In this lesson, students explore what democracy means and what the implications are for them as citizens. We will examine whether, on the other hand, direct democracy is or can be also viewed in a broader perspective as an institution covering a complete decisionmaking process, from setting the agenda for an issue to the final referendum vote. Characteristics of liberal democracy advantages and. Governance and democracy 9 principles of democracy equality and human rights all individuals are valued equally, have equal opportunities, and may not be discriminated against because of their race, religion, ethnicity, language, gender or sexual.
Lesson plans for high school civics, government and u. The socioeconomic stability of a country depends on all these factors. Larry diamond is senior fellow at the hoover institution, stanford university, and founding coeditor of the journal of democracy. The following paper presents the basic concept for the democracy ranking of the quality of democracy and positions this approach in context of academic discourses about democracy and the quality of democracy. The 5 principles of democracy could be considered the consent of the governed, representative government, individual rights, the rule of law, and a system of. Its meaning and dissenting opinions of the political. It would be a good idea for you to look in your textbook. Although they are complementary, the relationship between democracy as usually.
Democracy democracy is a way of governing a country. Key elements of states organized under democratic principles. The political equality of all citizens is an essential principle of democracy. In these organizations, members and officers uphold their governing documents. The three principles of the people, also translated as three peoples principles, sanmin doctrine, or tridemism is a political philosophy developed by sun yatsen as part of a philosophy to make china a free, prosperous, and powerful state. Iiithe concepts and fundamental principles of democracy. The achievement of democracy presupposes a genuine part. This chapter looks at democracy and at public participation in a democracy. The principles of democracy the word democracy comes from two greek words. Citizens are given an opportunity to choose public representatives to represent them in government. The difference is that in a liberal democracy, the rights of all the citizens are protected and each individual has rights that are cared for by the government. Democracy values each individual in order to serve the interest of society. The four main theories of democracy are protective, pluralist.
According to american political scientist larry diamond, democracy consists of four key elements. Thereafter, it reconceptualizes the quality of democracy by equating it with democracy pure and simple, positing that democracy is a synthesis of political freedom and political equality, and. There are many liberal democracy advantages and disadvantages which form the basic characteristics of liberal democracy. Download elementsofdemocracy ebook pdf or read online books in pdf. A democracy is based on the idea of the people having a say in who governs and rules them, making participation one of.
A delicate balance and universality professor victor massuh 67 the main elements of democracy. Types of democracy the broadest differentiation that scholars make between democracies is based on the nature of representative government. We can identify examples of both in the world today. Cyril ramaphosa 73 democracy building in southeast asia professor juwono sudarsono 81 democracy. In a 2004 lecture at hilla university for humanistic studies in iraq, stanford university professor larry diamond gives four. Elements of democracy is an attempt to explore such a range of ideas that make up the vocabulary of democracy. The six essential components for democracy by bahram maskanian. Thus political freedom lies at the heart of the concept of democracy. It was declared secular and democratic when its constitution came into force on 26 january 1950. The three principles are often translated into and summarized as nationalism, democracy, and the livelihood of the people.
The types of democracies include direct democracy, democratic centralism and representative democracy. Democracy is government of, by, and for the people. In democracy representatives elected by the people make laws and frame policies of the government. The concept of democracy it is difficult to reach a consensus on the definition of democracy. Each person is a separate, distinct, and important being. Rank these 14 elements in a democracy from most essential 1 to least essential 14 ranking.
History classes by alan rosenthal these lessons about the fundamentals of representative democracy are designed mainly for civics and american government courses taught at the highschool level. The five main characteristics of democracy are as under. Key dimensions of democracy are freedom, equality and control. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. These benefits and demerits affect the nation immensely.
Every form of government has certain pros and cons. He describes democracy as a system of government with four key elements. In part ii elements of a democratic state and society, the paper discusses. In other words, different people can identify different principles of democracy. The six essential components for democracy the venus project. The basic concept for the democracy ranking of the quality. The democratic societies emphasizes the principle that all the people are equal and all the individual valued equally, have equal opportunity, have equal rights and have equal prestige without any discrimination on the bases of casts, creed, sex, religion, ethnic group.
