democracy lesson 1

• Democracy


  A system of government based on the rule of the people
• Democracy comes from the Greek words demos (people) and kratos (to rule)
• Abraham Lincoln: 'The rule of the people, by the people, and for the people'
• People in modern democracy


  Citizens who are members of a political and socio-cultural community called the nation-state
• Forms of representative democracy


  • Trustee model
  • Delegate model
  • Mandate model
  • Resemblance model
• Representative democracy


  • Recognizes the ability of the people to create and implement policies for themselves
• Forms of direct democracy


  • Initiative
  • Recall
  • Referendum
• Classical democracy


  The system of government practiced in ancient Athens
• Classical democracy


  • Criticized for the exclusion of women in political affairs and being built on slavery
• Liberal democracy


  Focuses on the promotion of individual freedoms
• Liberal democracy is the type of democracy that Western countries, such as the United States and the United Kingdom, promote to the rest of the world
• Liberalism


  A political ideology that emphasizes respect for individual rights, freedom, and reason
• A phenomenon called the tyranny of the majority must be addressed in liberal democracy by adopting a constitution that protects the rights of individuals
• Social democracy


  Aims to create enabling environments for real freedoms to be experienced
• Social democrats believe that the enjoyment of one's rights will only be possible if the community experiences the same conditions
• Radical democracy


  Built on the idea of contestation, extending the idea by asserting that democracy entails subjecting everything that exists to contestation
• Elements of democracy


  • Competition for power
  • Participation in civic and political life
  • Respect for individual rights
  • The rule of law
• Multiparty system


  Must be in place to ensure maximum participation in the electoral process
• Consent of the governed


  Principle that an official or a government only gains legitimacy through
• Democracy recognizes the right of individuals to participate in the decision-making process
• Decisions, aside from being adopted by the majority or through the consensus of the community, must also promote and respect the rights of individuals
• Rule of law


  A standard for decision making based on impartial laws, a guarantee from irrational or unjust actions of any government, group, or individual