Democracy is the political system in which power is shared among the people and not concentrated in a single person. The word democracy comes from the Greek words demos and kratos which means “people” and “power”.
A democratic government seeks to satisfy its citizens through good governance. It is not arbitrary and has the power to be changed through periodic elections.
It is a fair system that prevents abuse of power and upholds the fundamental human rights of all. It also promotes the rule of law and encourages citizens to be free from tyranny.
In a democracy, all people have the right to vote in elections. This gives people a sense of belongingness and helps them in deciding the best way to run their country.
There are many benefits of a democratic system, but there are some disadvantages too. One of the main disadvantages is that people may not be aware of all the political issues in their society and hence make wrong choices during election.
Another disadvantage is that the people who are governing their country are subjected to change after every term of election, which makes it difficult for them to work for the interests of the people. This causes them to focus on short-term goals and not long-term ones.
These problems can be rectified by involving the people in the decision-making process and making them feel proud and enthused about the development of their nation. This is why democracy has been praised and encouraged by most of the world.
Various forms of democracy exist such as: Nested Council, Participatory Polity and Consensus Democracy.
In a nested council, the local citizen body is advised by experts but the final decision-making process is based on the needs and desires of the community at large. Authority is delegated to delegates who sit in higher level councils, such as regional or confederal councils.
The delegates must have specific mandates and are always recallable by the citizen body. This form of democratization is believed to give minorities the freedom they need to express themselves and their views without fear of reprisal from the majority population.
It is a participative form of politics where decisions are based on multi-option preference votes. Policies are enacted when they gain sufficient support from the people.
This form of democratization is not always ideal because it requires a lot of time and energy for the process to be completed. This is because the process of passing a policy and formulating it requires a long period of discussion between concerned people.
This form of democratization is a major advantage for countries that are poor. They can use this type of governmental system to develop their economy and provide quality services to the citizens of their country.