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Nature of Democracy (Legitimacy (Power: the ability of an individual or a…
Nature of Democracy
Legitimacy
Legitimacy: the right of an individual or body to be recognised and to have the right to exercise power. In democratic countries, legitimacy is normally conveyed by an election.
Legitimacy means the 'right to govern' and to 'make laws', which will be enforced and respected by the people. A legitimate government will be widely recognised.
Power: the ability of an individual or a body to force others to do something they might not otherwise do. Power has three levels:
Coercion, which means force, often physical.
Political power, involving the use of rewards and sanctions, legal authority and persuasion.
Influence, which means being able to affect how others act or think, but no force is involved.
In a democratic world, legitimacy is normally conferred by election. It could be argued that the UK government lacks legitimacy because it is elected on a minority of the national vote.
Authority: Like legitimacy, means the 'right to exercise power'. It is usually said to derive from three sources:
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Charisma: a person develops authority through the force of their personality and their ability to inspire.
Citizenship
The status of being a citizen grants them certain rights. This could be the right to vote, to stand for office, to be granted a fair trial and be treated equally under the law.
Enjoys civil liberties. Freedom of Expression, movement, thought and association.
Carries certain obligations or duties, for example to obey the law, pay taxes, possibly military conscription.
'Active Citizenship' is a theory developed by Labour in the 1990s and continued by the Conservatives in 2010 through the 'Big Society' which states an obligation is to be politically active.
What is Democracy?
Definition: Any system of government where the people have access to independant information and are able to influence the government decisions. It also implies that government makes itself accountable to the people. Democracy can take a number of forms, such as direct and representative.
Features:
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People have open access to independant information, including free press and other media.
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Direct Democracy:
- People themselves make decisions, usually through referendums.
- People are direcly consulted on political decisions- this is also known as consultative democracy.
- People may take the initiavtive in creating political change.
Representative Democracy:
- People elect representatives.
- People don't make most decisions themselves, but trust their representative to do so.
- Political parties that represent different political views.
- Associations and pressure groups represent different sections of society, interests and causes.
- Representative assemblies that express the will of the people.
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