Directed Democracy
Directed democracy, also called guided democracy, is a term sometimes used to
justify the absence of anything remotely resembling Westernrepresentative
democracyin developing countries. It was first formulated in the 1960s by
the Pakistani leader Ayub Khan, who ruled with the support of the army. It is
in many ways analogous to the Marxist concept of the leading role of the
communist party during the transitional period known as thedictatorship of
the proletariat. It rests fundamentally on the argument that the people in a
newly-independent Third World country cannot be allowed full participation
in electoral politics because they are in no position to make rational political
choices. For practical reasons such as lack of general education (if not mass
illiteracy) and poor communications, and also because of possible ideological
hangovers from colonial times, it may be feared that the people could be easily
led astray by reactionary elements. Alternatively they might demand far more
in the way of economic benefits than their country could afford, especially at a
time when sacrifices might well be needed to build up heavy industry and to
create a capital base for the later consumer industry. The idea of directed
democracy does allow for some participation: people may join the one
permitted party, or it may even be the case that other parties are allowed to
exist and to have views on policy, provided they refrain from challenging the
decisions ultimately taken in the public interest by ‘those who know best’.
Some of the European communist states, notably what was the German
Democratic Republic (East Germany), were never technically one-party states,
for example, but were governed by a permanent coalition dominated by the
Communist Party. The stated intention in most directed democracies is that
eventually, as barriers to rational participation diminish and economic condi-
tions improve, the people will be ‘guided’ into a democracy that can function
effectively. Though the terminology is seldom used nowadays, most military
regimes make very similar claims to justify their rule.
Directive
Directives are, generally, orders given by an authority to a subordinate branch
of an organization, instructing the lower branch to carry out some task. Such
directives set goals and outline procedures, but leave the details to the agency or
division responsible. In current language a directive is likely to refer to a
pronouncement of the Commission of theEuropean Union (EU). Direc-
tives have been issued in many areas, including pollution control, workers’
rights and control over the road haulage industry. In EU law the Commission
has the right to issue directives to member states, instructing them to pass
legislation to achieve the required end, but the directive does not affect the
laws of the countries to which it is addressed until that legislation is passed
Directed Democracy