Representative democracy is a form of government A form of government, or form of state governance, refers to the set of political institutions by which a government of a state is organized in order to exert its powers over a body politic. Synonyms include "regime type" and "system of government" founded on the principle of elected An election is a formal decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy operates since the 17th century. Elections may fill offices in the legislature, sometimes in the executive and judiciary, and for regional and local individuals representing the people The concept of personhood is the fundamental component of any selective concept of people. A distinction is maintained in philosophy and law between the notions "human being", or "man", and "person". The former refers to the species, while the latter refers to a rational agent (see, for example, John Locke's Essay, as opposed to either autocracy Today the term autocrat is usually understood as being synonymous with despot, tyrant and dictator, although each of these terms originally had a separate and distinct meaning or direct democracy Direct democracy, classically termed pure democracy, is a form of democracy and a theory of civics in which sovereignty is lodged in the assembly of all citizens who choose to participate. Depending on the particular system, this assembly might pass executive motions, make laws, elect or dismiss officials, and conduct trials. Direct democracy.[1]
Countries highlighted in blue are designated "electoral democracies" in Freedom House Freedom House is a international non-governmental organization based in Washington, D.C. that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom and human rights. Support for Freedom House is provided by individuals, but also by the United States government. It publishes an annual report assessing the degree of perceived democratic's 2010 survey Freedom in the WorldThe representatives form an independent ruling body (for an election period) charged with the responsibility of acting in the people's interest, but not as their proxy representatives; that is, not necessarily always according to their wishes, but with enough authority The word authority derives from the Latin word auctoritas meaning invention, advice, opinion, influence or commands which originate from an auctor indicating that authority originates from a master, leader or author. Essentially authority is imposed by superiors upon inferiors either by force of arms or by force of argument (sapiential authority) to exercise swift and resolute initiative in the face of changing circumstances. It is often contrasted with direct democracy Direct democracy, classically termed pure democracy, is a form of democracy and a theory of civics in which sovereignty is lodged in the assembly of all citizens who choose to participate. Depending on the particular system, this assembly might pass executive motions, make laws, elect or dismiss officials, and conduct trials. Direct democracy, where representatives are absent or are limited in power as proxy representatives.
In many representative democracies (Canada, Australia, UK, etc), representatives are most commonly chosen in elections An election is a formal decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy operates since the 17th century. Elections may fill offices in the legislature, sometimes in the executive and judiciary, and for regional and local by a plurality The plurality voting system is a single-winner voting system often used to elect executive officers or to elect members of a legislative assembly which is based on single-member constituencies. This voting method is also used in multi-member constituencies in what is referred to as an exhaustive counting system where one member is elected at a of those who are both eligible to cast votes and actually do so. A plurality means that a winning candidate has to win more votes than any other candidate in the race, but does not necessarily require a majority of the votes cast. This is not the case in Australia where the elected representatives of the house of representatives are elected by a system of preferential voting Preferential voting is a type of ballot structure used in several electoral systems in which voters rank a list or group of candidates in order of preference. For example, the voter may write a '1' beside their first choice, a '2' beside their second preference, and so on. This contrasts with ballots used by methods which do not allow more than and require the support of 50% or more voters in a single round to be elected. While existing representative democracies hold such elections to choose representatives, in theory other methods, such as sortition Sortition, also known as allotment, is an equal-chance method of selection by some form of lottery such as drawing coloured pebbles from a bag. It is used particularly to allot decision makers. In Ancient Athenian Democracy sortition was the primary method for appointing officials, a system that was thought to be one of the principal (more closely aligned with direct democracy), could be used instead. Also, representatives sometimes hold the power to select other representatives, presidents, or other officers of government (indirect representation).
A representative democracy that emphasizes individual liberties Liberty is a concept of political philosophy and identifies the condition in which an individual has the right to act according to his or her own will. In feudal times, a liberty was an area of allodial land in which regalian rights had been waived is called a liberal democracy Liberal democracy is the dominant form of democracy in the 21st century. During the Cold War, liberal democracies were contrasted with the Communist People's Republics or "Popular Democracies", which claimed an alternative conception of democracy. Today, constitutional democracies are mostly contrasted with direct democracy and/or. One that does not is an illiberal democracy An illiberal democracy, also called a pseudo democracy, partial democracy, low intensity democracy, empty democracy, hybrid regime or delegative democracy, is a governing system in which, although elections take place, citizens are cut off from knowledge about the activities of those who exercise real power because of the lack of civil liberties. There is no necessity that individual liberties are respected in a representative democracy.
