c) Politicalsystemsmay be organizedin a democraticmanner
Democracy- Greekdemos(people)kratia(rule).It meansa stateruledby the consentof its people.
Briefly identify the major types,characteristics,and featuresof democraticsystems:
._t
Page 5
Types:
. Direct Democracy- A statein which all politicaldecisionsaremadeby all the qualifiedvoters,asin a
t.t
referendumor plebiscite.Thereareno democracies
thatrule exclusivelyby the useof directdemocracy.
I
a
(small
town
Emerged
in
the
its
and
surrounding
area)of AthensGreece.
"polis"
t
'I
r RepresentativeDemocracy- A statein whichthe legislativepowersaredelegatedby qualifiedvotersto
their representative
in a legislativebody,suchasparliament,senate,or congress.
Thepeoplecontrolthe
representatives
throughperiodicelections.ProportionalRqresenution meansthat the numberof
you getin powermatchthe%oof thevoteyou get.In Canadawe haveRepresenution
representatives
by
Population,meaningthat eachrepresentative
is electedby an equalnumberof votersin a specifiedregion.In
eachriding, thecandidatewith mostvoteswins.
. ParliamentaryDemocracy- Theexecutive(PrimeMinisterandCabinet)needsthe supportof the
parliament- or legislativebranchof government- to makelaws.ThePrimeMinisterhasno realpower
without his or her party'ssupport.Canadais an example.It is in contrastto the USA'seconomywhich gives
the presidenttheright to veto legislation,or France'swhich givesthepresidenta broadbaseof power
includingtherightto dissolveparliament
. PresidentialDemocracy- A politicalsystemin whichanelectedoffrcial,usuallythepresident,
wieldsthe
constitutionalpower.ExamplesaretheUSA, France,andMexico.It's alsocalledRepublicanDemooaq.
:
Characteristics/features
. Majority rule - Democracies
follow thedecisionmakingpolicyof whicheverdecisionis supported
by a
majoritybeingadopted.It is fifty percentplusone.It is not a synonymfor democracy.Onedrawbackof
democracyis the "Tyrannyof the Majority" which meansthatthe minoritycanbe deprivedof their rights
suchastheblacksin Americain thepast.
. Citizen participation - DirectDemocracies
providefor themostcitizenparticipationasthey areallowedto
voteon eachdecision.Representative
give citizensthe rightsto participatein the process
democracies
r whenevertheyelecttheirrepresentative.
Citizenscanalsobeinvolvedin majordecisions
throughvotingfor
'
plebiscites,referendums,
representativis.
speakingout throughthemedia,andlobby goups.
. Accountabilityof governmentto the peoples- In a democracy,
thegovernment
ruleswith theconsentof
thepeople.In a representative
democracywe canvoteour representatives
out if theydon'tpleaseus so they
areaccountable.
However,somepeoplebelievethatour politicianshavetheright to do astheypleaseonce
we votethemin.
. Minority rights - Thetruetestof a democracyis the guarantee
of minorityrights.Theseareoftenreferred
to aspolitical rightssinceeveryoneshouldhavethemin a democracy.
Minority rightsareprotectedby the
constitutionsanddocuments suchasCanada's
"Charterof fughtsandFreedoms"- in democracies.
In order
to operateeffectively,democracies
andcompromisewith minorities.If minority
needto useconsensus
rightsareignoredtheymayrejectthe lawsmadeby themajority.The ryrannyof thernajoriry is a
phenomena
that occurswhenthe majorityrule discriminates
againstthe minoritygroups.
. Guaranteeof individual rights and freedoms- Minority rightsareprotectedby the constitutionsof
democracies.
The constitutionsof democracies
oftenhavespecificsectionsdevotedto outliningthe rights
andfreedomsof citizens.
. Opposition - Democracies
allow for the freeandopencompetitionfor poweramong variousindividuals
andgroups.In a parliamentarysystemsuchasCanada,the largestpartythat doesnot form a governmentis
calledthe Official Opposition.
. Limits on dissent- Peoplecandissentor disagreein a democracy
aslong astheyfollow the lawsof the
nation.
. Provision for changesto the system- Democracies
usuallyhaveamendingformulasthat enablethemto
'': \ changetheir constitution.Theseamendingformulasinvolvedemocraticprocesses.
Political parties - Democracies
lr,J
usuallyhavepoliticalpartieswhichareorganizations
formedto represent
goals
policies.
parties
certainstated
ln Canadaour main
arethe Liberals,Progressive
and
Conservatives,
Paget
parties
In
are
Republicans
main
the
and
and
Bloc
the
Reform
Party
USA
the
New Democrats,
Quebecois.
the Democrats.The partieswith fewerinterestsandlimited supportarecalledfringeparties.
d) PoliticalSystemsmay be organizedin a dictatorialmanner
.l
U'l
political
Dictatorship - A systemof political organizationin whichtherightsof thosewho do not possess
person
group
possessing
on
or
powerarenot guaranteed.
