Democracy: The Worst Form of Political Regime or the Best Under Conditions of Effective Implementation?

Abstract

The article examines Winston Churchill’s paradoxical assessment of democracy as «the worst form of government except for all the others,» analyzing the conditions under which a democratic regime transforms from a potentially vulnerable system into an optimal mechanism for social progress. The author argues that the effectiveness of democracy is not an absolute characteristic but depends on three interconnected prerequisites: the level of public awareness, the development of legal consciousness and legal culture, and the economic material security of citizens. The research draws on works by Ukrainian scholars, particularly M.S. Yaremenko’s concept of militant democracy, which demonstrates mechanisms for protecting democratic institutions from internal threats through preventive measures, and V. Zahurska-Antoniuk’s analysis of solidary democracy in the EU as a model of collective resilience amid geopolitical challenges. The study analyzes both democracy’s advantages—popular participation in governance, self-regulation mechanisms, pluralism of opinions, and control over power—and its disadvantages—slow decision-making, risks of populism, manipulation, and «tyranny of the majority.» Special attention is given to education’s role in forming critical thinking and media literacy, legal culture as a barrier against chaos, and economic stability as a tool for preventing radicalization and corruption. The Ukrainian context highlights the necessity of systematically developing these three pillars of democracy amid social transformation and wartime challenges. The article demonstrates that democracy is not a ready-made ideal but a continuous project of societal self-improvement, where each generation consciously chooses between passive consumption of political slogans and active construction of genuine popular sovereignty.