Today, in liberal democracies, representatives are usually elected in multi-party elections Unlike a single-party system , it encourages the general constituency to form multiple distinct, officially recognized groups, generally called political parties. Each party competes for votes from the enfranchised constituents (those allowed to vote). A multi-party system is essential for representative democracies, because it prevents the that are free and fair An election is a formal decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy operates since the 17th century. Elections may fill offices in the legislature, sometimes in the executive and judiciary, and for regional and local. The power of representatives in a liberal democracy is usually curtailed by a constitution A constitution is a set of rules for government—often codified as a written document—that enumerates the powers and functions of a political entity. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is. In the case of countries and autonomous regions of federal countries the term refers specifically to a constitution defining the (as in a constitutional republic A constitutional republic is a state where the head of state and other officials are elected as representatives of the people, and must govern according to existing constitutional law that limits the government's power over citizens or a constitutional monarchy A constitutional monarchy is a form of government in which a monarch acts as head of state within the perimeters of a written , unwritten (i.e., uncodified) or blended constitution. It differs from absolute monarchy in that an absolute monarch serves as the sole source of political power in the state and is not legally bound by any constitution) or other measures to balance representative power:
- An independent judiciary Independence of the judiciary is the principle that the judiciary should be politically insulated from the legislative and the executive power. That is, courts should not be subject to improper influence from the other branches of government, or from private or partisan interests, which may have the power to declare legislative acts unconstitutional (e.g. constitutional court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether or not laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether or not they conflict with constitutionally established rights and freedoms, supreme court A supreme court is in some jurisdictions the highest judicial body within that jurisdiction's court system, whose rulings are not subject to further review by another court. The designations for such courts differ among jurisdictions. Courts of last resort typically function primarily as appellate courts, hearing appeals from the lower trial)
- It may also provide for some deliberative democracy Deliberative democracy, also sometimes called discursive democracy, is a system of political decisions based on some trade-off between direct democracy and representative democracy that relies on popular consultations to make sound policy. In contrast to the traditional theory of democracy, in which voting is central, deliberative democracy (e.g., Royal Commissions In states that are Commonwealth Realms a Royal Commission is a major government public inquiry into an issue. They have been held in states such as the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Saudi Arabia. In Hong Kong, Ireland and South Africa, a Commission of Enquiry or Commission of Inquiry is similarly organised) or direct popular measures (e.g., initiative In political science, the initiative provides a means by which a petition signed by a certain minimum number of registered voters can force a public vote (plebiscite) on a proposed statute, constitutional amendment, charter amendment or ordinance, or, in its minimal form, to simply oblige the executive or legislative bodies to consider the subject, referendum A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of direct democracy. The measure put to a vote is, recall elections A recall election is a procedure by which voters can remove an elected official from office through a direct vote (plebiscite), initiated when sufficient voters sign a petition. Recall has a history dating back to the ancient Athenian democracy. During the American Revolution the Articles of Confederation stipulated that state legislatures might). However, these are not always binding and usually require some legislative action - legal power usually remains firmly with representatives[where?].
- In some cases, a bicameral legislature In government, bicameralism is the practice of having two legislative or parliamentary chambers. Thus, a bicameral parliament or bicameral legislature is a legislature which consists of two chambers or houses. Bicameralism is an essential and defining feature of the classical notion of mixed government. Bicameral legislatures tend to require a may have an "upper house In parliamentary systems the upper house is frequently seen as an advisory or "revising" chamber, for this reason its powers of direct action are often reduced in some way. Some or all of the following restrictions are often placed on upper houses:" that is not directly elected, such as the Canadian Senate The Senate of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the sovereign (represented by the governor general) and the House of Commons. The Senate consists of 105 members appointed by the Governor General on the advice of the prime minister. Seats are assigned on a regional basis, with each of the four major regions receiving 24, which was in turn modeled on the British House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house, but the Second chamber, of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is also commonly referred to as "the Lords". Parliament comprises the Sovereign, the House of Commons (which is the lower house of Parliament and referred to as "the Commons"), and the Lords. Membership of the House of.
The term republic A republic is a form of government in which the citizens choose their leaders and the people have an impact on its government. The word "republic" is derived from the Latin phrase res publica, which can be translated as "a public affair" may have many different meanings. Today, it often simply means a state with an elected or otherwise non-monarchical A monarchy is a form of government in which supreme power is absolutely or nominally lodged with an individual, who is the head of state, often for life or until abdication, and "is wholly set apart from all other members of the state." The person who heads a monarchy is called a monarch. It was a common form of government in the world head of state Head of state is the generic term for the individual or collective office that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state. His or her role generally includes personifying the continuity and legitimacy of the state and exercising the political powers, functions and duties, such as the Islamic Republic of Iran Iran (Persian: ایران [ʔiˈɾɒn] ), officially the Islamic Republic of Iran is a country in Western Asia. The name Iran has been in use natively since antiquity and came into international use in 1935, before which the country was widely known as Persia. Both Persia and Iran are used interchangeably in cultural contexts; however, Iran is the or Republic of Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (Korean: 대한민국, pronounced [tɛːhanminɡuk̚] ( listen)) and often referred to as Korea, is a country in East Asia, located on the southern half of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by China to the west, Japan to the east, and North Korea to the north. Its capital is Seoul, the second. It may also have a meaning similar to liberal democracy. For example, "the United States relies on representative democracy, but its system of government is much more complex than that. It is not a simple representative democracy, but a constitutional republic A constitutional republic is a state where the head of state and other officials are elected as representatives of the people, and must govern according to existing constitutional law that limits the government's power over citizens in which majority rule is tempered by minority rights protected by law"[2].
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public relations at Louisiana State University and taught professional journalists in Zambia Africa as part of a U S State Department program to aid emerging democracies Representative Eddie J Lambert R Gonzales Vice chairman Appropriations Committee
Ilya Somin
Mon, 06 Jul 2009 06:07:00 GM
Ober shows that ancient Athens was relatively successful in dealing with the problem of political ignorance in large part because of the ways in which it differed from modern . representative democracy. . In today's . democracies. , voters have ...
Q. I currently have a) There must be more than one candidate to choose from b) Candidates may oppose the government of the day c) Voters may vote for any candidate they choose, free from unfair pressure d) Elections must be held every few years.
Asked by themanman14 - Sun Jun 1 22:22:39 2008 - - 1 Answers - 0 Comments
A. 'Representative democracy' is an oxymoron. You describe representative government. In that form votes are usually cast to select candidates; in a democracy votes would be used to decide issues.
Answered by frediwhite@verizon.net - Sun Jun 1 22:32:52 2008
