9781422282717

analyzes why gender equality has proven especially challenging, requiring political, economic, and cultural reforms. Concurrently, Religious, Cultural, and Minority Rights surveys the efforts that democracies have undertaken to integrate disadvantaged groups into the political, economic, and social mainstream. A free and unfettered media provides an important check on government power and ensures an informed citizenry. The importance of free expression and a free press are detailed in Speech, Media, and Protest, while Employment and Workers’ Rights provides readers with an overview of the importance of economic liberty and the ways in which employment and workers’ rights reinforce equality by guaranteeing opportunity. The maintenance of both liberty and equality requires a legal system in which the police are constrained by the rule of law. This means that security officials understand and respect the rights of individuals and groups and use their power in a manner that benefits communities, not represses them. While this is the ideal, legal systems continue to struggle to achieve equality, especially among disadvantaged groups. These topics form the core of Justice, Policing, and the Rule of Law. Corruption and Transparency examines the greatest danger to democracy: corruption. Corruption can undermine people’s faith in government and erode equality. Transparency, or open government, provides the best means to prevent corruption by ensuring that the decisions and actions of officials are easily understood. As discussed in Political Participation and Voting Rights, a government of the people requires its citizens to provide regular input on policies and decisions through consultations and voting. Despite the importance of voting, the history of democracies has been marked by the struggle to expand voting rights. Many groups, including women, only gained the right to vote in the last century, and continue to be underrepresented in political office. Ultimately, all of the foundations of democracy are interrelated. Equality ensures liberty, while liberty helps maintain equality. Meanwhile, both are necessary for a government by consent to be effective and lasting. Within a democracy, all people must be treated equally and be able to enjoy the full range of liberties of the country, including rights such as free speech, religion, and voting. —Tom Lansford

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