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• Direct/participatory democracy


  A system of decision making about public affairs in which citizens are directly involved
• Indirect/liberal/representative democracy


  A system of rule, embracing elected affairs who undertake to represent the interests and/or views of citizens within the framework of the 'rule of law'
• Democracy


  The idea that the citizens of a country should take an active role in the government of their country and manage it directly or through elected representatives
• Athenian democracy


  • First known democracy, in Athens all adult citizens were required to take an active part in the government, if they don't fulfil their duty they would be fined and sometimes marked with red paint
• Citizens in Athenian democracy

  Only free men were considered citizens, women, children and slaves weren't considered as citizens and couldn't vote
• Athenian democracy


  Each yr. 500 names were chosen, they had to actively serve the government for 1 yr, they were responsible for making new laws & controlled all parts of the political process, each law presented; all citizens had the opportunity to vote on it
• The enlightenment


  Reason and science used to explain both physical universe and human behaviour, men believed they could solve all problems with the use of scientific experiments and reasoning, they believed they were living in an age of optimism and unending progress
• Enlightenment principles


  • Concept of reasoning instead of believing everything, self-government, freedom for common people, liberty to individuals, rule of law, equality, tolerance, respect for the rights of the individual & freedom of thought and expression
• Solon


  • Laid foundations for democracy & introduced a new constitution based on the ownership of property, divided into 4 classes with political power distributed among them, native-born citizens couldn't be enslaved by other citizens, established sortation - citizens selected at random to fill government positions rather than attaining them through inheritance
• Ekklesia


  An assembly which met every 10 days, to ensure that even the poorest could afford to attend & participate in the city's political activities
• Modern democracy


  • Enlightenment and French Revolution paved the way for modern democracy (introducing rights)
• Principles of modern democracy


  • Free and just elections
  • Political parties
  • Separation of powers
  • Universal suffrage
  • Freedom in all domains
  • Rule of law
  • Pluralism
• Free and just elections

  All power is derived from people, people vote for the government, elections, free elections give citizens the chance to choose their leaders and express their opinions on various issues, voters allowed to participate by means of an anonymous vote free from interference or pressure, legal requirements to vote are age, residence, and citizenship
• Political parties


  Make elections meaningful by giving voters the voice among candidates who represent different interests and pov's, they enhance competition, opposition stands against the government and keeps an eye on everything it does and tries to present a better alternative for the voters
• Separation of powers


  The 3 powers of the state (executive, legislative & judicial) are either completely or partially separated for a democracy to occur
• Universal suffrage


  All adults can vote irrespective of their sex, race, belief, or social status because in a democracy there is no privileged class
• Freedom in all domains

  The public must enjoy the freedom of expression to approve or disapprove governments projects & ideas, public must have a right to assemble & petition the government
• Rule of law


  The right to equal protection of the law is fundamental to any just & democratic society, no one is above the law, guarantees freedom and rights of each person
• Pluralism


  Not everyone accepts the same opinions, beliefs and disagreements, diversity is accepted, democratic society provides the means of people to express themselves
• Citizen


  An individual who is actively responsible for preserving and promoting democracy by exercising rights and duties
• Citizenship


  Membership in a political community and carries with it civic rights and responsibilities to political participation
• A healthy democratic society isn't simply an arena in which individuals pursue their own personal goals, democracies flourish when they're tended by citizens willing to use their hard-won freedom to participate in the life of their society, adding voices to the public, public debate, electing representatives who are held accountable for their actions and accepting the need for tolerance and compromise in public life
• Citizenship is closely linked to value


  A 'true' citizen has duties to preform like - being informed, critical, responsible, respectful to other ideas and identities
• Duties of citizens


  • Social and moral responsibilities
  • Community involvement
  • Political literacy
  • Expressing opinions on local or national issues by using the media
• Civic identity


  Freely given commitment to certain civic privileges and values of democracy, possessed equally by all citizens of the country
• Constitution


  A state's highest form of law, embodies all the fundamental rights and regulations governing individual, social and political rights along with details on the procedure and functioning of the nation's political system, it's a written document which establishes the rules and principles by which an organization or political entity is governed, offers the right balance between freedom and law, it determines to what extent certain rights can be limited
• Types of constitutions


  • Written or unwritten
  • Flexible and easy to change or rigid
  • Monarchical or parliamentary
  • Federal (USA) or unitary (Malta)
• Legislative institution


  Under direct control of the political party in office, parliament approves financial estimates and approves or amends new laws, this reduces the absolute power of the government so that it can't govern in a dictatorial way
• Judiciary institution


  Judges and magistrates who see to it that there is social justice, acts independently from the government, judiciary doesn't pass laws
• Administrative/executive institution


  Allows the government to implement its policies and provide services, it's made up of the prime minister, the cabinet of ministers and the president
• Powers of the state

  • Legislative (power to make laws)
  • Judicial (decide whether the laws of the state have been broken or not)
  • Executive (administering the country)
• The executive, legislative and judicial complement each other's duties and allows for division of power, all these institutions are present in a democratic state
• Human rights


  Basic needs that individuals are entitled to, they are inherited, universal and inalienable, these rights are interrelated, interdependent and indivisible
• Types of human rights

  • Civil rights
  • Political rights
  • Socio-economic rights
  • Cultural rights
• Civil rights


  Legally protect individuals or groups from certain forms of oppression, in modern political, academic, and public usage; civil rights embody and provide legal support for basic concepts of human dignity and respect for individuals or groups in their diverse cultures and ways
• Civil rights


  • Right to life, right to freedom of torture, right to fair trial, right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion, right to freedom of expression, right to privacy, right to effective remedy, right to liberty and security, right to asylum, right to freedom from discrimination
• Political rights


  Guarantee the positive liberty to contribute to the process of governing the affairs of society in which one lives, they presume that the government processes should be structured so as to provide opportunities for political participation of all eligible citizens, they refer to an individual's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the society and state without fear or discrimination or repression
• Political rights


  • Rights to join a political party, right to vote in an election
• Socio-economic rights


  Provide protection for the dignity, freedom, and well-being of individuals by guaranteeing state-supported entitlement to education, public health care, housing, living wage, decent working conditions, etc.
• Socio-economic rights


  • Right to universal public services, rights supportive of decent living conditions, rights to natural resources, rights of workers