When the United States won its independence from Great Britain in 1781, its founders set out to create the first democracy in modern history. Fearful of an authoritarian government, like that of Britain’s King George III, the early Americans drew up Articles of Confederation, which gave little power to the central government. These proved unworkable, however, and in 1787, the Americans drafted a Constitution that maintained a federal system but granted supreme authority to the national government.

The strength of the union was tested during the bloody five-year Civil War in the mid-19th century, but the country survived intact and is today the oldest continuous democracy in the world.

Government
Executive -- President George W. Bush was elected to his second and final four-year term in 2004.

Legislative -- The U.S. Congress comprises two chambers.

• The Senate has 100 popularly elected members, two from each of the 50 states, who serve six-year terms.

• The House of Representatives has 435 popularly elected members who serve two-year terms.

Following the 2006 elections, the Democratic Party controls the Senate and enjoys a comfortable majority in the House of Representatives.

Judiciary -- The nine justices of the U.S. Supreme Court are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. They have lifetime appointments and review cases with constitutional implications.

Press Freedom
The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees freedom of the press. With the explosive growth of the Internet (nearly 4 million hosts) and broadcast media (1,500 television stations), newspapers are suffering declining circulation. More than two-thirds of Americans use the Internet.

Colombia won its independence from Spain in 1819 and formed a democratic republic under Simón Bolívar. It is one of the oldest democracies in Latin America, but has been plagued with violence for decades -- first in an armed conflict between its two major parties, and more recently in a drug-financed battle between anti-government insurgents and paramilitary groups.

President Alvaro Uribe Velez made domestic security a major priority and achieved a demobilization of paramilitary forces. Leftist insurgents remain a problem. In May 2007, the Supreme Court of Justice ordered the arrest of more than a dozen politicians (including pro-Uribe lawmakers) on charges of supporting paramilitary groups.

See "Democracy in Colombia Seen Making Measurable Gains."

Government
Executive -- President Uribe won his second four-year term in May 2006.

Legislative -- The Congreso comprises two chambers.

• The Senado has 102 members elected for four-year terms.

• The Camara de Representantes has 166 members elected for four-year terms.

Thirty parties hold seats in the Congreso. The Partido Conservador Colombiano, the Partido Social de Unidad Nacional and the Partido Cambio Radical, which form the backbone of President Uribe’s support, hold 53 seats in the upper house and 79 in the lower house while the main opposition party, the Partido Liberal Colombiano, holds 18 seats in the upper house and 35 in the lower house.

Judicial -- Four roughly co-equal high courts are:

• The Corte Suprema de Justicia (criminal)

• The Consejo de Estado (administrative)

• The Corte Constitucional (constitutional)

• The Consejo Superior de la Judicatura (lower court oversight)

Press Freedom
The Colombian Constitution guarantees freedom of the press. The country has 39 daily newspapers, 515 radio stations, 60 television stations and more than 1 million Internet hosts. It is estimated that nearly 7 million of Colombia’s 44.4 million inhabitants use the Internet.

The Republic of Liberia, founded in 1847, suffered two civil wars between 1989 and 2003, but democratic elections in 2005 restored a degree of stability. That election pitted former World Bank economist Ellen Johnson Sirleaf against former footballer George Weah. After a decisive victory, Johnson Sirleaf set out to reduce corruption, build support from international donors and encourage private investment.

Former warlord Charles Taylor, who imposed a brutal rule on Liberia from 1997 to 2003, is set to stand trial in 2008 for war crimes committed during Liberia’s civil war.

See "American Volunteer Helps Liberians Realize a Better Life."

Government
Executive -- President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Africa’s first elected female president, won a six-year term in November 2005.

Legislative -- The National Assembly comprises two chambers.

• The Senate has 30 members elected to nine-year terms.

• The House of Representatives has 64 members elected to six-year terms.

Eleven parties and coalitions are represented in the National Assembly. President Johnson Sirleaf’s Unity Party holds 11 seats in the legislature -- three in the Senate and eight in the House of Representatives. The Congress for Democratic Change, which supported Liberian footballer George Weah in the 2005 presidential elections, holds 18 seats -- three in the Senate and 15 in the House of Representatives. Other parties with large representation include the Liberty Party and the Coalition for the Transformation of Liberia.

Judicial -- Five justices nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate sit on the Supreme Court.

