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Government - Types of Democracy

Democracy is a system of government which recognises the right of all members of society to influence political decisions, either directly or indirectly. Direct democracy, in which political decisions are made by the whole citizen body meeting together, is only possible where the population is small. The American and French revolutions, and the growth of the classes following the Industrial Revolution, were important influences in the formation of modern democracies.

Notwithstanding various definitions of democracy, it is generally and currently accepted that representative government is a condition sine qua non of any liberal democracy. This conception of democracy implies (among other things) the following principles: Existence of political parties as vehicles of citizen representation; free competition between political parties who seek to represent the citizens; and respect for the rights of minorities. In some Latin American countries have gained power through governing polls which ignore the principles of representative democracy and instead seek to concentrate power. Pushing aside political parties or any institutions which can limit their margin of maneuverability, these self-appointed rulers make use of populist discourse directed at the masses. By these means, they are able to frequently criticize existing political parties as well as the rules which apply to representative democracy.

Borrowing from such canonical works as Lipset’s The Political Man, Dahl’s Polyarchy and most notably Norris’ Critical Citizens, the concept of support for stable democracy encapsulates (i) support for the right of participation and citizen inclusion; (ii) political legitimacy, or the belief that the current political institutions are the best for the system; (iii) interpersonal trust; and (iv) support for the idea that democracy per se is the best form of government (also known as the Churchillean version of democracy).

In many countries today, decisions are made on the votes of only a few hundred people who are elected (chosen) by the voters. They make decisions on behalf of all the electorate and are known as representatives. They often belong to a political party. All citizens have the right to vote and put themselves forward as possible representatives, called candidates. This is known as representative democracy.

Representative democracy began to evolve during the 18th and 19th centuries, in Britain, Europe and the US. Its central institution is the representative parliament, in which decisions are effected by majority vote. Representative democracy is characterised by:

• Regular elections with a free choice of candidates
• Universal adult suffrage
• Freedom to organize rival political parties
• Freedom to oppose the government of the day
• Independence of the judiciary
• Freedom of speech and the press
• The preservation of civil liberties and minority rights

Some people believe that Western democracies are not democratic enough because:

• Most political decisions have different effects on the rich and poor
• People in Western democracies vote for what is best for them
• Once elected, representatives use their own judgement when making decisions. This may not always coincide with public opinion
• Important decisions should be decided by referendums and not left entirely to the government
• People can he influenced by the media (newspapers, television and radio). Often the media reflects the views of powerful groups or a popular political party or cause

'Democracy is government of the people, by the people, for the people,' said Abraham Lincoln, who was the 16th President of the USA. Democracy is government by the people, or by elected representatives of the people. Under a democratic form of government, the people who decide whether or not a law or a new project or an investment will be suitable are elected by the whole adult population.

There are three basic types or dimensions of democracy that can be analytically distinguished from one another, although they often appear together in real life: representative or electoral democracy, liberal democracy and participatory democracy. A representative or electoral democracy exists when top government leaders are chosen in a competitive election to represent those who elect them. A liberal democracy is based on faith in the rationality of individual citizens and emphasizes the freedom of individuals from governmental interference and constraints on the concentration of power. A participatory democracy exists when individuals participate in making the decisions that affect their everyday lives. Most mature democracies include a combination of these features, and vary greatly in the specific interrelations among them.

Since the publication of Alexis de Tocqueville’s observations on American democracy in 1835, a strong and vibrant civil society has not just been seen as an expendable component of stable democracy, but as an essential characteristic of it.

Equality of opportunity is at the very core of virtually all definitions of democracy. The notion of a level playing field resonates with advocates of democracy nearly everywhere in the world. The life-chances that individuals have are strongly affected by the opportunities they have to attend good schools, receive quality health care, have access to credit, and so on. Indeed, children’s life-chances are strongly affected by their parents’ own position in society and the economy, such that future achievement is often conditioned and either limited or advanced by the conditions of one’s youth. Moreover, the life circumstances that affect success are also affected by societal levels of prejudice and norms related to groups’ roles in society, since these attitudes can constrain economic opportunity and political participation.

Republicanism

A President is head of state in a Republic. Some presidents are executive presidents who organise and direct the government, such as in the USA; others are ceremonial and a prime minister organises the government. Republics can be full democracies in which they elect their presidents and have opposition parties, such as in the Philippines. Other republics have only limited elections and oppositions, such as in Indonesia. Republics can begin after a revolution in which the people overthrow the ruling government.

Presidential Government

Of all questions having to do with the Executive Branch none is of greater importance than that of the relations that shall exist between the chief executive, constituting this branch and the other branches of government.

That type of Popular Government known as a Presidential Government results where the chief executive is deemed to derive his powers directly from, and be accountable directly to, the electorate. The leading example of such a government is that of the United States. Under this form of government the chief executive is not dependent upon having the support of the legislative branch for continuance in office. It may happen, and in our government often does happen, that the chief executive and the legislature are not in accord in respect to their general policies or governmental programs, and that the chief executive may hold his office in virtue of the support of a political party different from the one to which the majority of the members of the legislature belongs.

Parliamentary Government

What is known as a Responsible Government exists when, in a Popular Government of the Representative Type, the principle is established that the officer or officers actually exercising the executive power shall at all times have the support of at least the lower or popular chamber of the legislature, as a condition to their remaining in power. A condition precedent to the operation of a government of this type would seem to be the establishment of the system, heretofore described, of having the executive power, from the legal standpoint, vested in the hands of a titular chief executive, while its actual exercise is in the hands of another body known as a ministry.

Cabinet government is that system in which the real executive — the cabinet or ministry — is immediately and legally responsible to the legislature or one branch of it (usually the more popular chamber) for its legislative and administrative acts, and mediately or politically responsible to the electorate; while the titular or nominal executive — the chief of state — occupies a position of irresponsibility. The members of the ministry are usually members of the legislature and the leaders of the party in the majority, but whether they are members or not, they have the privilege of occupying seats therein and of participating in the deliberations. In short, the ministerial office is not incompatible with legislative mandate. On the contrary, the cabinet system presupposes the double character of minister and member, and thus executive and legislative functions are inextricably commingled.

The English make a distinction between the ministry and the cabinet. The ministers — some forty or more in number — are the chiefs of the executive departments, among which the administration of the country is divided, including also the parliamentary undersecretaries who are not heads of departments. The cabinet, on the contrary, is simply those members of the King's ministry who are summoned by the Prime Minister to attend cabinet meetings. There are usually some eighteen or twenty of these. In a large sense the ministry embraces all the political functionaries charged with the direction of public affairs who hold their positions only during the existence of the cabinet. From all these a committee called the cabinet is chosen.

Under one variant, the cabinet is immediately responsible to the electorate and only secondarily responsible to the House of Commons. On this principle is explained the resignation of the Balfour Cabinet in 1905, at a time when it still retained a large majority in the House.