democracy and participation
- Created by: loupardoe
- Created on: 24-04-18 16:54
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what do we mean by 'democracy'?
how are decisions made in the UK, and who makes them?
- EU referendum- example of direct democracy
- not all decisions in the UK are made this way
- most are made through representative democracy- people vote for representatives to make decisions on their behalf
why are most decisions made this way?
- people do not have time to vote on everything that goes through parliament
- elections are expensive
- people do not have the knowledge and expertise that politicians do
- would take longer to pass laws
- turnout would be low
has 'the people' always meant the same thing?
- no- 'the people' used to mean the electorate
- now the meaning is sometimes 'the working class' or 'the masses'
- 'we've had enough of experts'
- 'take back control'
types of democracy
- liberal- the right to vote will be widespread and representatives will act in the interests of everyone in society
- majoritarian- the will or desires of the majority of the population are the prime consideration of the government
- parliamentary- parliament stands as the highest form of authority; the executive branch will be drawn from and accountable to the people's representatives in parliament
- presidential- the executive will be elected separately from the legislative body and is therefore chosen by and directly accountable to the people
- direct- any occasion when the citizrns are directly involved in the decision making process
- representative- the people transfer the power to make decisions to an elected representative
- pluralist- a wide dispersal of power among competing groups; no elite groups; groups will be internally democratic; group leaders will be accountable to their members; range of access points; government should be politically neutral
what are the functions of democracy?
representation
- a means of the people being able to put their views to the government of the day
- MPs, referendums
accountability
- a process by which the government of the day can be made to explain and take responsibility for its actions
- scrutinisation, select committees, oral/written questions
participation
- a way in which the people can be engaged and take part in the political process
- elections, referendums
power dispersal
- a system that ensures power is spread across different political bodies to avoid one body becoming overly dominant
- house of commons, house of lords, monarch, judiciary
legitimacy
- the process for the selection of the different branches of government should have legal authority and fairly represent the will of the people
- turnout, mandates, majority
education
- the political process should be open to all and there should be an educated and informed citizenry who are able to understand the issues and make informed decisions
- TV debates, party political broadcasts
how effective are different types of democracy?
direct democracy
- mainly used by autocratic regimes to get the answer they want
- devices for despots and dictators
- put an issue to bed for a generation
- result itself is subject to interpretation
- negative voting can be seen as either an indication of satisfaction with the status quo or as a rejection of the politicians putting the idea forward
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