Theycanbe classifiedin differentwaysbased the
in Egypt.
Theterm
werein 3000BCbythePharaohs
power:autocracy,oligarchy,or majoritytyranny.Thefirstdictatorships
republic
whentheRoman
todealwithnational
emergencies;
created
wasusedin'ancient
Rome
where
it refened
toaposition
dictator
powers
withabsolute
to solveit.
theywouldappoint
wasthreatened
by warorcrisis,
someone
and featuresof Dictatorships:
Briefly identify the major types,characteristics,
arepolitical systemsin whichthe right of thosenot in powerarenot
Types of Dictatorships:(dictatorships
guaranteed).
. Autocracy - Thetypeof political systemwhereall poweris heldby onepersonor an autocrat.Autocratic
actionsarethosewhich do not takeinto accountthe.opinionsof thepeople,only thoseof the leader.Tsarist
Russiawasan autocraticstate.
. Oligarchy - A form of dictatorialgovemmentconductedandcontrolledby a relativelyfew influential
members.Most dictatorshipsareactuallyoligarchies.For example,the Politburoof the formerUSSR
basicallycontrolledthe communistpartyandthe entirenation.
. Majority Tyranny - A form of dictatorshipwherethemajorityhaspolitical poweranddoesnothingto
ensurethe.politicalrightsof the non-majority.SomeMiddle Easternnationsareexamples.The majorityof
the populationis Islamic,andthe Islamicreligionis reflectedin the nation'slawswhich do not respectthe
rightsof the minority.
\
. Minority Tyranny - A conditionin whichthe ruling minorityunlawfullyoppresses
the majoritygroup. \
SouthAfrica usedto be an example.
. AbsoluteMonarchy - Absolutepoweris that which hasno limits placedon it, thus,the monarchhastotal
controloverthe nationandperformsall four functionsof govemment.For example,SaudiArabiais ruled
by King Fahd.
. Military Dictatorship - Whenthe military leadersrun the countrywith total power.For example,Haiti was
is oftenhow military
controlledby its military. A'coup d'etat'(violentoverthrowof government)
govemmentsgainpower.
Characteristics/features:
. Authoritarian - A political systemin which oneperson,eithera monarchor a dictator,assumes
total
justification
constitutionalpowerunderhis or herauthority.An authoritarianpolitical authorityplacesthe
justiff their powerthroughthe supportof the people.Hitler andthe
for powerin itself, whereasdemocracies
Nazi'sin Germanywerean example.
. Totalitarian - A political systemwhich triesto maximizestateor govemmentcontroloverthe actionsof its
individuals.An authoritariangovernmentbecomestotalitarianwhenit bansall opposition,andthe citizens
surrendertheir civil rightsto the ruling dictator,ruler,or party.Moderntotalitarianstatesaredifferentthan
pastnon-democratic
theyindoctrinatepeopleto their ideology.Stalinof the USSRwasa
statesbecause
totalitarianruler.
, Useof Force - The dictatorialtechniqueusedto gainacceptance
of govemmentpolicies.Associatedwith
terrorandthe threatof force.Usedprimarilyto gainpowerandeliminateopposition.A "coupd'etat" is a
violent or illegal changein govemment,andis an exampleof how dictatorialgovemmentssometimesgain
power.For example,Chinausedthe military to violentlystopa peacefulstudentsprotest.
11
.
ft.
.
.
.
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Control of Media - Dictatorial and Authoritarian governmentscontrol the media. The media is usedto
spreadpropagandathat indoctrinatesthe population to the government'sideology to the exclusion or
detriment of other ideas.
Controlled Participation - The dictatorial techniquewhich directs and controls citizens activities in order
to maintain control and give the people a senseof belongingas well as a senseof contributing to the
decision making process.In the former Soviet Union , the election processwas an example; in Nazi
Germany,the Hitler youth was also an example of this technique.
Limits of Dissent- Dissentis the actof disagreeing
with the majorityor governmentactions.It is usually
peacefulbut canbecomeviolent.In dictatorships,
dissentis not permitted.
to the peoplethat elected
electedoffrcialsareaccountable
Accountability of Government- In democracies,
the govemmentis usuallyaccountable
to no one.
them.In dictatorships,
Provisionfor changesto the system- Only the authoritarianleaderscanchangethe system,but the leaders
can make changeswithout the consentof the people.