Democracy

What is a democracy?

• Aristotle’s definition: “rule of the many”
• Majority rule (government by the people)
• Two types of democracies:
• 1. Direct (participatory democracy) “pure”
• 2. Indirect (representative democracy)

The definition of the Civil Society

• Civil Society is the public sphere, outside of government, market and the family, where citizens and a wide array of non-governmental and not-for-profit organizations associate, express their interests and values and seek to advance the common good.”
• Community Organisations
• Voluntary Groups
• Non-governmental organisations (NGOs)
• Professional Organisations
• Chambers of Commerce
• Trade unions
• Environmental groups
• Women's groups
• Student organisations
• Consumer groups

Importance of Civil Society

• Non-economic and non-state entity Agents of moderation
• Monitoring Aid Effectiveness
• Assisting Conflict Resolution
• Promoting Democratic practices
• Mobilising the marginalised
• Exposing corruption
• Creating environment for regional integration

Direct (participatory democracy)

• All or most of the citizens participate directly in either holding office or making policy (laws)
• Exists only in very small population sizes
• Exists in some small towns in the U.S. today

Direct Democracy Examples Today:

• Referendum: Legislature (Congress) submits a proposed law to a popular vote by the citizens (voters) during an election
• Initiative: Citizens write and submit a proposed law to a popular vote by the citizens (voters) during an election after obtaining a required number of signatures (people take the initiative and write the bill themselves)
• Also referred to as Propositions or Ballot Measures

Indirect (representative democracy)

• Also referred to as a “Republican form of government” in the Constitution (a Republic)
• The people elect officials to make laws, policies, and political decisions for them
• Works well in large populations when its impractical to bring the entire population together
• Not time consuming and creates professional politicians

• Laws
• Policy

• People

• Politicians

• Elects

• Makes

Constitutional Democracy

• A system of government in which political authority is defined, limited, and distributed by a body of fundamental law called a “Constitution" and the majority of people have voting power to elect it’s government officials as outlined in the Constitution.
• Constitutionalism: the idea that there are limits on the power of government and that these limits can be defined in a constitution.

Basic Concepts of Democracy

• Recognition of the fundamental worth and dignity of every person
• Respect for the quality of all persons
• Faith in majority rule and an insistence upon minority rights
• Acceptance of the necessity of compromise
• Insistence upon the widest possible degree of individual freedom (freedom versus order)
• Government derives it power and legitimacy from the people

Dictatorship

• Autocracy: rule by one
• Oligarchy: rule by few
• All are authoritarian in nature

Theories of Democratic Government

• Who Governs? Who has power and influence over public policy and the decision making at the local, state, and national levels of government?
• Traditional (Majoritarian) Democratic Theory
• Pluralist Theory
• Elite Theory
• Bureaucratic Theory
• Hyper-pluralism Theory