Democracy in the Third World Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Democracy in the Third World - Essay Example (Tilly, 2007) There are various questions that need to be raised in this context which are as follows: Nationalism is that phenomenon which stems from complete loyalty and love for one's nation. Under the influence of nationalism, a citizen forms his personal sense of identity in context of the broad characterization of the nation. This consequently leads to mass identity along the same lines when like minded persons get together - a phenomenon better described as national identity. Reversibly, the identity of a nation is formed by the sentiments, attitudes and broad cultural assimilation under which its people function. The theories of nationalism and national identity are complementary to each other, and these inspire entire generations. (Tilly, 2007) Two strong factor that influences nationalism is a legacy of colonisation along with the ethnic groups. These factors, when combined provide a series of influences on the culture, historical experience and other such aspects of a nation or a state. This is due to the fact that the effect of colonisation is most seen on the evolution of ethnic groups. This is of special importance when studying a state in a third world country, where ethnic groups and tribes are of paramount importance in the basic structure of the demographics. Third world countries have seen the ravages of colonisation and are still attached to strong ethnic sentiments, in most cases. This makes for a strong context for nationalism. Yet, the character of nationalism and national identity is not enough for the survival of democracy. Democracy requires the strong footing of policy in order to support development so as to maintain a focus on nationalism and not just fighting poverty and hunger. Participants in Public Policy Public policy may be defined as that state of things or action where the public authorities exercise their freedom of choice in order to deal with certain issues. The tools or mechanisms used to deal with these issues are known as public policy. Public policy may also be defined as a set of decisions that are interrelated to one another. These decisions in turn, are taken by political parties, or other individuals involved in social service, with the broad aim of selection of certain goals that will fit into the situation at hand. Public policy may be implements to various aspects of one's public and domestic life, including welfare, health, justice, feminist policies, and interest group conflict, among various others. (Dye, 2001, p. 4 to 7)2 In this context, the participants in the public policy process may be segregated into two categories. The first are the official participants comprising of