Direct & Representative Democracy

definition of direct democracy

citizens directly particpate in decision making

examples of direct democracy

referendums, citizen assemblies, petition

definition of representative democracy

citizens elect representatives to make decisions on their behalf

examples of representative democracy

parliamentary elections, local council elections

similarities between represenative and direct democracy

• reflect the will of the people

• involve voting as a key mechanism

• require active citizen participation

differences between representative and direct democracy

• DD citizens make decisions for themselves

  • RD citizens elect a representative to make decisions on their behalf

• DD is more feasible in small communities

  • RD is suited for larger, more complex societies

• DD accuntibility is more to the citizen

  • RD accountiblity is more on the representative

advantages and disadvantages of direct democracy

• impractical in large, complex societies

• risk of majority tyranny

• high level of political knowledge and engagement from citizens

• greater citizen involvement and empowerment

• reflect direct will of the people

• increased transparency and trust in political process

advantages and disadvantages of representative democracy

• disconnect between representative and the electorate

• risk of corruptions (or influence from other special intrest groups)

• citizens may feel less directly involved in decision making

• practical in large, diverse populations

• representative are experts in their fields

• more stable and continious governance structure

reforms and challanges to direct democracy

• increased use of referendums and citizen assemblies to complement representative systems

• ensuring informed participations

reforms and challanges to representative democracy

• electoral reforms to improve representation, increase transparency and accountibility

• greater citizen involvement

evidence to show that direct democracy is more “important”

2016 eu referendum where:

• 52% of favour by public to leave

• 74% of mps favour to stay

diversity in westminister parliament

	2019 parliament	2019 national average
female	34%	51%
ethnic minority	10%	14%
LGBTQ+	7%	2.7%
privately educated	29%	7%

2018 political engagement stats

• 83% of higher social groups

• 41% for less proserous groups

• 2% for homeless people were registered to vote