Let us begin at the beginning. The classic text-book definition of democracy is government for the people, by the people, and of the people. But what do we actually find when we look in the political mirror both in the first world as well as in the third world? To call a spade a spade, the definition has become a mere mantra. Democracy has shed its original skin with the passage of time and taken on a new shape. Just as the shape of water depends on the shape of its container, democracy also differs from country to country, depending on various factors in the country.

In fact, in the third world democracy has given birth to a new political caste system. Thus in most of the third world countries, the pyramid of a democratic government consists of three distinct layers -- the top, the middle and the base, in which the top group exploit the bottom group with the support and collaboration of the middle group, which make the rich richer and the poor poorer. It is not necessary to point your finger at any particular country. Just look in the mirror.

One side of the coin

The meaning and use of democracy varies from people to people and country to country. There is no such thing as absolute democracy, like absolute monarchy. What is sauce for the goose may not be the same for the gander, as they say, or, one man's meat may be poison for the other. Just look at some of the developing or least developed countries where the majority of the people live below the poverty-line and go to bed half-fed or hungry. What do we find? Our so-called charismatic leaders, whether in government or in opposition, are constantly squabbling for power, finding fault with each other, spreading hatred and nothing else, sending the country to the dogs.

They are digging each other's graves. In such a deplorable situation, whatever efforts they make in the name of nation-building go down the drain. What the leaders exploit is the catch-word of democracy. They know how to fool the people in the sacred name of democracy. Like magicians, they create illusions to make waves and then impose themselves as the only saviours of the sinking ship! Thus the poor will remain at the bottom of the democratic pyramid to be exploited by the political upper class. But nature has its own way of filling the vacuum. The leaders can fool all the people some of the time but not all the time. There is always a curtain-fall, ending the show.

This is one side of the coin, rather dark and pessimistic, with, of course, some bright spots here and there.

The other side of the coin -- the way democracy works in the rich and economically advanced countries in the west -- is rather bright and captivating at first sight. It must be admitted that whatever may be the pit-falls and hidden blocks in the western system, it is free from the nasty and nauseating bickering and ludicrous and shameless name-calling, that makes our democracy a laughing stock before the world.

Built-in constitutional flaws

Let us take a look at the functioning of democracy in the world's richest country, America. Two powerful political parties, the Republicans and the Democrats, traditionally rule the country almost by rotation. But remarkably, they don't fight for a change of government through unconstitutional means such as hartals, street agitations, rowdy demonstrations, burning of public and private transports, looting of shops, etc.

In contrast to the ghastly political scenes in the third world, in America the party winning the majority of votes rules the country without any disturbance from the opposition. A regime change comes only after the party in power runs its full course, and steps down if defeated in the election held at the end of its tenure.

But there are flaws and pitfalls in the system that play havoc from behind the scenes. You needn't go far to find such flaws in the American system. The very election of the incumbent president George Bush is questionable because he was not elected by the direct vote of the people but through a built-in constitutional flaw. It was the two-tier election system known as the electoral college that was introduced some 200 years ago that decided the fate of George Bush.

Fund-raising campaigns: Corporate trade shows

There are many other flaws besides the electoral college in the presidential elections in the world's richest country. The most glaring flaw is the role that money plays in electing politicians. Democrat Senator Russ Feingold has dubbed the fund-raising campaigns that all American politicians must undertake corporate trade shows. Mr. Feingold calls the US democracy a corporate democracy, not a representative democracy, adding, that it is no longer one person, one vote. According to the senator, the fund-raising system is legalised bribery and extortion and fund-raising campaigns serve as symbols of the system's corruption. These allegations come not from the mouth of Bin Laden or Saddam but direct from the horse's mouth, a US senator! So, the picture is too vulgar to swallow in the name of democracy. Perhaps it suits a rich country like America. America, being the richest country, can boast of its brave corporate democracy, instead of a representative democracy.

Embrace democracy, Bush urges Arab leaders

Perhaps the Middle East countries, which are no less rich than America because of their oil wealth, would welcome such US-style democracy. President Bush recently urged the Middle Eastern leaders to embrace democracy, as, according to him, lack of democracy in the Middle East was turning it into a breeding ground for terrorism. The bottom-line for Bush is that democracy is a panacea against terrorism, as if there is no trace of terrorism under democracy.

America has launched a multi-million dollar programme to strengthen democracy in the Middle East. Secretary of State Colin Powell recently announced $20 million funding for this purpose. A good amount of money for a good cause, no doubt, as the programme would also include a frame-work for the US to work together with governments and the people of the Arab world. Some cynics consider the programme Washington's latest strategy to tighten its grip over the Middle East's oil resources and also to protect Israel's influence and dominance in the region. Only time will show which way the wind blows.

AMM Shahabuddin is a retired UN official.