Democracy Revision Flashcards
Name and Describe the features of a liberal democracy
FREEDOM: to make choices, of ideas, opinions etc.
POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY: government is formed with the consent of its citizens
REP. GOVT.- individuals are elected to government to make decisions on the citizens behalf
LIMITED GOVERNMENT: the jurisdiction of the government is limited to ensure that it does not impinge too much on individual liberties or freedoms
RULE OF LAW: nobody should be above or outside the law
PLURALISM: multiple parties should be present in the government, with a range of ideas and interests, free press and religion
RESPONSIBLE OR ACCOUNTABLE GOVT: govt. should be transparent in its decision making process and explain its decisions to the public. Elections should be held regularly for the public to express their opinions
SEPARATION OF POWERS: the powers must be balanced by separating the legislative, executive and judiciary branches
FREE, FREQUENT AND FAIR ELEXTIONS: elections should be held regularly, free of cost and under a secret ballot
Describe the Australian parliamentary system
2 HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT; house of reps and senate
Government is formed in the house of reps by the party that has the majority- minority becomes the ‘opposition’
The prime minister and ministers are chosen from the aorta with the most seats in the house of reps. Ministers can come from either house of reps or senate
Money bills must originate in the house of reps and be approved by it and the senate to pass
Senate acts as a house of review for the bills passed in the house of reps, debates encouraged. Can also introduce bills, except money bills
Senate can reject a bill and return it to the house of reps
Explain how a law is made in federal parliament
FIRST READING: a bill is introduced into parliament in house of reps
SECOND READING: minister explains the bill
COMMITTEE STAGE: bill is debated in more detail
3RD READING: bill is voted on in final form. If pass, goes to senate. If fail, go back to reps
FIRST READING IN SENATE
SECOND READING IN SEANTE P: senators comment and review legislation
THIRD READING: a bill is voted on. Amended bills are returned to house of reps
- house of reps considers the amendments and votes on these
- when the bill has been voted in favour of by both houses, it is signed into law by the Governor General
Describe an accountable and responsible government
It is one that is wiling to subject its decisions to scrutiny and feels obligated to publicly justify itself
Arguments FOR compulsory voting
- Minimum civic responsibility- equal to paying taxes or jury duty
- Elected reps. Represent a majority of electoral opinion
- participation & consent is maximised
- ensures that less problems such as ‘wealth’ or ‘weather’ have less impact on the outcome
- lower socio-economic groups, or minority groups may have not have a high quality education, and subsequently have less knowledge or interest, leading to donkey voting or informal voting
- wealthy or powerful groups may have an influence on who these people of low interest or socio economic backgrounds vote for
Arguments AGAINST compulsory voting
- Infringes on the democratic right/freedom of apathy
- may decrease the ‘quality’ of the vote; by forcing the unwilling to vote, it increases the influence of the ignorant and apathetic.
- encourages informal or ‘donkey voting’
- encourages political parties to concentrate only on a direct appeal to win votes from the public. eg. Targeted campaigns
Difference between proportional and preferential voting system
PROPORTIONAL: when an elector must achieve a certain proportion of votes in an electorate to gain a seat in the parliament
PREFERENTIAL: when a voter must preference their choice of vote on a ballot. Eg: listing 1-12 on a ballot
Features of a contemporary non-democratic political system
FREEDOM: the citizens of North Korea have little freedoms, as there are no personal liberties, such as freedom of speech and ideas
PLURALISM: the political landscape of North Korea is barren as there are no political parties beside for the main one
RESPONSIBLE OR ACCOUNTABLE GOVT: the government in north K
Features of a contemporary non-democratic political system
UNFAIR ELECTIONS: North Korea; one party, forced voting
FREEDOM: people have extremely limited freedoms in nk, freedom of speech
RESPONSIBLE AND ACCOUNTABLE GOVT: the nk govt doesn’t take responsibility for its actions, eg: reports of people starving on the streets, but they spend money on ballistic missiles
Separation of Powers definition
A model where the state is divided into 3 powers; the Executive, the Legislative and the Judiciary
Mandate definition
A mandate is approval given by voters to the party, so the party can carry out their policies, promised in their election campaign
Caucus definition p
A meeting of the parliamentary membership of a political party.
Standing orders definition
The written rules that govern the conduct, procedures and regulations of the meetings of the House of Representatives
Backbenches def
A place where members of parliament sit who are not ministers or shadow ministers
Shadow minister definition
A member of the opposition who is a spokesperson for specific area is policy and presents alternatives to the government minister in this area
