Dquestion

References

Spaiser V., Ranganathan S, Mann RP, Sumpter DJT (2014) The Dynamics of Democracy, Development and Cultural Values. PLOS ONE 9(6): e97856. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0097856

Diskin, Diskin & Hasan (2005) posted that, democracy is a means for the people or citizens to choose their leaders and to hold their leaders accountable for their policies and their conduct in office. Zimbabwe since 1980 was under the leadership and dictatorship of Mr Mugabe until last year when Mr Mnangagwa took over in an alleged military coupe.

From that transition a little bit of democracy has been felt though a lot of systems are still in the hands of the corrupt leaders who are believed to be from the ruling party, ZANU PF.

Political issues tend to affect democracy in Zimbabwe. This is so since from the last presidential election, Newsday (2018) posted that it was believed that elections were rigged and the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission who is a member of the ruling party is believed to have played a pivotal role. Therefore, in as much as people select the leader they want, vote rigging and a breach of the constitution is very rampant.

The second challenge is that public officials refuse to adhere to the principle of ‘Good Governance’ Agenda. Democracy will be prolific in Zimbabwe if and only if there is freedom before and after speech, decentralization must also be equitable, the media must be assisted to be free, pluralistic and independent, civil society organisations must have the unfettered freedom to operate and lastly, there must be a strong commitment to anti-corruption.

All of the above are still far to be achieved since for example, since human rights activist such as Itai Dzamara are believed to have been killed for opposing the Mugabe regime, News24 (2018). So, in short, the aforementioned democracy challenges are affecting Zimbabwe and there is need for public officials to observe the rule of law.

Reference List

Diskin, A. Diskin, H., and Hasan, R. (2005). Why Democracies Collapse: The Reasons for Democratic Failure and Success.

Newsday (2018). ZEC In Fresh Plot To Rig Elections. Retrieved from: https://www.newsday.co.zw/2018/06/zec-in-fresh-plot-to-rig-elections/

News24 (2018). Activist abduction 'dark shadow' on Zimbabwe: Western envoys. Retrieved from: https://www.news24.com/Africa/Zimbabwe/activist-abduction-dark-shadow-on-zimbabwe-western-envoys-20180309

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1 day ago Access the profile card for user: Freeman Mateko Freeman Mateko

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RE: Discussion - Week 10

COLLAPSE

Post a brief description of the policy issue you selected.

Healthcare is a vital need for all human beings and simply a basic right for an individual to have based on their ability to be able to afford it or not. The policy issue that I have selected is health care. The healthcare policy is important because individuals without insurance will receive less medical care. If you do not have insurance you will not be able to go keep up the needed checkups for a healthier lifestyle. It takes off a financial burden for those who are able to afford health insurance. In essence, without some type of health care insurance, I believe the mortality rates will increase. “Our health care system, like those in other countries, confronts continued pressures from increasing costs; inconsistent quality; avoidable patient harms; pervasive disparities in health and health care associated with individual characteristics such as race, ethnicity, income, education and geography; and poor population health outcomes”(Clancy et al., 2012, p. 337).

A brief description of the policy issue that I selected

Healthcare is a universal issue. Patients vary in their preferences towards involvement in medical decision-making (Brabers et al., 2017, p. 1). Some healthcare issues to consider would be not being able to afford health insurance, prescribed medication, preexisting healthcare problems such as chronic illnesses, sexually transmitted diseases, mental health, heart diseases, etc.. “Health literacy refers to personal characteristics and social resources needed for people to access, understand and use the information to make decisions about their health” (Brabers et al., 2017, p. 1).

Explain how democracy poses a challenge to the resolution of the issue by means of governance and/or public policy.

According to Hanberger (2003), “legitimacy problems affect policymakers in various ways” (p. 257). The way in which democracy may pose a challenge to healthcare in trying to find a resolution of the issue by means of governance and/or public policy because public policy and governance is constantly changing every day. “At present, policymakers are affected by legitimacy crisis in modern states and cannot routinely count on existing legitimacy capital as a condition for policy making” (Hanberger, 2003, p. 257).

Be specific and provide examples to illustrate your explanation.

When it comes to the urban areas of a population, the individuals may be less fortunate to afford health care or insurance for that matter. When trying to come up with a solution to this problem, a strategic plan must be considered with all the players involved. “Legitimacy cannot be taken for granted; any solution to prevailing problems has implications for legitimacy that must be considered” (Hanberger, 2003, p. 257). This should be a strong focus on the interchange of public policy and policymakers.

Explain how the democratic challenges to the resolution of that issue might be overcome.

According to Safaei (2003), “deliberative democracy in its essence is not a new concept” (p. 124). The challenges with the democratic challenges to the resolution of the healthcare issue are planned equality. The reason why this is a challenge because you have to consider everyone social economic status involved when trying to come up with a resolution. Sanders (1997) contended that “the question of whether Democrats can achieve democratic goals through deliberation may be addressed by looking at how deliberation actually seems to proceed in settings where American citizens talk to each other, face to face”(p. 9). The inconsistencies of the equation are trying to have an even playing field for everyone involved and be fair all across the board. “Status inequalities and regular patterns of social oppression might intrude when Americans deliberate sufficiently to make democratic goals, such as enhancing community and autonomy, remote and unlikely” (Sanders, 1997, p. 9).

If you live outside the United States, explain some of the challenges that democracy does (or would) face in your country.

I do not live outside of the United States.

References

Brabers, A. E., Rademakers, J. J., Groenewegen, P. P., van Dijk, L., & de Jong, J. D. (2017). What role does health literacy play in patients' involvement in medical decision-making?. PloS one, 12(3), e0173316. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0173316

Clancy, C. M., Glied, S. A., & Lurie, N. (2012). From research to health policy impact. Health services research, 47(1 Pt 2), 337-43.

Hanberger, A. (2003). Public policy and legitimacy: A historical policy analysis of the interplay of public policy and legitimacy. Policy Science, 36, 257-278.

Safaei, J. (2015). Deliberative democracy in health care: current challenges and future prospects. Journal of healthcare leadership, 7, 123-136. doi:10.2147/JHL.S70021

Sanders LM. Against deliberation. (1997). Polit Theory;25(3): 347–376.

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