Danamarie seepersad the concept of democracy has emerged as a result of a gradual change in the principles that govern the distribution of power in the society. There are states with very small populations like switzerland. A democratic government is of the people and by the people, ensuring that all voices contribute to the laws of the land. Direct democracy direct democracy places all power in the hands of the individual. Pdf on oct 29, 2008, david f j campbell and others published the basic concept for the democracy ranking of the quality of democracy find, read and cite all the research you need on researchgate. I want to begin with an overview of what democracy is. However, the main idea of democracy is widely accepted to have originated from athens in the 5 th century bc. This outline attempts to set forth the essential elements or characteristics of constitutional democracy. Like all political ideologies, social democracy has been the topic of many discussions, developed through time, tested under various conditions and by various people, and has altered according to local circumstances. Democracy and the individual will professor hieronim kubiak 57 democracy.
In groups, they consider how they can support or uphold democratic principles through their own actions. The first chapter therefore gives a short introduction into the history of social democracy. Key words, democracy, politics, dissent, mass media, democratization process. According to a lecture conducted at stanford university, democracy incorporates four major principles. A recognition of the fundamental worth and dignity of every person example basic values of democracy. Elections should be free and fair and must be held at regular intervals. Who people are and how authority is shared among them are core issues for democratic theory, development and constitution. The key components of a democracy are free and fair elections, the active participation of citizens in the government, protection of human rights for citizens of the democracy and laws that are applied fairly among all citizens. While democracy ensures freedom for its citizens, it is a complex system. It is government of a community in which all citizens, rather than favored individuals or groups, have the right and opportunity to participate. All adult citizens have the right to participate vote in. Divide students into pairs or small groups and have them interpret and analyze each principle by filling out activity 4. Organizations, whether they are homeowners associations or the local pta, have discovered that governments which govern best are those who have laws which protect the rights of those governed and limit the powers of those who govern.
Such a system is clearly most practical with relatively small numbers of people in a community organization. While democracy is something we associate as part of the foundation of our american ideals, it is actually the greeks who are often credited with its creation. Pdf on oct 29, 2008, david f j campbell and others published the basic concept for the democracy ranking of. Hence, basic civil rightsfreedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly andassociationneed not be construed as natural rights of individuals. They consider their own definition of democracy and those of their peers, before interpreting and analyzing key democratic principles. What type of intermolecular forces are expected between pooh3 molecules3. Pdf the basic concept for the democracy ranking of the quality. Lecture at hilla university for humanistic studies january 21, 2004 democracy consists of four basic elements. The active participation of the people, as citizens, in politics and civic life. In a direct democracy, citizens, without the intermediary of elected or appointed officials, can participate in making public decisions. Pdf the basic concept for the democracy ranking of the. Once we grant the right of universal participation in political control. Population can be more or less but it has to be there.
We can think of democracy as a system of government with four key elements. Democracies fall into two basic categories, direct and. At the dawn of the systematic study of politics more than two millenniums ago, aristotle said, famously, that in this study, we should not look for more clarity than the subject matter admits. From the foregoing, one can conclude that the basic feature of democracy according to nassbaum 2000 is the capacity of all voters to participate freely and fully in the life of their society, and that democracy is a form of government in which all eligible citizens have an equal say in lawmaking diamond, 2006.
Democracy has many characteristics which include majority rule, individual rights, free and fair elections, tolerance, participation and compromise. Direct democracy and theories of participatory democracy. Fundamentals of representative democracy lesson plans for high school civics, government and u. Clause 4 provides that the people shall express their will. In the paper, some basic conceptual elements of participatory democracy will first be recalled. Citizens should protect and uphold the dignity of all people. Cyril ramaphosa 73 democracybuilding in southeast asia professor juwono sudarsono 81 democracy. A state stands identified with its four absolutely essential elements. A representative democracy is where citizens elect a representative to represent their views, as does a liberal democracy. There are no specific five principles that are universally acknowledged as the five principles of democracy. A rule of law, in which the laws and procedures apply equally to all. At stanford university, he is professor by courtesy of political science and sociology, and he coordinates the democracy program of the center on democracy, development, and the rule of law cddrl, within the freeman spogli institute for international studies fsi. The most common definition of democracy is rule by the people.
Separation and balance of power independence of the judiciary. A political system for choosing and replacing the government through free and fair elections. The democratic india believes in the principles of. However, today, as in the past, the most common form of democracy, whether for a town of 50,000 or a nation of 50 million, is representative democracy, in which citizens some local jurisdictions in the united states. In a democracy, government is only one thread in the social fabric of many and varied public and private institutions, legal forums, political parties, organizations, characteristics of democracy an educated citizenry is the best guarantee for a thriving democracy. From a stanford lecture democracy consists of four basic.
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