por Some of the types of democracy The most common are direct, representative, participatory, partial, presidential and parliamentary. The reason why there are so many divisions and subdivisions is because the way a democracy is run depends a lot on the type of government that is in place, be it president or monarch.
There are 10 main types of democracy. Among these are direct, participatory, social, representative, partial, parliamentary, constitutional, religious, authoritarian, and presidential democracy.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines democracy as «A government in which power is vested in and exercised by the people directly or indirectly, through a system of representation usually involving free elections.»
In other words, it is a government system that involves the people in decisions that concern the future of the country. Whether they are laws, reforms, among other things.
The word democracy comes from the Greek «demos» which means people and «kratos» which means power. Its history dates back to more than 700 years before Christ in ancient Greece; all men could participate in government decisions.
The 10 main types of democracy
Many years have passed since the first vestiges of democracy as a system of government. For this reason, democracy (although its essence and base is the same) has changed a bit in its implementation and has resulted in different types.
The democracy that applies today is called «modern democracy.»
1) Direct Democracy
This type of democracy is the closest to the oldest or “pure” democracy. In this type, all small decisions are in the hands of the inhabitants, without any intermediary.
In fact, decisions are most often submitted to public hearings, as is the case in Switzerland.
Not only are government decisions put to the vote; the people can propose laws. If the people get enough signatures, these laws will be put to a vote and can be implemented.
2) Representative Democracy
This type of democracy allows the people to have the right to vote to choose individuals who will represent them in parliament. They will decide what they believe is beneficial for the country on behalf of the people of that country.
They should be people trained to be able to represent the people that elected them. This type of democracy simplifies and streamlines things because you don’t have to consult everything with the people.
However, sometimes representatives can fail to adequately represent the interests of the people, which can lead to problems.
3) Participatory Democracy
It is very similar to direct democracy but with more limitations. In this type of government, the people have participation, but in weighty votes.
For example, a law reform must be put to a vote. However, a tax increase will not.
A hallmark feature is that it doesn’t matter how big or small the decision is; each inhabitant votes for himself. That is, they do not have a senior figure who votes on behalf of various people or communities.
4) Partial Democracy
Also called non-liberal democracy, it is one in which the basic democratic principles are given but the knowledge and power of the people is limited in terms of many decisions made by the executive.
Government activities remain somewhat isolated from the knowledge of the people. Therefore, the rulers can act for themselves, without having the duty to render accounts to the people.
5) Presidential Democracy
In this type of democracy, there is a differentiation between the legislative and executive system. The president does not depend on a parliament, nor on assembly members.
Although the decisions of the majority of the parliament should be respected, the president can decide to veto or accept the law or the reform.
In presidential democracy, the head of state and government is only the president. In this type of case, the citizens vote directly for the president and, on the other hand, they also vote directly for the legislative representatives.
6) Constitutional Democracy
It is the majority of the cases of the republics of today. Basically it is a democracy that bases its power on the laws written in the constitution.
It cannot be influenced by external factors, impartialities or political parties. Absolutely all decisions must be attached to the constitution and in the case of not being so, a reform process must be endorsed by citizens or members of parliament.
7) Parliamentary Democracy
This type of democracy is usually part of a representative democracy. Suffrage is used to elect parliamentarians.
They will deal with government decisions and may even elect the president/chancellor/head of government as is the case in Germany.
It differs from representative democracy because the citizens leave the choice of executive power in the hands of parliamentarians.
It is usually characterized by having a head of state and a head of government. In most cases, the former is a monarch and the latter is a prime minister.
8) Social Democracy
This type of democracy, also called Social Democracy, mixes the political system with the economic one. It can be part of a participatory, representative or parliamentary democracy.
Canada is a parliamentary democracy considered a social democrat. Social democracy seeks that the state can be equal to or more powerful than the economic elites.
Thus the people can depend on it without having to go to private institutions. Characteristics of this type of democracies can be free medical service, compulsory and free education, etc.
9) Authoritarian Democracy
It is one in which the governmental authority can be extended beyond what is necessary and has the right to regulate many economic, social and cultural aspects. It can happen many times under the system of partial democracy.
Usually this type of authoritarianism is noticed when a dominant party or an economic coalition regulates the decisions in its favor; while they still comply with the basic principles of democracy such as suffrage, freedom of expression, etc.
10) Religious Democracy
This type of democracy is one that mixes the political system with religion. That is, government decisions are influenced by the religion of the country or ruler.
In fact, the country that has this type of democracy can be considered a “religious state”. Israel is a parliamentary religious democracy, as it has been proclaimed a Jewish state.
The decisions of religious democracies should be attached more than to the constitution to the customs and traditions of the practicing religion. Failing that, it should then have a constitution that is based on religion.
References
Patil, V (2016) “What are the different types of democracy?” Retrieved on July 12, 2017 from scienceabc.com
“Types of democracy ” Retrieved on July 12, 2017 from governmentvs.com
“Different systems of democracy” Retrieved on July 12, 2017 from democracy-building.info
«Switzerland’s political system of direct democracy» Retrieved on July 12, 2017 from direct-democracy.geschichte-schweiz.ch
(2015) “What is a parliamentary democracy?” Retrieved on July 12, 2017 from borgenproject.org
Center for civic education «Constitutional democracy» Retrieved on July 12, 2017 from civiced.org
“What is the Difference Between a Representative Democracy and a Participatory Democracy?” Retrieved on July 12, 2017 from wisegeek.org
(2017) “Different forms of democracy” Retrieved on July 12, 2017 from ukessays.com
«Authoritarianism and democracy» Retrieved on July 12, 2017 from en.wikipedia.org.