The Relation between a Democratic State

and its Minorities

It is the purpose of this essay to analyze the relevance of Vaclav Havel’s words in the
present day world, by regarding both how the democratic apparatus works in theory and
in practice, and how the people representing that country and the minorities apply the
democratic concepts they are taught to follow. In order to be objective, this essay will
focus on conclusive social examples as well as on theoretical and political information
about a democracy in general.
Firstly, it is a well-known fact that the constitution of any democratic state provides
equality for all the citizens of that state, irrespective of their religion or ethnic group or
other such criteria. And that a democracy strives to achieve that consensus, tolerance, and
equality in rights that are described in the constitution. In other words, the goal of each
democratic country should be the successful integration of its minorities. So, from this
point of view, the way in which a country treats its minorities is a test of whether that
country is indeed a democracy, or not.
But, it is also true that some, if not all, the citizens of that state don’t or don’t want to
apply the democratic principles promoted by their country, from lack of interest or
commodity, selfishness or fear of “the other”. This specific class of citizens sometimes
distort the meaning of democracy turning it into a sort of anarchy- where their interest is
of the uttermost importance, because, “ democracy must take into consideration their
opinion.”. Hence, discrimination against minorities is formed, leading to the ill
integration of these groups in the social life of the country.
On the other hand, this recently-mentioned type of citizens act the way they do
precisely because the democratic apparatus does not function as it should, that is, the
democratic principles are not so deeply rooted in people’s subconscious that they can
enable any citizen to act accordingly in a given situation. For instance, if any country
were truly a democracy, in that country, a manager should choose a candidate or other
present in an interview basing his decision on that candidate’s abilities, studies and
references, not on the physical qualities (especially when regarding young ladies), colour
(African-Americans or Roma) or religion (when in contact with another religious
tradition, like the Muslim or the Hindi one).
However, there is not much that the democratic state, through its institutions and its
citizens, can do, if the minority groups don’t aspire to social integration and wish to
blame their new country for their difficulties in adapting to the new system. For, in the
case of some minorities, the members of the group wish to recreate a similar environment
to the one in their native country (see China Town or Little Italy), so they live
permanently with the nostalgia of what they have left behind and under the impression
that no one will accept them in this new country. Therefore, instead of trying to fit in,
they point the finger at the system for not being able to provide them with social
integration.
So, by taking into consideration both the minorities and the citizens of the democratic
state, as well as the political theory behind the concept of “democracy” and the way in
which this theory is applied, it can be concluded that Vaclav Havel’s statement can be
considered neither totally true, nor totally false, but partially relevant as regarding the
relation between a democratic country and its minorities, because a democracy is a very
complex structure whose existence depends on many more factors than the social
integration of minority groups.