elections are a form of direct democracy as well as a democratic highway to a representative government .The concept of democracy‚ electoral systems and political parties is cardinal to the modern state but at the same time difficult to define. This assignment will attempt to explain these concepts and amplify the significance of electoral systems as a key pre requisite for democracy. Elections and Democracy Commenting on the concept of democracy‚ Makinda held that democracy can be seen as: “… a way
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Introduction The birth of democracy in Sparta and Athens was a long‚ painful journey‚ created by wars‚ cruel leaders‚ and heroic figures. Although many of democracy’s ideas came from Athenian government‚ it was very different from the democracy in the United States‚ for example. In general‚ wealthy aristocrats had the most power. But without the ideas that this time period created‚ who knows where we would be now. In this paper‚ I’m going to outline how democracy came to be in early Athenian and
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Abstract The essay to follow will discuss what is meant by liberal democracy. The term will be defined and further discussed. In addition‚ it will be contrasted with that of a socialist democracy. This democratic system will be defined in political terms with reference to valid examples as too will liberal democracy. The following essay is based on a contrast between liberal and socialist democracy from a political perspective. An analysis of the terms‚ concepts and the question will then
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Democracy‚ also known as democratic government‚ is essentially a government by the people. It is a form of government in which the supreme power is retained by the people‚ but sometimes exercised indirectly through a system of representation and delegated authority periodically renewed during elections. Democracy differs from other types of government.For example‚ absolute monarchy‚ in which an individual holds all the power‚ or oligarchy‚ in which a few individuals hold all the power. There
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strengths of Representative democracy? Representative democracy is a form of democracy which emerged in the 17th century that implements the majority of citizens in a state are represented by a minority of office holders‚ in the UK we have Representative Democracy through Parliament. Citizens are represented by Members of Parliament who are elected through their constituencies. Representative democracy is considered a more effective form of government than direct democracy because of the following
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mistakenly believe that the Constitution is based off of the Ancient Greek’s idea of democracy‚ in which people voted themselves on issues pertaining to their government (Samons 1). While the founding fathers did use a kind of democracy‚ it was a representative rather than pure democracy. The American government does‚ however‚ use direct democracy in certain states‚ for better or worse. The theory behind direct democracy seems to fit what the American people want exactly. The people have a direct say
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Athens Democracy The first person to define democracy was an Athenian leader called Cleisthenes. He called it Demokratia‚ which meant rule by people. In their democracy‚ only male citizens who were older than eighteen could participate. Demokratia gave a strong structure to the Athenian government‚ which served as a model for future governments in the world. The Demokratia had three main institutions. The first one is the Ekklesia‚ which is an assembly in which all qualified citizens could participate
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The Development of Democracy After the election in 1824‚ the Republican Party began to separate because of industrialization in New England‚ the spread of cotton in the south and westward expansion. The Republicans who were suspicious of having a federal government that was too powerful and wanted more power in the state became Democrats. Republicans that wanted the Federal government to encourage a strong economy became Whigs. Politicians had to start trying to gain the vote of the common man
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Democracy‚ as defined by Polybius‚ was a “regime based on effective rule by the people.” In Polybius’ Histories‚ democracy was not based on each citizen having the ‘right to do whatever they wish or propose’ but true democracy relied on “reverence to the gods‚ succour of parents‚ respect to elders‚ obedience to laws‚ are traditional and habitual‚ in such communities” as well as decisions being decided by the majority. It has been agreed upon by most ancient historians that Rome was not a democracy
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Democracy is always named and used in the liberal discursive process. But if we refer to history‚ democracy of these days is not the same as democracy decades ago. Thus‚ it is important that democracy is understood as an evolution and not as a static concept. Similarly it is necessary to understand democracy by its principles and not by its practitioners in power. Liberal democracy can be briefly defined as a system of government in which the people rule themselves‚ either directly or indirectly
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