Democracy

Most people value living in a democratic state. As the model system for the people's participation, it makes sense. Moreover, Democracy allows you to decide on national affairs and voice your opinions on policies. After all, we always want to participate in matters concerning our well-being.

But how did it come to be? Why do some people criticise Democracy? After reading this explanation, you'll be able not only to recognise democracies as they are but will have the tools to evaluate how they should be.

The meaning of democracy

Generally, most people would say that a country where the people have a say in how they are governed is a democracy. But, the meaning of democracy can be a little tricky to explain because there is no set definition that everyone agrees on. However, there are some characteristics that most people agree are essential to be considered a democracy, like the principles of democracy we discuss in the next section.

What is important to understand is that there is a spectrum between democracy and authoritarianism. For example, a country could have free and fair elections and a state-controlled media, so they have characteristics of both a democratic and authoritarian country and don't sit on either side of the spectrum.

In general, the principles of democracy help evaluate democracies in their implementation and differentiate one type from another. In addition, they help determine if a system of government is indeed a democracy.

Types of democracy

While there are many types of democracies classified by many factors, the most common types of democracy are direct democracy, representative democracy, and liberal and social democracies.

Direct Democracy

It is derived directly from Athenian Democracy, and its defining marker is people's power over decisions, as they do not require intermediaries. Instead, they are constructed under frequent referendums, petitions, debates, and passing public interest laws.

While historically significant, this system is rarely used in modern politics as it can slow down policy-making, making it ineffective at passing relevant laws. The most common example of its use today is referendums.

Representative Democracy

Representative democracy, also called a republic or indirect democracy, is the most common type of democratic government. It involves frequent and free elections of government officials and parties that will represent the people. These officials shall have the power to govern and create laws on behalf of the people.

Representative democracies include every type of democratic government requiring the ruling bodies' election. The most common ones are parliamentary democracies and presidential democracies, but many systems fall between them and are still considered representative democracies.

Liberal democracy vs social democracy

Among the vast array of representative democracies, you can find liberal democracies as a category. What sets liberal democracies apart from social democracies is that they tend to focus on equality of opportunity rather than equality of outcome.

Another important point is that liberal democracies tend to support capitalism and implement policies favouring the free market. Whereas social democracies tend to prefer higher regulation of the market.

Countries practising Democracy

There are many types of government in existence. Still, democracy continues to be well-regarded as it protects the people's interests and well-being because they participate in the decision-making process. Moreover, as people hold the right to vote, they become equally important in the face of government, which enhances the values of liberty and equality. As such, it is one of the most popular forms of governance. Here are some examples of such countries.

Examples of Democracy

While it is impossible to name every country with a democratic system, this table contains some examples of countries with systems previously mentioned.

^{Table 1 – Examples of Democracy.}

History of Democracy

Modern democratic systems are the result of a long history of representative governments. While democratic-like representation systems can be seen throughout history, the Greeks established the first governments ruled by the people. Romans continued this trend in the form of the Senate. However, this did not last as emperors quickly shunned the Senate to accumulate power.

Where these precursors significantly differed, what was the same was in their representation. Greeks and Romans had particular requirements to have the right to vote. This meant that the government's representation mainly consisted of upper-class delegates.

You could argue that the Senate did not look for the common good of the people. They only consisted of the upper class and therefore only protected their interests, as most people who lived in the Greek and Roman territories were not considered citizens.

Fig. 3 History of Democracy timeline

The Declaration of Independence in the American Revolution was the first document to establish that men are born with rights that the government cannot take away. It also establishes the role of the citizens as the deciding factor in choosing their government and holds them accountable for their actions, as rulers must direct them to the citizen's best interests. Many consider the United States of America to have the first 'modern' democracy.