What Is Democracy?
Democracy is a system of government that is based on the principles of equality (one person – one vote) and autonomy (rights for individuals to choose their own course of action).
The term “democracy” originated in Ancient Greece, where it was coined from the Greek words demos (“people”) and kratos (“rule”). Modern systems of democracy owe much to these earlier traditions.
There are different kinds of modern democracy ranging from representative democracy, where the people elect representatives to govern, through to direct democracy, where citizens choose their own leaders by voting. Many systems combine elements of both these forms of democracy.
Most countries today have some form of representative democracy – a system where the people elect representatives to represent their interests in government and make decisions on their behalf. It has also been used as a system for internal governance of institutions such as trade unions and cooperatives, and in some cases, corporates.
However, representative democracy may still fail to meet the basic standards of democracy, in which decisions are made by the majority of the people. In such a situation, it is possible for the people to become disillusioned and to vote against their elected leaders in the next election.
It is therefore important to identify whether a particular political system is based on the traditional democratic principles of equality and freedom of choice, or whether it uses a different set of values. This will help to determine the level of accountability of the elected officials and of the governing authorities, and can also help to assess the effectiveness of the government.
In order to achieve this goal, democracy must be designed in such a way that it is flexible and adaptable to changes in society. This can be done through the development of a written constitution, a system of checks and balances between governmental power, and conventions of behavior and laws that ensure the rule of law.
Some examples of these are the separation of Parliament and senior government, the establishment of a strong judicial system, and the observance of certain conventions of behaviour by the public. A liberal democracy is a good example of this: its aims are to promote the welfare of all, and to protect individual rights.
The concept of democracy was introduced to the world by the philosopher John Locke, who formulated the ideas that would form the ideological basis of liberal democracies around the world. He believed that political power must be limited and that the people should decide their own destiny through the means of free elections.
Although a very old idea, democracy has been the cornerstone of human civilisation, and it has helped to transform societies from the power structures of monarchy and empire into popular rule, self-determination and peaceful co-existence. It is a model of government that has survived to this day, but it is fragile and is vulnerable to a range of threats.
The challenge for democracy researchers is to develop a global framework to evaluate the characteristics of democracy, and to understand how these characteristics vary across the globe. Ultimately, it is this understanding of how democracy works that will be crucial to the future survival of democracy as a viable and effective form of government.
Democracy is a system of government that is based on the principles of equality (one person – one vote) and autonomy (rights for individuals to choose their own course of action). The term “democracy” originated in Ancient Greece, where it was coined from the Greek words demos (“people”) and kratos (“rule”). Modern systems of democracy owe much to these earlier traditions. There are different kinds of modern democracy ranging from representative democracy, where the people elect representatives to govern, through to direct democracy, where citizens choose their own leaders by voting. Many systems combine elements of both these forms of democracy. Most countries today have some form of representative democracy – a system where the people elect representatives to represent their interests in government and make decisions on their behalf. It has also been used as a system for internal governance of institutions such as trade unions and cooperatives, and in some cases, corporates. However, representative democracy may still fail to meet the basic standards of democracy, in which decisions are made by the majority of the people. In such a situation, it is possible for the people to become disillusioned and to vote against their elected leaders in the next election. It is therefore important to identify whether a particular political system is based on the traditional democratic principles of equality and freedom of choice, or whether it uses a different set of values. This will help to determine the level of accountability of the elected officials and of the governing authorities, and can also help to assess the effectiveness of the government. In order to achieve this goal, democracy must be designed in such a way that it is flexible and adaptable to changes in society. This can be done through the development of a written constitution, a system of checks and balances between governmental power, and conventions of behavior and laws that ensure the rule of law. Some examples of these are the separation of Parliament and senior government, the establishment of a strong judicial system, and the observance of certain conventions of behaviour by the public. A liberal democracy is a good example of this: its aims are to promote the welfare of all, and to protect individual rights. The concept of democracy was introduced to the world by the philosopher John Locke, who formulated the ideas that would form the ideological basis of liberal democracies around the world. He believed that political power must be limited and that the people should decide their own destiny through the means of free elections. Although a very old idea, democracy has been the cornerstone of human civilisation, and it has helped to transform societies from the power structures of monarchy and empire into popular rule, self-determination and peaceful co-existence. It is a model of government that has survived to this day, but it is fragile and is vulnerable to a range of threats. The challenge for democracy researchers is to develop a global framework to evaluate the characteristics of democracy, and to understand how these characteristics vary across the globe. Ultimately, it is this understanding of how democracy works that will be crucial to the future survival of democracy as a viable and effective form of government.