Democracy and Participation Flashcards
What is the Etymology of the word democracy?
Democracy stems from ancient greek and translates to “Demos kratis”, meaning “People power”
What are the 9 key features of a democracy
1) Elections
2) Representation
3) Legitimacy
4) Participation
5) Accountability
6) Rule of law
7) Smooth transition of power
8) Civil rights
9) Education and infomation
What are the two forms of democracy used in the UK?
Representative and direct
What is the definition of a representative democracy?
A form of democracy in which the people vote for elected representatives to act on their behalf, e.g. in general elections, people vote for an MP for their constituency
What is the definition of direct democracy?
A form of democracy in which people vote directly on policy initiatives and in the UK it’s rarely used, almost exclusively being used for constitutional issues, e.g. the 2016 brexit referendum
What are the 3 times in which direct democracy, in this case, referendums, were used in a UK wide context + the results?
1975 EEC - 67% voted to stay in the European economic community (the common market)
2011 AV - 68% voted against moving to an AV electoral system
2016 Brexit - 52% voted to leave the European Union (EU)
What are 2 occasions of petitions being used in the UK?
2019 - 6m signatures collected in favour of a petition in opposition to the planned prorogation of parliament
2017 - 1.9m signatures collected in a petition to stop US president Donald Trump from making a state visit to the UK
However neither of these changed the mind of the government
Name 5 advantages of representative democracy
- Elected reps have the knowledge and skill to make often difficult and complex decisions
- Reps can balance competing views and take a broader view on issues
- Belonging to a political party enables voters to have a good idea of how they will act once in power, e.g. will they cut taxes?
- Reps are more efficient than laying down numerous decisions Infront of people for approval or rejection. Ex cabinet officer minister mark harper: The cost of the 2010 general election was just over 113m GBP with just over 80m of that being polling costs
- Can be held accountable through elections and the MP recall act, can the people be held accountable?
Name 4 disadvantages of a representative democracy
Party representation, in particular, can prevent elected reps from acting independently. The mandate style model in which the UK operates on can prevent elected reps from acting independently. Essentially, MP’s are eleced to support the party manifesto and leadership rather than their constituents. The vast majority of votes in the commons are along party lines with the assisted dying bill being the only recent exception.
- They’re unrepresentative of the population. The overwhelming majority of MP’s are university educated and nearly a quarter (23%) went to Oxford or Cambridge. Less that 1% of the population has graduated from these institutions.
- Rep democracy is only fair is elections are also fair. FPTP has many flaws and can result in disproportionate results. e.g. UKIP gained 3.9m votes in the 2015 GE yet only won one seat. Where is the representation for those 3.9m voters?
- Reps have to decide to be delegated and put forward the view of their constituents or to use their best judgement (Burkean representation)
5 Advantages of direct democracy
- Promotes political participation, people can participate directly in the decision making process, resulting in increased participation. E.g. the 2016 brexit referendum had a 72% turnout, 6% more than the 2015 GE.
- Improves accountability
- Enhances legitimacy, decisions are provided with a direct authority and mandate from the people. e.g. the 2011 AV referendum provided a 68% majority, a decision with a strong mandate.
- It works, providing strong turnouts. E.g. Scottish Independence had a 85% turnout. It functions in other countries too, such as Swiss Cantons
- Often considered to be the purest form of democracy, since it entrusts the whole adult population with issues instead of through reps
UK needs to be more democratic, sits at 18th in the democracy index, direct democracy could serve to push the UK up this index and towards other western european countries such as the nordics.
6 disadvantages of direct democracy
- There is a lack of political literacy, Socrates stated that “Democracy is only as good as the education that surrounds it”, a quote that can be applied to the 2011 AV referendum. An Ipsos poll indicated that over 40% of respondents did not fully understand the AV electoral system. How can this decision to keep FPTP be legitimate if people didn’t understand what they were voting for?
- Referanda isn’t binding, parliamentary sovereignty prevails under the terms of the constitution
- Populism can prevail, many sources of info is biased and are often sensationalist in their approach. “A tool of demagogues and dictators” and “A device alien to our tradition” - Atlee
- Turnout is often low, AV (2011) had a 42% turnout
- Tyranny of the majority can ensue, described as the majority voting for something that can impede of the rights of a minority group e.g. 52% majority to leave the EU left EU nationals that were unable to vote in the referendum left in limbo in regards to their residency in the United Kingdom
- Impracticability, rolling out referendums and polling stations for every parliamentary motion costs money. e.g. the polling costs for the 2010 GE fetched up to 85m GBP.
What is the definition of political participation?
Political participation refers to the many ways in which people can get involved in politics, such as voting, party membership, joining a pressure group and standing as a candidate in elections
Why is participation important?
Participation is a vital ingredient of a flourishing democracy, defined as the many ways that people get involved in politics, for example through voting, standing for election and joining a pressure group. It works to establish a strong mandate and provides legitimacy to governments.
Lyndon B. Johnson: “We preach the virtues of democracy abroad. We Must practice its duties here at home. Voting is the first duty of democracy”
Some argue the UK is facing a participation crisis, what are the arguments for this view?
- General election turnouts
- Membership decline
- Disillusion with politics, e.g. the 2009 expenses scandal
- Political apathy with the younger generations, 2019 GE turnout in 18-24 year olds sat at 47% compared to 74% among the over 65s (Ipsos)
- Many modern political participation methods amount to “Slacktivism” and are not true activism, e.g. social media
What are the arguments against the UK facing a participation crisis?
- Some parties such as the SNP have seen a growth in membership
- Turnouts are not consistently low, particularly in referendums e.g. brexit referendum had a 72% turnout, higher than the previous election at 66%
- There’s been a shift away from traditional forms of participation e.g. away from political party membership and towards pressure group membership. Pressure group membership has been on the increase, for example the RPSB has a membership over 1m, larger than the membership of the main 3 political parties combined.
Where is the UK on the democracy index?
18th
What did Winston Churchill say the “best argument against democracy” was?
The best argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with the average voter
What did Edmond Burke say about tyranny of the majority?
In a democracy, the majority of citizens is capable of exercising the most cruel oppressions upon the minority
What did Socrates say about education and democracy?
Democracy is only as good as the education that surrounds it
What did Felix Frankfurter say about the role of the citizen?
In a democracy, the highest office is the office of citizen
What did Lyndon B. Johnson say about voting?
Voting is the first duty of democracy
