The political exclusion and commodification of women - Environmental and Human Security in the Arctic - page 254

Human (personal) and state security through
democracy and economic freedom
The term 'democracy' has a long history that can be viewed as being a result or
outcome of the development of Western civilization. It developed simultane-
ously with the formation and evolution of civil society and law-governed state
(rule of law). The word first appeared in Ancient Greece and it means 'rule of
people' ('demos' - people; 'kratos' - power, rule, govern). With reference to
Robert Dahl's observation that 'there is no single theory of democracy - only
theories' (Terchek and Conte 2001:xiii), it is possible to conclude that differ-
ent authors have ascribed different meanings to this term.
Huntington defines various approaches to the definition of democracy:
empirical, descriptive, institutional and procedural definitions (Huntington
1991:6). He states that the procedures for constituting government are the most
important aspect of democratic institutions. From his point of view, 'the defi-
nition of democracy in terms of elections is a minimal definition' (Huntington
1991:9). Huntington traces the origin of the procedural definition to the work
of Schumpeter. Arguing with the 'classical theory of democracy', Schumpeter
shows that the source of democracy, 'the will of the people', and the aim of it,
'the common good', are not sufficient enough, because 'none of them seriously
considered any substantial change in the economic framework and the habits
of bourgeois society' (Schumpeter 1994:252). Therefore, Schumpeter suggests
another theory of democracy, the so-called 'democratic method', which 'is that
institutional arrangement for arriving at political decisions in which individ-
uals acquire the power to decide by means of competitive struggle for the
people's vote' (Schumpeter 1994:269). I can extract several consequences that
follow on from Schumpeter's position, which I argue are useful in an examina-
tion of prostitution and trafficking in Russia.
First, there is an essential connection between democracy and the freedom
of the individual. The definition of democracy 'involves the two dimensions
- contestation and participation - that Robert Dahl saw as critical to his real-
istic democracy or poliarchy' (Huntington 1991:7). It is linked to the state
such that 'it is … impossible to imagine a democracy that is not based on the
definition of a polity, and therefore a territory' (Touraine 1997:27). Democracy
is embodied in the territory of the sovereign state, where political rights are
supplemented with civil liberties and economic freedom. Civil liberties
comprise freedom of the press and the independence of the major media
from government dictation; the protection of the individual by the
courts; the freedom to express individual opinions without fear of impris-
onment; the respect for private rights and desires in religion, occupation,
residence, education, and the like; and the individual's ability to engage
in rational political activities without fear for his or her life.
(Rummel 1983:31)