<P> Recent theories stress the relevance of education and of human capital--and within them of cognitive ability to increasing tolerance, rationality, political literacy and participation . Two effects of education and cognitive ability are distinguished: a cognitive effect (competence to make rational choices, better information - processing) and an ethical effect (support of democratic values, freedom, human rights etc .), which itself depends on intelligence . </P> <P> Evidence that is consistent with conventional theories of why democracy emerges and is sustained has been hard to come by . Recent statistical analyses have challenged modernisation theory by demonstrating that there is no reliable evidence for the claim that democracy is more likely to emerge when countries become wealthier, more educated, or less unequal . Neither is there convincing evidence that increased reliance on oil revenues prevents democratisation, despite a vast theoretical literature on "the Resource Curse" that asserts that oil revenues sever the link between citizen taxation and government accountability, seen as the key to representative democracy . The lack of evidence for these conventional theories of democratisation have led researchers to search for the "deep" determinants of contemporary political institutions, be they geographical or demographic . More inclusive institutions lead to democracy because as people gain more power, they are able to demand more from the elites, who in turn have to concede more things to keep their position . This virtuous circle, may end up in democracy . </P> <P> An example of this is the disease environment . Places with different mortality rates had different populations and productivity levels around the world . For example, in Africa, the Tsetse fly which is harmful to humans and livestock reduced the ability of the Africans to plow the land . This made Africa less settled . As a consequence, political power was less concentrated . This also affected the colonial institutions that where set in place by the European countries in Africa . If the colonial settlers could live or not in a place made them develop different institutions which led to different economic and social paths . This also affected the distribution of power and the collective actions people could take . As a result, some African countries ended up having democracies and others autocracies . Another example of geographical determinants for democracy is having access to coastal areas and rivers . This natural endowment has a positive relation with economic development thanks to the benefits of trade . Trade brought economic development, which in turn, broaden the power . If the ruler wanted to increase his revenues, he had to protect property rights to create incentives for people to invest . As more people had more power, more concessions had to be made by the ruler and in many places this process lead to democracy . These determinants defined the structur of the society moving the balance of political power . </P> <P> In the 21st century, democracy has become such a popular method of reaching decisions that its application beyond politics to other areas such as entertainment, food and fashion, consumerism, urban planning, education, art, literature, science and theology has been criticised as "the reigning dogma of our time". The argument suggests that applying a populist or market - driven approach to art and literature (for example), means that innovative creative work goes unpublished or unproduced . In education, the argument is that essential but more difficult studies are not undertaken . Science, as a truth - based discipline, is particularly corrupted by the idea that the correct conclusion can be arrived at by popular vote . However, more recently, theorists have also advanced the concept epistemic democracy to assert that democracy actually does a good job tracking the truth . </P>

Which of the following is not a characteristic of democratic political systems