politics and governance Flashcards
(18 cards)
democracy
a system where power lies within people who can vote to elect their leaders
direct democracy
where people gather to vote on every descision and law in a country
what is a referendum
a direct vote from the public on laws or issues
representative democracy
people elect individuals to represent them in descision making and running the country
strengths of democracy
- citizens get to help decide who runs the country
- citizens get to change who is in power if they are not happy
- changes happen peacefully
weaknesses of democracy
- majority wins so it may discriminate against minorities views
- protests are likely to start if citizens feel their voice isnt being heard
- descision malking takes a long time
direct democracy vs representative democracy
In direct democracies every vote is equal so its less likely for minorities to be ignore. In direct democracies its hard to assign accountability to specific people when bad descisions are made. Direct democracies are inefficient in large communities because its hard to gather everyone together,
direct democracy vs representative democracy
In a representative democracy, people in power work to favour the majority which could lead to minorities being ignored. It could also lead to corruption which is dishonest behaviour by people in power.
3 features of a nation state
- permenant population
- recognised currency
- clear territoral boundaries
whats a nation state
a country where the population has heritage, culture and language in common
challenges to sovereignty of nation states
effects of globalisation (countries becoming more connected and interdependent) leading to a loss of culture
effects of decentralisation
(power being passed down from national governements to regions)
groups that want independence reduce the collective power of the state
reigional groups
(countires coming together to form groups) means that some countries have had to give up their sovereignity.
full democracies
people are free to vote fairly and their rights are taken seriously by the government and legal system
flawed democracies
people are still allwowed to vote freely and fairly and their rights are respected but their is a lack of media freedom
Hybrid regimes
may be fraud in elections and corrupotion in ruling
Authotarian regimes
run by one indiviual or party, usually dictatorships or absolute monarchies where a king or queen rules
totaltarian
someone who has complete control and doesnt allow other to challenge them
dictator
a ruler who has complete power and has usually not been elected but taken control forcefully