Press Freedom
The Liberian Constitution guarantees press freedom. With just more than 3 million residents, Liberia has 10 radio stations and 38 Internet hosts.

After achieving independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, Slovenia quickly transformed itself into a thriving modern democracy. It joined NATO and the European Union in 2004, joined the Euro Zone in 2007 and holds the EU presidency for the first half of 2008. It is scheduled to chair the Council of Europe in 2009.

The current government seeks to accelerate privatization of communist-era state-owned industries and attract more foreign direct investment.

Government
Executive -- Slovenia's executive branch is headed by a president and a prime minister.

• President Danilo Türk won his first five-year term in 2007.

• Prime Minister Janez Janša was appointed after his Slovenian Democratic Party won a plurality in the 2004 elections.

Legislative -- The parliament comprises two chambers.

• The National Assembly (Državni Zbor) is the primary legislative body and has 90 members elected to four-year terms.

• The National Council (Državni Svet), an advisory body, has 40 members elected by social, professional, economic and local interest groups to serve five-year terms.

There are seven parties represented in the Assembly. With 29 Assembly seats, the Slovenian Democratic Party leads the ruling coalition.

Judicial -- Slovenia has a four-tier court system and a Constitutional Court with nine members, each serving one nine-year term. The Constitutional Court reviews the constitutionality of statutes and safeguards human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Press Freedom
Slovenia has a strong tradition of independent media, and the constitution guarantees press freedom. The country’s 2 million residents have five daily and 14 nondaily newspapers, 240 radio stations, 48 television stations and more than 134,000 Internet hosts.

Nonviolent resistance to British colonialism led by Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru brought independence to India in 1947. Its 1950 constitution, with 395 articles, is the longest written constitution of any independent nation. Over the past six decades, Indian democracy has weathered several bouts of sectarian violence and the country has remained unified.

In 2004, the Indian National Congress Party (INC) and its allies won an unexpected victory in the general election, defeating the National Democratic Alliance led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

See "India's Democracy Has Many Voices."

Government
Executive -- India's executive branch is headed by a president and a prime minister.

• President Pratibha Patil, India’s first woman president, was elected by India’s Parliament and state legislatures to a five-year term in 2007.

• Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, India’s first Sikh prime minister, was appointed in 2004 after his INC Party led a coalition of political forces to an unexpected victory in legislative elections.

Legislative -- The Sansad (parliament) comprises two chambers.

• The Rajya Sabha (Council of States) has 250 members chosen by state legislatures to serve six-year terms.

• The Lok Sabha (House of the People) has 545 popularly elected members who serve five-year terms.

Following the 2004 elections, the Indian National Congress Party holds 150 seats in the assembly. The Bharathya Janatha Party holds 130. The remaining seats are divided among 35 other parties.

Judicial -- India has a three-tier judiciary culminating in the 26-member Supreme Court. Supreme Court justices, appointed by the president, serve to the age of 65 and review constitutional issues as well as alleged human rights violations.

Press Freedom
India has large and diverse free press catering to more than 1 billion residents in 18 official languages and scores of minor languages. The country has 398 daily newspapers and 2.3 million Internet hosts.

A 1990 hunger strike by young Mongolian democracy activists sparked a peaceful democratic revolution that forced Mongolia’s communist government to abandon power. Mongolia’s status as a multiparty democratic state was enshrined in a new constitution two years later.

Since then, the country has seen two peaceful transfers of power between its two major parties and two years of national unity coalition government after 2004 elections failed to install a clear majority in Parliament.

Government
Executive -- Mongolia's executive branch is headed by a president and a prime minister.

• President Nambaryn Enkhbayar was elected to a four-year term in 2005.

• Prime Minister Sanjaa Bayar was elevated to prime minister by his colleagues in the Assembly in November 2007.

Legislative -- The Ulsyn Ikh Khural (State Great Assembly) has 76 members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms. Following the 2004 elections, the assembly is split nearly evenly between the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party and the Motherland Democracy Coalition, with a handful of independents.

Judicial -- A constitutionally empowered General Council of Courts selects judges and nominates justices to the Supreme Court. A nine-member Constitutional Court reviews constitutional matters.

Press Freedom
In 1998, Mongolia adopted a press freedom law. Its 3 million residents have more than 100 radio stations and about 300 Internet hosts.