Different types of democracy Flashcards
Liberal Democracy
The right to vote is widespread and representetives act in the interests of everyone in society.
Majoritarian democracy
System whereby the will or desires of the majority of the population are the prime considerationss of the government.
Parliamentary democracy
A system where parliament stands as the highest form of authority. The executive branch is drawn from ans accountable to the people’s representatives in parliament.
Presidential democracy
This is a system where the executive is elected seperately from the legislative body and is therefore chosen by and directly accountable to the people.
Direct democracy
Any occasion where the citizens are directly involved in the descision making progress.
Representative democracy
A system where the people transfer power to make descisions to an elected representative.
Case study- EU election statistics and voting turn out… does the referendum undermine democracy?
EU Referendum- 2016
* Misinformation about the referendum as the Leave campaign claimed that £350 million could be redirected to the NHS with no guarantee
* Many voted in upset at the current government rather than actually whether to be in EU or not
* 72.2% turnout of voters
* 52% voted leave
* Only 37.7% of the population voted for a monumental descision that would change how the UK functions politically, socially and economically.
What are the functions of democracy?
- Representation
- Accountability
- Participation
- Power dispersal
- Legitimacy
- Education
Pluralist democracy
Competition between different groups who represent different concerns either as parties or pressure groups. Power is widely and evenly distributed across society rather than concentrated in the hands of an elite.
When was the Scottish independence referendum?
2014
Elements of direct democracy used in the UK
- Referendums
- Citizens juries
- Petitions
