1. Democracy and participation

• Democracy:

  *democracy is when people vote or voice their opinions on certain topics.

  democratic gov features:

  • government voting
  • can vote - regular elections
  • free speech/freedom of press
  • right of association
  • political parties
  • can protest
• Undemocratic gov features:

  • party system (Rishi Sunak, Liz Trust)
  • unelected house of lords
  • disproportionate representation for supporters of larger parties
• Liberal democracy: (rights of citizens - liberal features)

  • Rights of individuals and minorities are protected
  • freedom of speech/association
  • tolerance of different viewpoints, beliefs, cultures and lifestyles
  • information freely available to citizens
  • rule of law applies - all citizens equal under the law with independent judiciary.
• Democratic features:

  • Powers of government controlled or limited by laws, constitutions or institutions.
  • Free and fair regular elections
  • Government is accountable to the people
  • Losing parties accept democratic legitimacy of winners
  • Depresentative institutions
• In a majoritarian democracy the will or desires of the majority of the population are the prime considerations of the government.
• In a parliamentary democracy parliament is the highest for of authority. The executive branch of the government is drawn from and accountable to the peoples representatives in parliament.
• The presidential democracy, the executive branch is elected separately from the legislative. The executive is therefore chosen by and directly accountable to the people.
• Representation: Decisions are made directly by the public without having a representative. It is consultative and participatory. It makes the public feel more included with the decisions that have been made. However, not many people within the public are fully educated on the topics that they make decisions about.
• Accountability: voters will be held accountable for the decisions that they have made and the consequences they could possibly face. Everyone has had their input and should have made a responsible and educated decisions. However, voters should not feel completely responsible.
• Participation: the public are involved in voting, functions, elections and this is through their own decisions. All of publics opinions will be heard and taken into consideration. However, some decisions are not smart or educated.
• distribution of power: everyone that votes has the same amount of power as they are all making the same decision. No one will feel as though they are not being listened to as the amount of power is distributed equally. However, mainly depends on the choice the voters then make as no one really has more power than anyone else.
• Legitimacy: legitimate authority means power that has been legally acquired and exercised according to the rule of law. A dictator can claim power but not legitimate power. if the politician isn't legitimate then the public may be mislead so far making decisions such a choosing a representative they could possibly be making bad decisions without knowing it.
• Education: people have a better understanding of topics that they will have to make choices about. Better choices will be made if people have more knowledge and a better understanding of topics. If voters do not have enough information, it may be a really tough decision and they may not make the best choice which can have bad consequences.
• Pressure groups fight for what they believe is right, by any means.