Democracy is a form of government in which people exercise control over public decisions and those who make them, directly or through chosen representatives. Its central principles are popular control and political equality. More broadly, democratic procedures can govern associations, workplaces, and other organizations, not only a state. Definitions differ in the importance they assign to elections, participation, deliberation, and individual rights. (plato.stanford.edu)
Origins and historical development
The word derives from the Greek dēmos, meaning people, and kratos, meaning power or rule. In ancient Greece, Athens developed a prominent democratic system during the fifth century BCE. Eligible citizens participated directly in an assembly that debated and decided public matters. Women, enslaved people, resident foreigners, and children were excluded from political participation. Athenian democracy therefore combined direct citizen government with a restricted political community, unlike the inclusive citizenship associated with modern democratic principles. (coe.int)
Modern representative arrangements developed in a different institutional setting. By the late eighteenth century, democracy was increasingly associated with citizens choosing representatives who governed on their behalf and remained accountable to them. Representation made democratic government possible beyond the scale of face-to-face assemblies, while introducing questions about how citizens could effectively control elected officials. (pace.coe.int)
The expansion of suffrage became a major dimension of democratization. Voting rights and eligibility for office did not always expand together: New Zealand enfranchised women in parliamentary elections in 1893, but women became eligible to stand for Parliament in 1919. Such differences distinguish the right to authorize representatives from the right to become a representative. (coe.int)
Principal forms
In direct democracy, citizens decide public questions themselves rather than leaving all decisions to representatives. Modern instruments include a referendum, in which voters decide a submitted question, and citizen initiatives that can place proposed measures before voters. These mechanisms can coexist with elected legislatures; direct and representative elements are not necessarily alternatives. (pace.coe.int)
In representative democracy, citizens elect officials to deliberate, legislate, and govern. Democratic systems vary in their executive arrangements, territorial organization, and electoral rules. They may be parliamentary or presidential, employ federalism or a unitary structure, and use proportional or majoritarian voting systems. Democracy can also coexist with constitutional monarchy. (coe.int)
Participatory democracy emphasizes involvement beyond periodically selecting officeholders. Deliberative democracy emphasizes discussion in which participants exchange reasons, consider competing claims, and examine matters of common concern. These approaches address different dimensions of democratic practice and can supplement representative institutions rather than replace them. (plato.stanford.edu)
Institutions and political rights
Elections provide authorization for representatives, but public control also depends on what happens between elections. International IDEA identifies participation, authorization, representation, accountability, transparency, responsiveness, and solidarity as values connecting democratic principles with institutional practice. Representation concerns whether public institutions reflect the citizen body; responsiveness concerns whether public decisions attend to articulated public needs. (idea.int)
Political accountability involves officials answering to citizens and to institutions capable of scrutinizing their conduct. Legislatures, courts, ombudsmen, and other watchdog bodies can perform this function. Transparency makes decisions and actions open to examination. These arrangements connect the formal authority granted through elections with continuing oversight of how that authority is exercised. (idea.int)
Human rights provide an international framework for political participation. Adopted by the United Nations on December 10, 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states in Article 21 that everyone has the right to participate in government directly or through freely chosen representatives. It also specifies periodic, genuine elections, universal and equal suffrage, and secret voting or equivalent procedures protecting free choice. Articles 19 and 20 recognize freedom of expression and peaceful assembly and association. (un.org)
Collective decisions and democratic theory
Democratic decision-making does not necessarily mean unrestricted majority rule. Majority voting is one method of resolving disagreement, but a political system must also determine whose votes count, which questions can be decided, and how decisions affect minorities. Political equality can mean formally equal votes or extend to opportunities to influence discussion and the political agenda. (plato.stanford.edu)
In political philosophy, theories distinguish procedural definitions from justifications of democracy. Some justify democratic arrangements through their expected consequences; others emphasize equal standing, freedom, or public justification. Deliberative theories examine how discussion can shape preferences rather than merely aggregate them. Questions about citizens’ knowledge, unequal influence, and the division of work between citizens and representatives remain established subjects of democratic theory. (plato.stanford.edu)
Assessment and democratic quality
Democracy assessment examines institutional practice rather than relying solely on a country’s official description. International IDEA’s framework groups democratic performance into representation, rights, rule of law, and participation. Its assessment materials examine citizenship, legal protections, elections, political parties, legislative effectiveness, government responsiveness, and civilian control of military and police institutions. (idea.int)
Assessment also encompasses civil society, media, and popular participation. Consequently, holding elections is only one part of a broader institutional inquiry. A system may exhibit different levels of performance across representation, rights, legal accountability, and participation; examining these dimensions separately identifies distinctions that a single democratic or nondemocratic label may obscure. (idea.int)