Democracy VS Dictatorship Flashcards
revise
Give 1 example of a country under dictatorship.
North Korea, Egypt
Give 1 example of a democratic country.
Germany, France
What do countries with dictatorships not have?
Human Rights as law
What is a democracy?
A form of government
What are the main features of democracy?
Government elected by the people
Regular and free elections take place
People can speak freely on their opinions
All citizens have rights and responsibilities
What is a dictatorship?
A dictatorship is a form of government in which a person or a
small group rules with almost unlimited power.
What is the person called that rules a dictated country?
A dictator
How do dictators take power?
by force or by misleading the people.
How to dictators use the police?
to keep control.
What examples of human right violations do dictatorship countries have?
The use of torture
The imprisonment of individuals without trial
Slavery
Miscarriage of justice
Genocide – the mass murder of innocent civilians
What age can you participate in voting?
General scottish election=16
General UK election= 18
What is voting?
A process by which a group of people can decide things fairly when they do not all agree. (to avoid hunger games)
Do you vote for the prime minister?
No you vote for the party.
What is the scottish voting system like?
It is called the additional member voting
-you vote for a person (part of a constituency)
-then you vote for a party
What can people vote for?
-members of parliament
-SMPs
-MP’s
-President
-Council Elections
What are the 2 parliament houses?
-house of the lords (chosen for)
-house of commons
What does franchise mean?
The qualification to vote is called the franchise.
What does suffrage mean?
The right to vote
What is direct democracy/pure democracy?
A form of democracy in which people make decisions directly.
-a direct decision on a piece of legislation
What is representative democracy?
It happens when the people elect MP’s to make decisions on their behalf
What is a referendum?
elections for pure democracy
e.g- brexit, should Scotland go independent
Why don’t we always have pure democracy?
-Not everything is a yes or no question,
-Very hard and expensive to organise elections
-Lot of work
-Some matters need experts on the field if they’re more complicated
What is the electoral register?
-list of people who are eligible to vote in an area (the area is called a constituency)
How many constituencies are there in the UK and Scotland?
650 UK
59 Scotland
How are constituencies decided?
By the number of people living in a particular area.
How does the electoral register work?
-constituencies vote for an MP
-MP’s represent a party
-party with most votes win
What are the parties called if they don’t win and what do they then do?
-the opposition party
-make sure the party that wins stay in line
What is the UK General Election system called?
First Past The Post
What is a simple majority win?
When a party wins with under 50% of the votes, the other parties can band together when a legislation is made and can say no.
If a party wins with 1% more than its opposition what is it called?
A simple majority win
What is an absolute majority win?
-if a party wins more than 50% of the countries votes
-When a candidate wins by having more votes
than all the other candidates have even if put together
-all the other parties combined can’t say no to legislation
What does the term SAFE SEAT mean?
-ABSOLUTE MAJORITY WIN
-the candidate/party is likely to win again in the next election
When do parties get a marginal safe seat?
When there is a simple majority win.
