1.1Current Systems Of Representative And Direct Democracy Flashcards
Direct democracy
All individuals express their opinions themselves and not through representatives acting on their behalf. Eg: a referendum
Representative democracy
A form of democracy in which an individual selects a person ( or a political party) to act on their behalf to exercise political choice, UK is a representative democracy
What are the advantages of direct democracy
- Gives equal weight to all votes, unlike a representative system where votes don’t all have equal value
- encourages popular participation by expecting people to take their duties as a citizen properly
- develops a sense of community and encourages genuine debate
Disadvantages of direct democracy
- impractical in a large, heavily populated modern state where decision making is complicated
- many people might not feel educated/qualified enough to vote
- open to manipulation by articulate speakers eg: Boris Johnson
Advantages of representative democracy
- the only practical system in a large modern state, where issues are complex and often need rapid response (eg deployment of troops)
- reduces chances of minority rights being overridden by tyranny of the majority
- elections allow people to hold representatives to account
Disadvantages of representative democracy
- may lead to reduced participation as people choose to hand responsibility to politicians
- parties and pressure groups are often run by elites pursuing their own agendas, not truly representing the people
- minorities may still find themselves underrepresented as politicians are more likely to follow the views of majority to secure election
What is pluralist democracy
Government makes decisions as a result of interplay of various ideas and contrasting arguments from competing groups and organisations
What is a national referendum
Direct vote on a single issue, eg: brexit
- UK has only had 3 ever, 1975, 2016, 2011
What is the positives of the Uk political democratic features
- devolved governments: Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, mayor of london
- independent judiciary: upholds rule of law and protects personal freedoms
- free and fair elections: largely free of election ans intimidation
- free media - challenges government policy and exposes misdeeds of politicians
- wide range of political parties and pressure and pressure groups
What are the negatives of the UK’s political democratic system
- underreprentation of minority viewpoints due to the voting system: FPTP system
- House of Lords lack democratic legitimacy: lords inherit the role
- lack of protection for citizens rights
- control of the sections of the media by wealthy, unaccountable business interest
What is the evidence of a participation crisis
- average turnout from 1945-97 was 76%, since then it’s decreased
- in 2001 it was below 60, although it’s increased in last few years
info on Party membership size
Conservative party has 150k members in 2016, was 400k in mid 90’s
Labour went to above 500k under corbyn,
Lib Dem’s had 76k in 2016
Reasons for why voting should be compulsory
- it’s a social duty as well as a right, people should be engaged in processes affecting their life
- would produce a parliament more representative of general public
- politicians would have to run better quality campaigns to gain approval of public
Reasons for why voting should remain voluntary
- undemocratic to force people to do something which is a matter of choice
- ## compulsory voting doesn’t address the deeper reasons to why people don’t vote
what is parliamentary sovereignty?
- parliament can make any law that it wants, cannot entrench anything, but can undo any previous laws passed
