1.1 Current systems of representative democracy and direct democracy Flashcards
democracy
all citizens are equally entitled to participate in the society’s decision about its policies
5 key measures of democracy and created them?
On Democracy 1988, Robert A. Dhal uses the following 5:
- participation
- voting equality
- understanding
- agenda setting
- universal
participation
before a decision is made, all have an equal and effective opportnity to make their opinions known to other about which decision should be made
voting equality
when a decsion is to be made, every member must have an equal and effective opportunity to vote and all votes must be counted as equal
understanding
each person must have an equal and effective opportunities for learning about the relevant alternative choices and their likely outcomes
agenda setting
each person msut have the opportunity to decide how to set the agenda and what to place on the agenda so that past decisions are always open to be revised
universal
all adults should have the same rights. as citizens, that are necessary for participation, voting equality, understanding, and setting the agenda
why is democracy of central importance?
provides basis for legiitimacy, the right to rule and so is the key to political stability
what does democracy provide those in power with?
provides them with the legitimate right to rule and places an obligation on the people to obey the law in at least three ways (consent,
consent
citizens implicitly invest political authority w a ‘right to rule’ each time they participate in the pol process. dem underpins legitimacy by expanding the opps for effect pol participation, through act of voting but also through activities like joing pol party or pressure groups
the two types of democracy
- direct democracy
- representative democracy
direct demoracy (dd)
All individuals express their opinions themselves and not through representatives acting on their behalf. This type of democracy emerged in Athens in classical times and direct democracy can be seen today in referendums.
key features of direct democracy
- popular participation is direct in that the people ‘make’ policy decisions - they do not merely chose who will rule on their behalf
- popular participation is immediate in that people ‘are’ gov - there is no seperate class of professional politicians
- popular participaton is continuous in that people engage in politics pn regular and ongoing basis - all decisions made by the people
what is direct democracy associated with and how? COMPLETE
traced back to Ancient Greece, about 500-322 BCE, a form of democracy operated in Athens thats served ever since as a form of ‘classical democracy’. very particular form of dem = different form of dem found in modern world = relies on participation from all citizens in oepn assemblies which made all key decisions
representative democracy