Which 11 countries were democratic in 1941?
score:20
Since Samuel Huntington is quite popular in political science (which I guess the BBC derived its source from), I suspect that this group of 11 democracies is based on Huntington's thesis of Third Wave Democracy.
According to Huntington, the globe experienced three waves of democracy, starting from USA in 1828. For this first wave, Huntington used Jonathan Sunshine's minimal qualification for democratic state: (1) 50 percent of adult males are eligible to vote; and (2) a responsible executive who either must maintain majority support in an elected parliament or is chosen in periodic popular elections.
At the peak of first wave democracy, there were 29 democratic states in the world. Then Italy rose to fascism in 1922, and the reversal of first wave democracy began.
The first wave had its worst year in 1942, where there were only a few states which remained democratic:
- Finland
- Iceland
- Ireland
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- United Kingdom
- Australia
- Canada
- New Zealand
- United States
- Chile
You can read more about this on Huntington's Third Wave Democracy, or Roland Rich's introduction on his Pacific Asia in Quest of Democracy.
Upvote:-1
Ireland (1936)... I don’t want to open a can of worms but there are good arguments for that to read any of the following
Parliamentary Democracy: Ireland (1922) Ireland (1937) (One could also argue that it transitioned in 1949)
Constitutional Monarchy: Ireland (1922) Ireland (1936) Ireland (1937)
It depends how you define constitutional monarchy. Ireland was definitely one in 1922 (or at least was the same as U.K. and Canada). In 1936 a new constitution was established, which transferred some powers of the King (delegated to the Governor General) to the new President (effective 1937) However the King remained head of state officially (particularly when it came to foreign affairs and diplomatic relations) and Ireland remained in the Commonwealth.
The Republic of Ireland Act 1948 made Ireland a republic and removed any remaining powers of the King (automatically leaving the Commonwealth). At that point, Ireland was (and remains) a parliamentary democracy with an elected President as head of state (similar to Italy and Germany today) and with the president as the guardian of the constitution.
Upvote:5
Chile has a long tradition of democracy and by 1941 already had 100 years of democracy, albeit with brief interludes. In 1941 Pedro Aguirre Cerda was president of Chile, elected in 1938. He died at the end of 1941 and was replaced by Jeónimo Mendez until April 1942, when Juan Antonio Rios won the election. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Presidents_of_Chile
Upvote:8
Depends on how you define "democracy". Do you mean "one person, one vote" (universal adult suffrage)? Up until the early years of the 20th century women couldn't vote.
One could claim the USA didn't have full adult suffrage until after the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. Likewise South Africa wasn't exactly a paragon of "one person, one vote" until the end of apartheid.
If however you define "democracy" as "anything that's not fascist or communist", then the situation changes. (Victors writing the history books and all that)
Upvote:10
Note: This is a partial and indicative list. I am looking for more information to improve it.
Update 2: It seems there is some controversy over the definition of democracy itself. Until further clarity it would be difficult to populate any such list.
- Switzerland (1802)
- Haiti (1860)
- Finland (1919)
- Turkey (1923)
- Ireland (1936)
- Lebanon (1941)
That makes it - 6
Presidential System of Democracy
- USA (1776)
- Mexico (1917) (Thanks to @World Engineer)
- UK (1688) (I am not sure of its inclusion, because if this is included then a significant region of western Europe may also be included so also Australia and New Zealand, which will take the number way beyond 11)
- Canada (1867) Independence through British North American Act 1867.
That makes it - 10
More post
- 📝 What was the first emergency management agency in the world?
- 📝 Did Andrew Jackson think the earth was flat?
- 📝 Who were the Wright brothers' competitors?
- 📝 When and how did the Han ethnic group become by far the biggest ethnic group in China?
- 📝 What is the origin of astronomical seasons beginning at equinoxes?
- 📝 Australian Head of State
- 📝 Why did Britain not purchase Alaska when Russia had it up for sale?
