DEMOCRACY

• The government is drawn from members of parliament. 

• The government is held to account by parliament. 

• There is a unified system, where the executive and legisalture are from the same party.

• The head of state and the head of government are separate.

• The government is elected separately from members of the legislature.

• The electorate holds the government to account.

• There is the possibility of a divided government when different parties control the executive and the legislature.

• The head of state is the head of government too. 

Pluralism is the idea that there is competition between different groups who represent different concerns, either as parties or pressure groups. 

In a pluralist democracy, power is widley and evenly distributed across society rather than concentrated in the hands of an elite. 

The government should remain neutral in a pluralist system and make decisions based on the merits of the competing arguments, making it an alternative to majoritarian and parliamentary democracy. 

In a pluralist democracy:

• There will be a wide dispersal of power among competing groups.

• There will be no elite groups. 

• Groups will be internally democratic.

• Group leaders will be accountable to their members.

• There will be a range of access points.

• The government should remain politically neutral.