Democracy

Definitions

• Power - the ability of an individual or an institution to force people to do things, whether they want to or not.
  • Coercion - the use of force to achieve ends.
  • Political - power exercised by governments through persuasions, sanctions and incentives.
  • Influence - a weaker form of power that affects decisions but cannot enforce them.
• Authority - the right to exercise power: it is granted to rilers of anyone in power by those over whom power is exercised.
  • Traditional - authority that has existed for a long time and is thus accepted e.g. monarchs.
  • Rational (elective) - authority granted in an ordered way.
  • Charismatic - authority enjoyed by those who have a special appeal to people.
• Sovereignity - the quality of having supreme, independent authority over a territory.
  • Legal - ultimate political authority e.g. British Parliament, shared in the EU.
  • Political - ultimate political power e.g. people at elections, government between elections.
  • External - the legitimacy of government within a territory, as recognised by other states.
• The state - the permanent apparatus that holds power within a territory. It ensures national security, whichever group is in poweer, and represents the people collectively, whatever their political allegiances. The head of state represents the whole nation without political bias.
• Government - gives the state its political direction, but is not superior.
• Legislature - law making body.
• Executive - execute laws.
• Judiciary - enforce the law.
• Direct democracy - i.e. people always play a role in decision making.
• Representative democracy - i.e. people act on behalf of others.
• Pluralist democracy - where people are represented through groups to which they belong.
• Liberal democracy - rights are strssed and participation by all is encouraged.
• Totalitarian democracy - the leader/elite claims to be acting on behalf of the people.

Political legitimacy

Definition

• The lawful right to exercise power e.g. monarchy, parliamentary…