Element 1: Democracy and participation
Current systems of representative and direct democracy
Direct democracy
- individuals express their opinions themselves
- Citizens are more active in decision-making
- not elective
Advantages of direct democracy
- Gives equal weight to all votes, unlikely a representative system where the varying sizes
of constituencies mean that votes do not all have equal value
- Encourages popular participation in politics by expecting people to take their duties as
citizens seriously
- Removes the need for trusted representatives, as people can take responsibility for their
own decisions
- Develops a sense of community and encourages genuine debate
Disadvantages of direct democracy
- Impractical in a large, heavily populated modern state where decision making is
complicated
- Many people will not want to or feel qualified to take part in decision making, so political
activists decide what happens
- Open to manipulation by the intelligent and most articulated speakers, who will persuade
people to support their viewpoint
- Will of the majority is not mediated by parliamentary institutions, so minority viewpoints
are disregarded
Representative democracy
- The normal form of democracy
- Representatives do not act as delegates they merely take instructions from the voters
- Are expected to exercise their judgment, if they do not satisfy voters, they can be held
accountable and removed at time of election
- Citizens pass their authority to their representatives
- Elections for representatives are free and fair
- Citizens elect representatives to make decisions on their behalf
- All adult citizens have the right to vote for representatives
Advantages of representative democracy
- The only practical system in a large modern state, where issues are complex and often
need rapid response (e.g. deployment of troops)
- Politicians from parties brining coherence and giving people a real choice of
representative. Pressure groups form to represent different interests, promoting debate
and encouraging pluralist democracy
, - Reduces chances of minority rights being overridden by ‘tyranny of the majority’
- Elections allow people to hold representatives to account
- Politicians are (in theory) better informed than the average citizen about the many issues
on which they must take a view
Disadvantages of representative democracy
- May lead to reduced participation as people choose to hand responsibility to politicians
- Parties and pressure groups are often run by elites pursuing their own agendas, not truly
representing the people
- Minorities may still find themselves underrepresented as politicians are more likely to
follow the views of the majority to secure election
- Politicians are skillful in avoiding accountability, especially as general elections are usually
5 years apart in the UK
- Politicians may be corrupt and incompetent, may betray election promises or put loyalty
to their party before responsibility to the electorate
Similarities of direct + representative democracy:
1.People are sought after to have their opinions expressed
2.Legislature that represents their views
3.Initiatives, petitions, public consultations etc happen all the time within representative
democracies in order for the gov. to represent the people e.g. following 'let's talk Newcastle' the
council decided the budget not the people they simply kept in mind what was said during the
consultations
4.Pressure groups etc who use direct democracy to put forward their views are an integral part of
representative democracy - e.g. many of the Conservative's economic policies are guided by the
BBA but they work very much as a representative democracy
Differences of direct + representative democracy:
1.People make decisions (e.g. through a referendum) instead of through elected or appointed
bodies
2.Government held accountable
3.Direct democracy is majoritarian - working on the will of the majority - risk of tyranny of the
majority e.g. California 2008 initiative to ban civil partnerships - discriminatory. Representative
democracy mediates between different groups representing them all thusly avoiding this
4.Parliament is sovereign whereas in direct it is subservient to the people if it likes it or not - it's
power is greatly weakened by direct democracy e.g. Bill of Rights taken out of Queen's Speech -
delayed possibly for up to a year - due to opposition in part from Liberty campaign and petitions
e.g. Change.org's petition against the Bill 230,000 people signed
5.More likely to result in rational decision - direct often works with emotions e.g. AV
referendum negative vote after Lib Dems went back on their promise on tuition fees
6.Handles complex and technical political decisions - this isn't practical for direct democracy e.g.
AV low turnout and negative vote partly due to complexity; Scottish Referendum lead up lasted
months because people needed to be educated on the political, economic, and social
implications.
Current systems of representative and direct democracy
Direct democracy
- individuals express their opinions themselves
- Citizens are more active in decision-making
- not elective
Advantages of direct democracy
- Gives equal weight to all votes, unlikely a representative system where the varying sizes
of constituencies mean that votes do not all have equal value
- Encourages popular participation in politics by expecting people to take their duties as
citizens seriously
- Removes the need for trusted representatives, as people can take responsibility for their
own decisions
- Develops a sense of community and encourages genuine debate
Disadvantages of direct democracy
- Impractical in a large, heavily populated modern state where decision making is
complicated
- Many people will not want to or feel qualified to take part in decision making, so political
activists decide what happens
- Open to manipulation by the intelligent and most articulated speakers, who will persuade
people to support their viewpoint
- Will of the majority is not mediated by parliamentary institutions, so minority viewpoints
are disregarded
Representative democracy
- The normal form of democracy
- Representatives do not act as delegates they merely take instructions from the voters
- Are expected to exercise their judgment, if they do not satisfy voters, they can be held
accountable and removed at time of election
- Citizens pass their authority to their representatives
- Elections for representatives are free and fair
- Citizens elect representatives to make decisions on their behalf
- All adult citizens have the right to vote for representatives
Advantages of representative democracy
- The only practical system in a large modern state, where issues are complex and often
need rapid response (e.g. deployment of troops)
- Politicians from parties brining coherence and giving people a real choice of
representative. Pressure groups form to represent different interests, promoting debate
and encouraging pluralist democracy
, - Reduces chances of minority rights being overridden by ‘tyranny of the majority’
- Elections allow people to hold representatives to account
- Politicians are (in theory) better informed than the average citizen about the many issues
on which they must take a view
Disadvantages of representative democracy
- May lead to reduced participation as people choose to hand responsibility to politicians
- Parties and pressure groups are often run by elites pursuing their own agendas, not truly
representing the people
- Minorities may still find themselves underrepresented as politicians are more likely to
follow the views of the majority to secure election
- Politicians are skillful in avoiding accountability, especially as general elections are usually
5 years apart in the UK
- Politicians may be corrupt and incompetent, may betray election promises or put loyalty
to their party before responsibility to the electorate
Similarities of direct + representative democracy:
1.People are sought after to have their opinions expressed
2.Legislature that represents their views
3.Initiatives, petitions, public consultations etc happen all the time within representative
democracies in order for the gov. to represent the people e.g. following 'let's talk Newcastle' the
council decided the budget not the people they simply kept in mind what was said during the
consultations
4.Pressure groups etc who use direct democracy to put forward their views are an integral part of
representative democracy - e.g. many of the Conservative's economic policies are guided by the
BBA but they work very much as a representative democracy
Differences of direct + representative democracy:
1.People make decisions (e.g. through a referendum) instead of through elected or appointed
bodies
2.Government held accountable
3.Direct democracy is majoritarian - working on the will of the majority - risk of tyranny of the
majority e.g. California 2008 initiative to ban civil partnerships - discriminatory. Representative
democracy mediates between different groups representing them all thusly avoiding this
4.Parliament is sovereign whereas in direct it is subservient to the people if it likes it or not - it's
power is greatly weakened by direct democracy e.g. Bill of Rights taken out of Queen's Speech -
delayed possibly for up to a year - due to opposition in part from Liberty campaign and petitions
e.g. Change.org's petition against the Bill 230,000 people signed
5.More likely to result in rational decision - direct often works with emotions e.g. AV
referendum negative vote after Lib Dems went back on their promise on tuition fees
6.Handles complex and technical political decisions - this isn't practical for direct democracy e.g.
AV low turnout and negative vote partly due to complexity; Scottish Referendum lead up lasted
months because people needed to be educated on the political, economic, and social
implications.
