a fixed democracy.
While many believe there are many models causing different manifestations of democratic principles in practice. Democracy can be a principle in many different manners, such as in elite, participatory, and pluralist. Each of these methods can reasonably be applied to the United States based on what one believes.
An elitist democracy emphasizes the dominance of a powerful, small group in policy-making; a participatory democracy relies on the engagement of citizens in the government; and a pluralist democracy recognizes the role of competing interest groups in the policymaking process. Each of these has historically characterized the United States.
In recent years, the Electoral College has been a root of this sudden spark in government distrust, arising controversies. With Trump recently swaying Texas to gerrymander by moving its district lines, California is not too far behind to prevent the Republican party from monopolizing Electoral votes. In an article from 2020, Faith Karimi, a CNN reporter, stated that the Electoral College remains the safeguard of the South where the African-American voters’ favored candidate’s votes were counted as less than they were. Is it really democracy if the popular vote does not determine the winner?
Political scientist Larry Diamond explains in his article ‘Democracy Without Liberalism‘ published in the Journal of Democracy, that modern democratic regimes divide between electoral democracies, where leadership is chosen by free and fair elections, and liberal democracies, which emphasize protections of civil liberties, rule of law, and restraints on government power. However, the definition of “fair” is what it trickles down to — ever since establishing the system, the desire to preserve an educated government while also allowing the people the direct right to vote remained strong. In the article, Diamond touches on the idea of the relationship between democracy and liberalism, a relationship growing weaker and weaker for the first time. Diamond quotes journalist Fareed Zakaria, who claims that switching from authoritarian government to sudden free elections strengthens divides. Zakaria suggests that there should be layered democratization based on sustaining liberal principles before opening to elections. Many argue that may have been the Bill of Rights.
According to most estimates, the United States has been an electoral democracy for decades. Freedom House, a free-standing monitoring group, in its 2023 Freedom in the World report found that the United States scored 83 on 100, meaning the U.S. lies below several democracies such as Canada and Germany.
Previous research has also led to a raised eyebrow about whose voices are heard the most in American politics. In a landmark 2014 paper in Perspectives on Politics, political scientists Martin Gilens and Benjamin Page found that economic elites and organized interests exert substantial influence on United States government policy, but that ordinary citizens’ opinions have a statistically negligible impact. This has led most scholars to propose that the country functions less like a purified democracy and more like an unequal pluralist or even an oligarchy. Such allegations stem from the increased corporate involvement and interference of the Republican party and specifically the current administration.
Fortunately, some states are looking towards reform. The National Conference of State Legislatures documented the creation of policies such as automatic voter registration, expanded mail-in voting, and ranked-choice voting, that could improve participation and representation in future elections. At the same time, as Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt warn in their book, How Democracies Die, processes such as gerrymandering, disenfranchising voter laws, and election counters continue to be a threat to conserving democracy. Right now, America is standing on thin ice uncertain where the government is headed.
To judge whether America is a democracy, we must see how its founding ideals hold up in practice today. The framers of the Constitution designed an engine meant to balance rule by the majority with protection against what they referred to as the tyranny of the majority. That equilibrium has often leaned in the direction of elite control, however. Institutions such as the Electoral College and life terms on the bench were created to stop impulsive behavior on the part of the people, but today are used to prevent mass involvement in democracy. These devices, stabilizing as they theoretically are, can limit the ability of citizens to directly influence government, which causes one to question just how democratic the United States is.
Modern-day political developments have only fueled these debates. The employment of corporate lobbying, political contributions, and partisan media has expanded entrenched interests’ influence, and most ordinary voters increasingly feel removed from politics. Although voter turnout has gone up in some elections, disenfranchisement and limitations to voting remain unevenly dispersed, especially within heavily marginalized groups.
At the same time, grass-roots organizing, youth movements, and internet organizing maintain the hope of America being a participatory democracy. People are still demanding reforms such as ranked choice voting, term limits, and financial disclosure in campaign financing, all of which will enhance fairness and checks on the government. These movements inform us that America today is not yet an ideal democracy, but it is still a nation capable of experiencing democratic rebirth.
Throughout much of American history, despite the constant need to fight to preserve democracy and justice, there is a never ending pursuit of progression within America. The conflict between politics and idealism has always caused our country to fall behind, but in many ways that is what strengthens it amongst others. Whether the country is opening up or closing its vision of actual democracy is something that depends upon how actively its citizens are engaged with the system under which they are supposedly represented. There is genuine power in the shape of protests, youth activism, and reform movements, but they exist within a system where power is not equally divided. What this produces is a democracy that appears democratic in process but often functions by elite authority and polarization. Truthfully, however, the right of the people can never be entirely revoked.
The recent state of the United States has challenged the public’s reliance on our country being a Democracy. Thus, the question is raised as to what a true Democracy is. By definition there exists three forms of Democracy: an elite, participatory, and a pluralist democracy to which all are more or less inclusive but vary in the groups to which they include. Some say we are headed towards a fascist America. Trump controls the Executive Branch and Congress, so what is next? the people?
To judge whether America is a democracy, we must see how its founding ideals hold up in practice today. The framers of the Constitution designed an engine meant to balance rule by the majority with protection against what they referred to as the tyranny of the majority. That equilibrium has often leaned in the direction of elite control, however.