Democracy and participation Flashcards
legitimacy
right to govern
direct democracy
people vote directly on issues
representative democracy
people vote on a representative to vote and debate on issues
pluralist democracy
political system where there is more than one center of power
democratic deficit
GOVt falls short of fulfilling the principles of democracy
participation crisis
large proportion of population don’t engage with politics
franchise / suffrage
right to vote in election
think tanks
public policy research organisations that seek to influence GOVt policy
lobbyists
individual or a group tries to persuade someone in Parliament to support a particular policy or campaign
advantages of DD
people forced to be more engaged with politics - educational benefits
gives GOVt more legitimacy
disadvantages of DD
people may make uninformed decisions
practically unachievable in large modern societies
advantages of RD
decisions are left in the hands of people who have much more knowledge/expertise
encourage people to accept compromise, as they have not actually made the decision themselves (so may be less emotionally attached)
disadvantages of RD
elected official may decide to vote in a way that does not represent the majority of their district
features of referendum (3)
vote on single issue
results aren’t legally binding
majority required
direct democracy
how to improve political participation (5)
voting compulsory
lower voting age
increase referendums
proportional representation
digital democracy
how do elections promote democracy
freedom of opinion
free fair regular elections
secret ballot
provides legitimacy
is there a democratic deficit (yes)
Cons and Lab over represented
participation crisis
unrepresentative outcomes
HoL
when was the last time we reached 75% outcome at a general election
1992
fixed term parliaments act 2011
General elections take place every five years in May
why is there a participation crisis
membership of parties declining
election turnout is down
more people joining pressure groups
features of referendums
agree disgaree vote
not legally binding
encourages high turnout
are referendums legally binding
no
what are refernedums an example of
direct democracy
turnout to 2011 AV VOTE
42%
low turnout due to it not being a populist issue
AV VOTE results
yes 32%
no 68%
1975 referendum
should uk remain in EEC (EU)
turnout
64%
1975 referendum
should uk remain in EEC (EU)
results
yes 67%
no 33%
1997 referndum
Scottish Devolution
turnout
60.2%
1997 referndum
Scottish Devolution
results
yes 74%
no 26%
