Democracy Dissertation Example

Free Democracy Dissertation Example

Name: Instructor: Course: Date: Direct Democracy versus Representative Democracy Introduction Direct democracy can be defined as a type of democracy which involves citizens in voting and making decisions on various issues. In this situation, all bills, laws and court decisions are voted by the public. Direct democracy dates as early as the ancient Athens and is used in modern Switzerland. Contrary, representative democracy occurs where people decide through electing members who make laws that direct state operations; it is the opposite of direct democracy. This kind of democracy is evident in Canada and Britain. According to the ancient meaning, democracy refers to the capability of the people in the sense of doing things. In this regard, the original meaning of democracy had no inherent authority to people. Currently, democracy is more concerned with the voting rights of the people with the aim of establishing the will of the majority. Therefore, it refers to a government system by the entire population or suitable members through elected representatives. Initiatives are passed laws drafted by voters and enacted by citizens in absence of state legislature. Additionally, citizens may draft a policy, propose it by petition and finally submitted to the legislature to decide whether to decide or not. Advantages of initiative procedures It is claimed that existence of initiative procedures acts as control system on the legislature activities. In any system where initiative procedures must be followed, legislators are required to introduce measures and reforms to avoid the application of an initiative on any particular issue. Researchers in the US have established that states that embrace the application of initiative procedures are more likely to introduce governance improvement policies. Therefore, initiative processes make legislatures more responsive as opposed to its absence. Disadvantages One of the most cited drawbacks of citizen’s initiati...