democracy and participation Flashcards
(36 cards)
democracy
system of governing, made for the people by the people
‘the people’
anyone over age of 18 (who can vote)
direct democracy
making a decision on one issue
majority wins
we decide what happens
representative democracy
people choose representatives to make the decisions on their behalf (elections)
we choose someone else to decide what happens
representation
assessing strength of democracy
social representation
race, religion, class, sexuality and gender
national interest
mp’s need to represent interests of nation as a whole and make decisions in the national interest which can conflict interests of people who voted for the mp’s
constituency representation
mp’s represents local area and will reflect wishes of locals that have any specific concerns
constituency
every citizen lives in one constituency with one mp elected
government representation
the people as a whole are represented by government led by a political party that seeks to represent all citizens
government represents whole nation
pressure groups
represent particular interests
educate public
hold government to account
often close to one political party
pluralist democracy
lots of influences on power, more than one centre of power
liberalism
we have a liberal democracy in the uk
governments ruled by consent of the people
peaceful transition of power
leadership of government hands over control to newly elected leadership
free and fair elections
political freedoms and fair processes leading up to the vote, all fair
widespread participation in politics
people can develop and express their opinions on the world and vote
freedom of expression and information
can have freedom to express yourself and access info
the rule of law
framework that undermines open, fair and peaceful societies where citizens and businesses can prosper
protection of rights and liberties
protection from freedom taken away
freedom of association
individuals right to join or leave groups voluntarily
a constitution
set of fundamental rules that determine how a country/ state is run
independent judiciary
concept that the judiciary should be independent from other branches of government
participation crisis
large proportion of population do not engage with political process
elective dictatorship
parliament is dominated by government