For direct democracy to work properly, we propose three sets of principles. The first set is concerned with the proceedings underlying direct democratic decision-making. The second set of principles describes the importance for a citizen to express their will in an unbiased and unaltered way. The third set of principles addresses concerns about the tyranny of the majority over minorities.
Questions of proceedings: the choice of the right proceedings to enact direct democratic decision is crucial for the legitimacy and credibility of a popular decision. Since direct democracy is a check on representative democracy, the call for a vote either through an initiative or a referendum should be initiated within the population and not with the government or parliament. Citizens may exercise the option through the collection of a predetermined number of signatures within a specific time span.
In the context of vertical division of power, an initiative may also be sponsored by governments of lower units of that federal structure to request changes to legislation at the higher government level. In the context of the EU for instance, that may be one or several member states. Ultimate sovereign power in a democracy lies either with parliament e. UK or the voting population e. In countries where parliament is sovereign, there is no point in calling the citizens to vote on a matter, because their voice is explicitly delegated to parliament.
If the voting population is sovereign, then citizens should also be sovereign to decide on what matters to call a vote and when and how often. Allowing parliament or government to decide on what matters citizens should have a say is hence inconsistent with the notion of a sovereign people, therefore also inconsistent with direct democracy.
It almost necessarily leads to problematic manoeuvres. If confidence in the executive government depended on approval of a proposition by the voters, often called plebiscites, referenda are likely to be used as a political tool. Plebiscitary referenda ask two separate questions: 1 do you support proposal X?
These questions may be answered differently by some voters but they can only be answered with a single yes or no. Plebiscitary votes are therefore also problematic because they do not allow voters to express their true and unadulterated will see principle 5.
Top-down referendums called by the executive or legislative body, give ruling politicians additional power over citizens. The fact that such plebiscites are often not legally binding but rather consultative underscores the asymmetry of this type of popular vote and enhances the risk of political manoeuvres.
It is no surprise hence that more autocratic regimes use plebiscites to salvage changes in legislation that often reinforce the power of the ruling elite, as recently in the case of constitutional amendments in Turkey.
Complements to the bottom-up nature of direct democracy are mandatory referendums that are automatically triggered over the introduction of specified legislation such as constitutional amendments or specific international treaties.
Like with bottom-up referenda and initiatives, it is beyond the decision of the executive or the legislative branch of government to call a vote. If the voting population is sovereign, then it should also be able to reverse a decision or just make an updated decision at any point of time.
The gain in popular participation in political decisions remains delusive. Repeated referenda are not a weakness of direct democracy, but an indication of a lively political process. Direct democracy is a political tool that citizens have to grow into. Civil society organizations and political parties need to incorporate this additional political check of the populace into their strategies. To reduce the risk of misuse and to allow citizens to acquaint with this political instrument, direct democratic instruments are best first implemented at the subnational government level.
That could be town, municipality, local government, state, or provincial-level government. Introducing direct democratic instruments at the subnational level has another crucial advantage: it allows for a comparison and even competition of different instruments across jurisdictions.
The ancient Greeks were the first to create a democracy. Democracy is the idea that the citizens of a country should take an active role in the government of their country and manage it directly or through elected representatives. In addition, it supports the idea that the people can replace their government through peaceful transfers of power rather than violent uprising or revolution.
Thus, a key part of democracy is that the people have a voice. The first known democracy in the world was in Athens. Athenian democracy developed around the fifth century B. The Greek idea of democracy was different from present-day democracy because, in Athens, all adult citizens were required to take an active part in the government.
If they did not fulfill their duty they would be fined and sometimes marked with red paint. Women, children, and slaves were not considered citizens and therefore could not vote. Each year names were chosen from all the citizens of ancient Athens. Those citizens had to actively serve in the government for one year.
During that year, they were responsible for making new laws and controlled all parts of the political process. When a new law was proposed, all the citizens of Athens had the opportunity to vote on it. To vote, citizens had to attend the assembly on the day the vote took place. This form of government is called direct democracy.
The people have little voice in government. Everything here is the same as it is in Athens. Olympic games, the poems of Homer, and Hellenistic culture are associated with which ancient civilization?
China under the Han dynasty and the Roman Empire were similar in that both grew wealthy because they 1 developed extensive trade networks 2 created classless societies 3 encouraged democratic ideals 4 established free-market economies -- None -- 1 A valid conclusion drawn from these facts is that Roman women 1 had the right to vote 2 enjoyed some legal rights 3 were equal to men 4 could hold political offices -- None -- 2 Which civilization first developed a civil service system, invented gunpowder, and manufactured porcelain?
Confucianism had a strong impact on the development of China mainly because this philosophy 1 established a basic structure for military rule 2 provided a basis for social order 3 contained the framework for a communist government 4 stressed the importance of the individual -- None -- 2 This article was automatically imported from our old content management system. If you see any display errors, please let us know: community-feedback swissinfo.
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