Unit 1 - Democracy and Political Participation Flashcards
What is Legitimacy?
Legitimacy means in general the right to govern and to make laws which will be enforced and are likely to be obeyed by the people e.g. the UK government but not the government of Kosovo, it can also refer to the degree to which a body or government can be justified in exercising power
What is power?
Power refers to the ability of an individual or body to force others to do something they may otherwise not do, three levels:
Coercion - force, often physical
Political - Use of rewards and sanctions, legal authority and persuasion
Influence - Affecting how others think and act, not force
How is legitimacy conferred?
In the democratic world legitimacy is normally conferred by an election, arguably the 2010 coalition lacks legitimacy as it did not have an electoral mandate
What is authority?
Authority, similarly to legitimacy means the ‘right to exercise power’, it is derived from three possible sources:
Tradition - because power has been exercised for a long time and has been accepted for many years
Election - Power may be exercised if an individual or party has been elected
What is citizenship?
The status of being a citizen grants a person the enjoyment of certain rights: in a democracy these are the right to vote, to stand for office, to be granted fair trial and the rule of law
Citizens also enjoy civil liberties: Freedom of expression, of movement, of thought, of association and of speech
Citizens also carry duties: to obey the law, pay taxes and possibly defend the country
‘Active citizenship’ an idea developed by Labour in the 90’s
What is democracy (general)?
Literally meaning ‘people power’, a system of government where the people have access to independent information and are able to influence government decisions. It also implies that government makes itself accountable to the people. Democracy can take a number of forms, the main two are direct and representative democracy.
What are the features of a modern democracy?
- Peaceful transition of government
- Free and fair elections
- Access to independent information
- Government should be accountable to the people
- High degree of freedom for people and groups
- Different ideologies are tolerated
- The rule of law applies
- Government operates broadly in the interests of the people
What is direct democracy?
In direct democracy:
- People themselves make decisions, usually through referendums
- People are directly consulted on political decisions
- People take the initiative in creating political change
E.g. UK AV referendum 2011, USA and Switzerland - initiatives
What is representative democracy?
In representative democracy:
- The people elect representatives
- The people do not make most decisions themselves, but delegate that power to representatives
- There are political parties that represent different political views
- Associations and pressure groups represent different sections of society
- There are representative assemblies that express the will of the people, and social groups
How does representation operate in the UK?
In the UK:
- Representation operates through MPs, they represent constituencies
- Most MPs represent also their party and its electoral manifesto
- Pressure groups represent interests and causes
- The HoC as a whole can represent the national interest
- The HoL is a vehicle for representation as many peers represent sections of society, prominent causes and the national interest
What is pluralist democracy?
In a pluralist democracy:
- Multiple parties and political associations are allowed to operate
- Different political beliefs are tolerated and allowed to flourish
- There are many sources of independent information and opinion through media
- Power is diffuse, dispersed among different individuals, bodies and institutions, rather than being concentrated in one or a few locations
What is liberal democracy?
Same features as democracy, with:
- Individual liberties are respected, and well protected
- There is a strong constitution to limit the powers of the government
- Government features strong internal checks and balances
- High level of political toleration
E.G. Germany
Advantages of representative democracy:
- Most people lack the time to be continually involved in politics
- Representatives have experience, expertise and knowledge
- Representatives can be made accountable, the people cannot
- The demands of the people can be incoherent and contradictory, representatives function as policy ‘aggregators’
- People react emotionally, representatives can act rationally
- Representatives can educate the people about political issues
- Different sections of society and various political causes and beliefs can be well represented by elected representatives
Advantages of direct democracy:
- Purest form of democracy dating back to ancient Athens
- Referendums give legitimacy, they can strengthen important decisions with the people’s consent
- Direct consultations can educate the public about political issues
- People can participate more directly, improves engagement with politics and positive citizenship
- Important constitutional changes can be entrenched through a referendum
- When government itself is divided, a referendum can help to solve the conflict and secure a consensus decision
E.G. Britain’s EU membership 1975, devolution 1997 and AV 2011
Disadvantages of representative democracy:
- Difficult to make representatives accountable between elections
- Representatives may ignore or distort the demands of the people to their own personal advantage
- Representatives may follow the party line rather than respect the wishes of their constituencies
- Representative democracy may result in too much political conflict
- The idea of an electoral mandate is flawed, voters can either accept a manifesto or reject it, binary and voters cannot express preference
