Politics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Politics - Research Paper Example Elements of democracy It is the most common form of government in the world of today. Democracy comes from two words, demos means â€Å"people† and cracy means â€Å"rule of†, so the word democracy means the rule of people. The authority to take decisions rests with the people of such a government. Democracy is considered as the best way to show equality and liberty among people in a society2. Modern democracies have a number of characteristics. They have elections and voting which gives equal rights to political power. They encourage equality by not discriminating one group over another. Democracies allow people to control political actions. It emphasizes on citizen participation3. Democracy can exist on a variety of levels such as local and international. Forms of democracy There are two basic forms of democracy; one being direct and the other representative4. Direct Democracy It is that form of democracy in which all of the citizens of a political organization jointl y make the decisions for that group. When a matter needs to be solved and a decision has to be taken, all the members sit together and vote in favour or against the matter. Example of a direct democracy is ancient Athens. They used to come together, debate on the issue and jointly decide amongst each other5. One of the main advantages of a direct democracy is that the citizens feel important and included in the matter. All decisions have high degree of authenticity. On the other hand, it also has its own setbacks. It is not a realistic approach for large countries. It is impossible for people of a populous country like India to sit together and discuss on an issue. Another limit is its need for people to effectively participate. This requires that the citizens are well informed of the issue to be discussed. This needs the time of the citizens which today most of them do not have. Third, decisions are taken on majority’s opinions. In direct democracy, there can be a tyranny of majority. Majorities can unfairly suppress minorities’ rights. This is the reason direct democracy is only at regional and local levels6. Representative Democracy In this form of democracy, people choose officials to represent their group and to make decisions on their behalf. An official is selected through regular elections. In this form, the citizens still participate and have the authority to decide, but the chosen representative implements the policies on their behalf. Government which are based on the principles of representative democracy are titled as republics. Majority of today’s governments are republics, for instance, United States, Mexico, and European countries7. Representative democracy has several advantages over direct democracy. First, elected representatives can focus more on politics and become specialists on issues that average people do not have time. Second, the whole process of debating and then coming to one conclusion is quicker and less comp licated than direct democracy. Third, countries can save time and money on elections since they are held after every few years; where as in direct democracy there are campaigns for most of the issues. Fourth, chosen officials provide continuity in government and prevent major changes in policy. Lastly, the elected officials can make complex decisions which the public might hesitate to take8.