democracy and participation

Question 1

what is direct democracy?

Answer 1

in which individuals express their opinions themselves. such a system would not be pravtical as a regular means of decision-making in a large modern state.

Question 2

what is a representative democracy?

Answer 2

which people elect represntatives who take decisions on their behalf. This is the usual form of democracy in the modern world. Representatives do not act as delegates, merely taking instructions from the voters. They are expected to exercise their judgements. If they do not satisfy the voters, they can be held to account and removed at the next election

Question 3

characteristics of direct democracy

Answer 3

• individuals express opinions tehmselves
• not elective
• citizens are more active in decision-making

Question 4

characteristics of Representative democracy

Answer 4

• citizens elect representatives to make decisions on their behalf
• all adult citizens have the right to vote for representatives
• citizens pass their authority to their representatives

Question 5

advantages of direct democracy?

Answer 5

• gives equal weight to all votes, unlike a respresentative 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 resposbility for their own decisions
• develops a sense of community and encourages genuine debate

Question 6

disadvantages of direct democracy

Answer 6

• 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 poltical activists decide what happens.
• open to manipulation by the cleverest and most articulate speakers, who will persuade people to support their viewpoint.
• will of the majority is not mediated by parliamentary institutions, so minority viewpoints are disregarded

Question 7

advantages of representative democracy

Answer 7

• The only pratical system in a large modern state, where issues are complex and often need rapid response (for example, the deployment of troops)
• politicians form parties, bringing coherence and giving people a real choice of representative. pressure groups form to respresent different interests, promoting debate and ecouraging pluralist democarcy
• reduces chances of minority rights being overriden by ‘tyranny of the majoirty’
• 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

Question 8

disadvantages of represesntative democracy

Answer 8

• may lead to reduced participation as people choose to hand repsonsbility to politicians
• parties and pressure groups are often run by elites pursuing their own agendas, not truly respresenting the people
• minorities may still find themselves undre-represented 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 theri party before resposbility to the electorate

Question 9

2015 recall of MPs act

Answer 9

• This allows a petition to be triggered if an MP is sentenced to be imprisoned or is suspended from the House of commons (HOC) for more thena 21 days If 10% of eligible voters in the constituency sign the petitoon, a by-election is called. Direct democracy is thus used to hold respresentatives to account

Question 10

what are some positive demcoratic features

Answer 10

• devolved governmetns
  -free and fair elections
• independent judicary
• wide range of poltical parties and pressure groups
• free media