The phrase "substantial democracy" is a correct and usable part of a sentence in written English.
It is typically used to describe a form of democracy that is strong, stable, and effective in its implementation. Here is an example of how it can be used: "The country's transition to a substantial democracy was marked by a series of successful elections and the establishment of a robust system of checks and balances."
Substantial democracy means more than elections.
Failing to realise that winning an election does not give a leader authorisation to seize all state power and disregard minorities is a case in point: here lies, in fact, the gulf between formal and substantial democracy.
Eight other locations likewise saw substantial democracy reform victories at the ballot, from ranked choice voting in Maine and a county in Oregon, to calls for reversing Citizens United in two states, Washington and California, to reform measures like implementing campaign contribution limits in Missouri.
From the very beginning, our choice was to reject in its entirety the regime's attempts to drag the people's revolution into a farcical dialogue, with the counter-revolution shrouded in the discourse of a "democratic process" that neither promotes the demands of the revolution nor represents any substantial, real democracy.
Indeed, the PRC has good, as in convincing to its leaders, reasons for supporting North Korea, insisting on reunification with Taiwan, refusing to accept real democracy in Hong Kong, and claiming substantial real estate in nearby waters.
Malaysia, for one, has argued that ASEAN's credibility rests on persuading Myanmar to take more substantial steps toward democracy.
A substantial part of democracy has vanished at the national level but it has not been recreated at the European level.
President Bush, in a speech harshly critical of Fidel Castro, said today that he would not lift a trade embargo against Cuba without substantial movement toward democracy there.
The 1874 constitution introduced a substantial innovation: direct democracy became possible through referendum and was reinforced in 1891 through initiative, the right for citizens to place an issue before the public if they were able to secure enough signatures.
Celebrations erupted outside prison gates across Burma yesterday as the authorities took another step out of isolation and released scores of political prisoners, a move US President Barack Obama hailed as a "substantial" shift towards democracy.
And within the Western democracies, substantial progress was made towards realizing this myth, as the achievement of a wider franchise, mass literacy and the welfare state enabled almost all citizens to participate, however unequally, in common national cultural and political institutions operating in the vernacular.