- 📝 Found picture, want to know more about. It
- 📝 Did the Germans "mix up" Army Groups A and B during Fall Blau?
- 📝 Did the Soviets lack ball bearings in WWII?
- 📝 In the past, why was timezone change based on year?
- 📝 Who was blamed for shell failures on the Western Front?
- 📝 Why did the Confederacy think they could win the American Civil War?
- 📝 Are these remarks by Napoleon on Jesus genuine?
- 📝 Why was the morale of El Cid's troops always so high?
- 📝 Why did the Soviets refuse to help Nur Mohammed Taraki?
- 📝 Why weren't Harappan homes built of stones?
- 📝 How did member states of the Holy Roman Empire justify only including part of their land inside it?
- 📝 Did the treaty of Versailles require closure of German cadet schools?
- 📝 Was Willem the Silent Dutch?
- 📝 Were China's problems in the past two centuries due to "missing out" on the industrial age?
- 📝 Who is this person on the picture?
- 📝 What was the significance of the BEF moving into the gap between German forces in First Battle of the Marne?
- 📝 Why were the ship names "Scharnhorst" and "Gneisenau" used together?
- 📝 Why was the Records of the Three Kingdoms composed before that of the Later Han?
- 📝 Why was Japan not worried about Soviet invasion during WWII?
- 📝 Are there any remaining existant texts that describe the styles and techniques of Medieval European swordsmanship?
- 📝 Is there any example of one country devastating a third?
- 📝 Why was the Kamchatka Regiment sent?
- 📝 Was Jawaharlal Nehru virtually a Buddhist?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 Which 11 countries were democratic in 1941?
- 📝 Why were countries which were clearly aligned to one of the two power blocs during cold war a part of the non-aligned movement?
- 📝 Which were the (militarily) strongest countries of the Holy Roman Empire?
- 📝 Which countries (or comparable geographical units) have a lower population now than they used to at some point in history before 1950?
- 📝 Why did Roosevelt and Churchill use voice-based telecommunication, instead of simpler text-based options which were easier to encrypt?
- 📝 Are there any documented examples of wooden ships which were in active service for 100 years or more? If not, what is the longest?
- 📝 What were the thoughts of the Celts, Romans and other ancient European people about the standing stones which survive from prehistoric times?
- 📝 Which European countries did not have a revolution in the aftermath of the French Revolution and why?
- 📝 Which were the last castles to be besieged and fall in the United Kingdom?
- 📝 Were there any Roman villas in Britain which were used rather than destroyed after the Romans left?
- 📝 In WWI, which countries used prisoners as soldiers?
- 📝 What weapons were manufactured in India by the British forces which were used during world wars?
- 📝 Have there been any nuclear accidents in the US at nuclear facilities which were not "commercial"?
- 📝 Chiang's allies were "a kidnapper, a hooligan and a bully" but which was which?
- 📝 Which countries protested against the Anschluss?
- 📝 Which were the continent-wide common languages in human history?
- 📝 Were there any other systems which resemble the complex election procedure for the doge of Venice
- 📝 Which texts/works were lost due to the Mongol invasions of Baghdad?
- 📝 Which operating system were the hackers at the MIT AI Lab using in 1971?
- 📝 Which Catholic priests were given diplomatic missions?
- 📝 Which days in the Mayan calendar were most auspicious for performing sacrifices?
- 📝 Which parts of the Townshend Act were repealed in 1770?
- 📝 Which countries banned Ferdinand the bull?
- 📝 Which of LBJ's fellow representatives were less active than him in the House?
- 📝 Of which countries was Ludwig von Mises a citizen?
- 📝 Was there a particular area of Victorian London in which bookshops were concentrated?
- 📝 Which personal weapons, if any, were carried by the 1606 Janszoon expedition when it landed in Australia?
- 📝 How widespread were major dynasties which did not follow agnatic succession or male primogeniture?
- 📝 Which native groups were hostile to the fur trade in North America?
- 📝 How economically profitable for Nazi Germany were the occupied countries in Western Europe?