Democracy is type of political administration in which the governing individuals of a country are voted in by the people (Dahl, 2003). The people have basically equal say when it comes to making the laws that govern their country. In addition, democracy goes to the extent of allowing the society to overrule verdicts that have been passed by the legislative body. These verdicts may revolve around economy, social and cultural factors (Dahl, 2003).
For a nation to be termed as democratic, it should have fundamental civil liberties for all kinds of people residing in that nation, and distinction of authorities between the organizations of the country. These organizations are usually the judiciary, legislature and the executive.
A democratic government should also have liberty of expression; this means that all the individuals should be allowed to air their thoughts. Furthermore, it should put the interest of the society without favoritism first. At the appropriate age, the citizens should be allowed to choose their representative through a fair election. Lastly, every citizen should be allowed to worship in whichever manner they wish as long as there will not be a conflict of interest. All these factors should be written down in a constitution of that particular state (Arendt, 1993).
Currently, there is proof of democracy in United States of America. From the 2008 elections, we realize that every citizen had an equal right to vote for their desired representative of the state. Apart from that, the elections were fair and free from fraud or any irregularities. In thee U.S constitution, there is a bill of right which ensures that every citizen is treated fairly by corporations or other fellow citizens (William, 1962).
There are various kinds of democracy. The three main types of democracy are: semi direct, direct, and indirect democracy. Other types of democratic systems stem from these three. Direct democracy is a type of democracy in which the citizens contribute directly in the decision making processes of a nation. Besides, the citizens influence the executive, legislative and judicial powers of a country without the use of intermediaries. In the indirect democracy, ruling is done by the use of an elected body to act as their representative.
On the other hand, the semi direct democracy is a type of democracy which contains both the rudiments of direct and indirect democracy. A good example of semi direct democracy is deliberative; this is a type of democracy which combines both the direct and representative components (Arthur, 1996).
In indirect democracy, representatives are not chosen by the society but are haphazardly selected from the community. The best examples of indirect democracy are the representative and the parliamentary types of democracy. Representative is a type of democracy in which societies choose a body which makes implementations and decisions on behalf of the society.
On the other hand, parliamentary democracy is the one which the country’s rulers are elected by the members of parliament (Arthur, 1996). United States of America has a representative type of democracy; the state elects a body of people who represents the entire society in matters relating to their interests such as political, economical, culture and social (Dahl, 2003).
In conclusion, there are many other types of democracy not discussed here. They include cosmopolitan, religious, Supranational, Consensus, social and inclusive democracy. Democracy is not only political; it involves all factors that affect an individual in a nation (Dahl, 2003). Such other factors may be related to education, health and corporate governance.
References
Arendt, H. L. (1993). What is Freedom? Between Past and Future: Eight Exercises in Political Thought. New York: Penguin.
Arthur, W. C. (1996). Liberisation and the problem of knowledge: A New Rhetoric for Modern Democracy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Dahl, R. A. (2003). The Democracy Sourcebook. Chicago: MIT.
William, R. H. (1962). The Theory of Political Coalition. New York: Yale University press.