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Democracy and particiption - Coggle Diagram
Democracy and particiption
Direct democracy
-All individuals express their opinions, but not through representatives-Switzerland
Representative democracy
-People vote for a representative to express their opinions
Holds individuals to accountability
Today, direct democracy is in the form of a referendum-can legitimise political decisons like brexit
disadvantages of direct democracy
'tyranny of the majority', whereby the winning majority simply ignores the interests of the minority and imposes something detrimental on them
The people may be easily swayed by short-term, emotional appeals by charismatic individuals
some issues may be too complex for citizens to understand
advantages to direct democracy
Purest form of democracy
Fact that people are making a decision gives it great legitimacy
Can avoid delay
Advantages of representative democracy
Representatives can develop expertise to deal with matter the public does not know about
Representatives ca be held to account
Representatives have more time than the public to deal with complex matters
Disadvantages of representative democracy
Representatives may not act in the best interest
Difficut to hold representative to account between elections
Allowing voters to delegate responsibility to representatives can lead to the oublic disregarding from social issues and other responsibilities