democracy and participation Flashcards
democracy
system of governing, made for the people by the people
‘the people’
anyone over age of 18 (who can vote)
direct democracy
making a decision on one issue
majority wins
we decide what happens
representative democracy
people choose representatives to make the decisions on their behalf (elections)
we choose someone else to decide what happens
representation
assessing strength of democracy
social representation
race, religion, class, sexuality and gender
national interest
mp’s need to represent interests of nation as a whole and make decisions in the national interest which can conflict interests of people who voted for the mp’s
constituency representation
mp’s represents local area and will reflect wishes of locals that have any specific concerns
constituency
every citizen lives in one constituency with one mp elected
government representation
the people as a whole are represented by government led by a political party that seeks to represent all citizens
government represents whole nation
pressure groups
represent particular interests
educate public
hold government to account
often close to one political party
pluralist democracy
lots of influences on power, more than one centre of power
liberalism
we have a liberal democracy in the uk
governments ruled by consent of the people
peaceful transition of power
leadership of government hands over control to newly elected leadership
free and fair elections
political freedoms and fair processes leading up to the vote, all fair
widespread participation in politics
people can develop and express their opinions on the world and vote
freedom of expression and information
can have freedom to express yourself and access info
the rule of law
framework that undermines open, fair and peaceful societies where citizens and businesses can prosper
protection of rights and liberties
protection from freedom taken away
freedom of association
individuals right to join or leave groups voluntarily
a constitution
set of fundamental rules that determine how a country/ state is run
independent judiciary
concept that the judiciary should be independent from other branches of government
participation crisis
large proportion of population do not engage with political process
elective dictatorship
parliament is dominated by government
insider group
type of pressure group with close access to government
outsider group
type of pressure group outside political loop
lobbying
what pressure groups do
arguments used to convince why their argument is in interest
causal pressure groups
promote a particular cause
sectional pressure groups
aims to protect a specific section of society
think tanks
organisations that work with the government and research different policies
human rights
cant be removed
universal and fundamental
civil liberties
human rights are built on them
freedom of speech
protections citizens have against government
civil rights
guaranteed by the state
right to life
equality
voting
common law
derived from custom and judicial precedent rather than statutes (laws passed by parliament)
arbitrary rule
based on individual discretion rather than a fair application of the law
freedom of info act (2000)
legal right for citizens to access info held by public organisations (both personal and in public interest)
