Stability: this is the keyword. All nations strive for it, but not all have it. This is no more so the case than in Israel. Recent issues such as with the continual building of settlements in the occupied territories which was criticised recently by John Kerry are the product of poor decision making and at its heart, the nature of democracy in Israel.

The types of democracy

Democracy in the West is often viewed as the basis for any decent society. The idea behind democracy is the way in which citizens under democratic rule have a major say in how their country is run.

This is either through exercising down directly, (direct democracy) or through elected officials representing the people (representative democracy). Now there are variations to representative democracy. There is parliamentary democracy where the government is appointed by representatives, and presidential democracy where the public elects the #president through elections.

There are many advantages of democratic rule such as the fact that the citizens of that nation elect the official. As the Next Galaxy website states, "the people have the say" as to "who is elected". There is also the case that democratic rule prevents a tyrant ruling. Due to the fact that the government is "bound by an election term", as reported in the Green Garage Blog website, it "prevents monopoly of the ruling authority".

Its problems

However, despite this, democratic rule does have its disadvantages, in particular what the Next Galaxy website refers to as "misplaced trust". The claim is that once the elections are over, the people's "voice in government" is done. Furthermore it is often the case that elected officials have "ulterior agendas" that are not in the best interest of the citizens.

However, the greatest disadvantage I believe of democratic rule is the possibility of #instability it creates and the consequences of that. Whilst it may not be the case in many democratic nations, it does happen in one; Israel.

The case of Israel

The version of representational democracy used in Israel is proportional representation in which the whole country is a single constituency.

However, the fact that the election threshold is 3.25 percent leads to a multi-party system with many parties running for national election. One problem of such a political system is the continual need to form a #coalition to govern and in addition the desperation that comes with it, which can be seen today. The desire for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to form a government led to a #coalition with right wing parties such as United Torah Judaism and Bayit Yehudi. This is a problem because in order to keep his government together, Netanyahu needs to listen to those around him. Such a problem can be found with Bayit Yehudi, whose views are extremely controversial. Their backing for "settlement expansion" as the BBC reported for instance.

Such views creates problems for Netanyahu in trying to keep the country happy at the same time as keeping his government together. It is often the case that the views of the parties in the coalition are not in line with those of the public. This leads to disagreement and as a result the collapse of the government.

As a result

It is no coincidence that, as the Haaretz newspaper stated, over the past decade Israel has had four elections. However, in addition to this is the instability created externally. The agreement to build more settlements in the occupied territories, taken by Netanyahu to please his cabinet has brought criticism not only from Europe and the Middle East but even from the United States as earlier mentioned.

It is clear that the current democratic system is not only creating a problematic coalition but also infringing on the ability of the government to govern. The constant need for Netanyahu to keep his coalition and the general public happy is creating instability as a result. It is a clear example that democracy is not always the safe bet that many people believe it is.