Elections and the National Security; from Stability to Political

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

Abstract

Election mechanism is a basic requirement of a democratic system. It is important not only for its role in founding a democratic society but also it has impact on the functions of the system in several aspects including political, economic and social affairs. National security as one of the important aspects of political affairs is not excluded from influence of the election mechanism. Therefore the paper illustrates the impacts of election mechanism on national security using system theories, historical studies and quantitative methods. Establishing security-building functions of election mechanisms, some case studies against and proper conditions for the realization of those functions are among other topics touched in this paper. This study shows that the implementation of the said functions is subject to a set of requirements namely the adoption of an appropriate election mechanism, filling the ethnic, race and religious gaps in multi- sector societies, promotion of cultural participation, lessening the influence of great powers and finally overcoming challenges of economic underdevelopment.  

Keywords

Main Subjects