[h=2]Types[/h] Main article:
Types of democracy
Democracy has taken a number of forms, both in theory and practice. Some varieties of democracy provide better representation and more freedom for their citizens than others.[SUP]
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[67][/SUP] However, if any democracy is not structured so as to prohibit the government from excluding the people from the legislative process, or any branch of government from altering the
separation of powers in its own favour, then a branch of the system can accumulate too much power and destroy the democracy.[SUP]
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[SUP]1[/SUP]This map was complied according to the Wikipedia
list of countries by system of government. See there for sources. [SUP]2[/SUP]Several states constitutionally deemed to be multiparty republics are broadly described by outsiders as authoritarian states. This map presents only the
de jure form of government, and not the
de facto degree of democracy.
The following kinds of democracy are not exclusive of one another: many specify details of aspects that are independent of one another and can co-exist in a single system.
[h=3]Basic forms[/h] [h=4]Direct and semi-direct[/h]
A
Landsgemeinde (in 2009) of the
Canton of Glarus, an example of direct democracy in
Switzerland.
In
Switzerland, without needing to register, every citizen receives
ballot papers and information brochures for each vote (and can send it back by post). Switzerland has a
direct democracy system and votes are organised about four times a year.
Main article:
Direct democracy
See also:
Politics of Switzerland and
Voting in Switzerland
[h=5]Principles[/h] Direct democracy is a political system where the citizens participate in the decision-making personally, contrary to relying on intermediaries or representatives. The supporters of direct democracy argue that democracy is more than merely a procedural issue. A direct democracy gives the voting population the power to:
- Change constitutional laws,
- Put forth initiatives, referendums and suggestions for laws,
- Give binding orders to elective officials, such as revoking them before the end of their elected term, or initiating a lawsuit for breaking a campaign promise.
[h=5]Examples[/h] Direct democracy only exists in the
Swiss cantons of
Appenzell Innerrhoden and
Glarus.[SUP]
[71][/SUP] The
Swiss confederation is a semi-direct democracy (representative democracy with instruments of direct democracy).[SUP]
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Most western countries have representative systems.[SUP]
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Switzerland is a rare example of a country with instruments of direct democracy (at the level of the towns,
cantons and
federal state). Citizens have more power than in a representative democracy. At the federal level, citizens can propose changes to the constitution (
federal popular initiative) or ask for a
referendum to be held on any law voted by the
parliament.[SUP]
[71][/SUP] Between January 1995 and June 2005, Swiss citizens voted 31 times, to answer 103 questions (during the same period, French citizens participated in only two referendums).[SUP]
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[h=4]Representative[/h] Main article:
Representative democracy
Representative democracy involves the election of government officials by the people being represented. If the head of state is also
democratically elected then it is called a democratic
republic.[SUP]
[72][/SUP] The most common mechanisms involve election of the candidate with a majority or a
plurality of the votes.
Representatives may be elected or become diplomatic representatives by a particular district (or
constituency), or represent the entire electorate through
proportional systems, with some using a combination of the two. Some representative democracies also incorporate elements of direct democracy, such as
referendums. A characteristic of representative democracy is that while the representatives are elected by the people to act in the people's interest, they retain the freedom to exercise their own judgement as how best to do so. Such reasons have driven criticism upon representative democracy,[SUP]
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[74][/SUP] pointing out the contradictions of representation mechanisms' with democracy[SUP]
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[h=5]Parliamentary[/h] Main article:
Parliamentary system
Parliamentary democracy is a representative democracy where government is appointed by, or can be dismissed by, representatives as opposed to a "presidential rule" wherein the president is both head of state and the head of government and is elected by the voters. Under a parliamentary democracy, government is exercised by delegation to an executive ministry and subject to ongoing review, checks and balances by the legislative parliament elected by the people.[SUP]
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Parliamentary systems have the right to dismiss a Prime Minister at any point in time that they feel he or she is not doing their job to the expectations of the legislature. This is done through a Vote of No Confidence where the legislature decides whether or not to remove the Prime Minister from office by a majority support for his or her dismissal.[SUP]
[81][/SUP] In some countries, the Prime Minister can also call an election whenever he or she so chooses, and typically the Prime Minister will hold an election when he or she knows that they are in good favour with the public as to get re-elected. In other parliamentary democracies extra elections are virtually never held, a minority government being preferred until the next ordinary elections.
[h=5]Presidential[/h] Main article:
Presidential system
Presidential Democracy is a system where the public elects the president through free and fair elections. The president serves as both the head of state and head of government controlling most of the executive powers. The president serves for a specific term and cannot exceed that amount of time. Elections typically have a fixed date and aren't easily changed. The president has direct control over the cabinet, specifically appointing the cabinet members.[SUP]
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The president cannot be easily removed from office by the legislature, but he or she cannot remove members of the legislative branch any more easily. This provides some measure of
separation of powers. In consequence however, the president and the legislature may end up in the control of separate parties, allowing one to block the other and thereby interfere with the orderly operation of the state. This may be the reason why presidential democracy is not very common outside the Americas, Africa, and Central and Southeast Asia.[SUP]
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A
semi-presidential system is a system of democracy in which the government includes both a prime minister and a president. The particular powers held by the prime minister and president vary by country.[SUP]
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[h=5]Constitutional[/h] Main article:
Constitutional democracy
A constitutional democracy is a representative democracy in which the ability of the elected representatives to exercise decision-making power is subject to the
rule of law, and usually moderated by a constitution that emphasises the protection of the rights and freedoms of individuals, and which places constraints on the leaders and on the extent to which the will of the majority can be exercised against the rights of minorities (see
civil liberties).
In a constitutional democracy, it is possible for some large-scale decisions to
emerge from the many individual decisions that citizens are free to make. In other words, citizens can "vote with their feet" or "vote with their dollars", resulting in significant informal government-by-the-masses that exercises many "powers" associated with formal government elsewhere.
[h=4]Hybrid[/h] Some modern democracies that are predominately representative in nature also heavily rely upon forms of political action that are directly democratic. These democracies, which combine elements of representative democracy and direct democracy, are termed
hybrid democracies[SUP]
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semi-direct democracies. Examples include Switzerland and some
U.S. states, where frequent use is made of
referendums and
initiatives.
Although managed by a representative legislative body,
Switzerland allows for initiatives and referendums at both the local and federal levels. In the past 120 years less than 250 initiatives have been put to referendum. The populace has been conservative, approving only about 10% of the initiatives put before them; in addition, they have often opted for a version of the initiative rewritten by government.[SUP][
citation needed][/SUP]
In the
United States, no mechanisms of direct democracy exists at the federal level, but over half of the
states and many localities provide for citizen-sponsored ballot initiatives (also called "ballot measures", "ballot questions" or "propositions"), and the vast majority of states allow for referendums. Examples include the extensive use of
referendums in the US state of
California, which is a state that has more than 20 million voters.[SUP]
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In
New England Town meetings are often used, especially in rural areas, to manage local government. This creates a hybrid form of government, with a local
direct democracy and a state government which is representative. For example, most
Vermont towns hold annual town meetings in March in which town officers are elected, budgets for the town and schools are voted on, and citizens have an opportunity to speak and by heard on political matters.[SUP]
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