module 4-5 Flashcards
what is democracy?
Democracyliterally means “rule by the people,” from the Greek worddemos(people) andkratos(rule). Ideally, it means that the ultimate source of political power is the people, based on the belief that they have the capacity to know and decide what is best for them. Simply put, democracy promotes the free and fair participation of people in the affairs of government.
how did democracy arise?
In early Europe, liberal democracy emerged against the backdrop of the absolute control of the Church, the Holy Roman Empire, and feudalism.
what do western liberals emphasize?
Western liberal democracy emphasizes individual freedom, a limited role of government in private lives, the rule of law, and the periodic election of the people’s representatives in government. These values constitute the core of Western liberal democracy
what kind of a system is democracy?
It is a system of governance that includes the participation of most adults in society through voting. This sounds like a simple idea, but winning and maintaining democracy is not an easy task.
Those who live in democratic societies such as Canada often take democracy for granted. There is often low voter turnout for elections in Canada, which some say indicates our complacency with democracy. Around the world, on the other hand, democracy as an ideal has motivated many resistance movements where campaigners for democracy were imprisoned or killed.
types of democracy?
direct democracy, representative democracy, and deliberative democracy.
describe direct democracy
of adirect democracycomes from ancient Greece and is nearly unused in the modern world. However, in Alberta we have a living example of direct democracy in the governance system of Alberta’s eight Métis settlements. Their system is structured in a way that ensures individual members of settlements can participate directly in their government’s decision-making processes. For instance, when a settlement council brings forward a bylaw motion, members of the community must give their consent in order for it to pass. This is quite a unique system.
describe representative democracy?
Representative democracy is the type of democracy we are most familiar with in Canada. It basically entails the election of an individual to represent our interests in the legislature, rather than people individually representing their interests themselves, as is the case in direct democracies. For instance, in Canada we elect a Member of Parliament to represent us in the House of Commons. Likewise, in the United States voters elect members to the House of Representatives and to the Senate to represent their interests. Any system in which another person is elected to represent the interests and views of a group of people is an example of representative democracy.
describe deliberative democracy
This is an approach that considers democracy to be primarily about people discussing issues that affect them, not just voting. In some instances, this includes the use of bodies that advise governments. These bodies are known as citizen’s juries or citizen’s assemblies. These bodies advise elected bodies such as provincial legislatures on specific issues such as reforming the electoral system, poverty, employment, and education. Your text gives several instances of citizen’s juries or assemblies in deliberative democracies. If you want to learn more about deliberative democracy, you are being provided some online resources below. However, watching the video and reading the project report are not mandatory activities
why do states and governments exist?
states and governments exist to establish structure or predictable patterns of social relationships. But the patterns of authority that govern decision making could differ from country to country and change in some ways over time. Nonetheless, all states and governments perform similar primary functions, such as making and implementing important decisions for the society, allocating and distributing public goods, and protecting communities from internal and external threats.
describe a state government relationship
view government as a captain that determines the direction of the “ship of state.” All ships have a relatively permanent structure to enable them to function. Similarly, the state is the more permanent political and administrative entity; it has a defined territory, permanent population, government, sovereignty, and capacity to enter into relations with other states.
does government only take on one form?
Although the captain of the ship is necessary, it is not required that the captain be the same all the time. In like manner, a government, which takes on a great number of forms, is not permanent.
what is government
Government is a set of institutions or a group of people that has the primary tasks of making, enforcing, and interpreting or adjudicating rules.
The termnationrefe
what does the term nation refer to
The termnationrefers to a community of people who have a sense of common identity based on ethnicity, language, culture, and history. Unlike the state, in which the basis of identity among the people could be territorial, political, or administrative, a nation’s identity is largely based on shared social and cultural characteristics. It is, therefore, possible that a nation may not have a government or may not necessarily be in a geographically delimited territory of its own.
describe identity
The idea of a nationality is an ambiguous one, for it is human nature to organize ourselves according to our clan or family first, building outwards into more tenuous links to a wider community. In smaller countries, such as Denmark, Norway, or The Netherlands, this could be based upon ideas of a common language, but even then there are overlaps in these as they evolved from common roots.
summary
Government A group of people + institutions to govern the people
Nation A group of people sharing a sense of common identity
State A group of people with institutions to make rules to govern the people and territory (people + territory + sovereignty)
