Theme VI: Democracy Practice Flashcards

A complete set of vocabulary flashcards covering the meaning, history, features, types, and challenges of democracy as presented in the lecture notes.

Reinhold Niebuhr

A famous political philosopher of the $20^{th}$ century who stated, “Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible and man's capacity for injustice makes democracy necessary."

Demokratia

The Greek word from which the term 'democracy' originated, composed of 'demos' meaning people and 'kratos' meaning power.

Abraham Lincoln

The Former President of the United States who defined democracy as "the government of the people, by the people, for the people."

Direct Democracy

A form of government where citizens make decisions directly rather than through representatives, such as in ancient Athens or Swiss referendums.

Representative Democracy

A system where the people elect representatives who make laws and supervise the functioning of the government on their behalf, as practiced in India.

Sabhas and Samitis

Consultative institutions in Vedic society that functioned as early democratic bodies where power rested with the people.

Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam

A principle meaning "the world is one family," which formed the moral foundation of Aryan democracy.

Mahajanapadas

Large kingdoms and republics that emerged in northern India between $600\text{ BCE}$ and $400\text{ BCE}$, some of which followed a republican system.

Vajji Confederacy

An ancient Indian republic described in the MahaparinibbaaᅉSutta as having strong community rule and regular assemblies.

Panchayat

A system of governance derived from 'panch' (meaning five), referring to a council of five respected elders chosen by the community.

$61^{st}$ Constitutional Amendment Act

The $1988$ Indian law that reduced the voting age from $21$ years to $18$ years.

Election Commission of India

The body responsible for ensuring free and fair elections in India.

Right to Information (RTI) Act

A law passed on $15\text{ June } 2005$ that allows Indian citizens to request information from public authorities to strengthen transparency.

Rule of Law

A democratic principle where no individual or authority is above the law, and the government rules within limits set by constitutional law.

Parliamentary Democracy

A system where the executive derives authority from the legislature, with the Prime Minister as the real head of government and the President as the nominal head.

Presidential Democracy

A system based on the separation of powers where the President is both the Head of State and the real executive, working independently of the legislature.

Absolute Monarchy

A form of government, such as in Saudi Arabia, where the monarch's authority is unlimited and power is usually hereditary.

Constitutional Monarchy

A system where a monarch serves as the formal Head of State with ceremonial functions, while real authority rests with elected representatives, as in the United Kingdom.

Saddam Hussein

The military dictator who served as the President of Iraq from $1979$ to $2003$ with absolute power.

Idi Amin

The ruler of Uganda who came to power after a military coup in $1971$ and oversaw a regime where an estimated $300,000$ people lost their lives.

Theocracy

A form of government, like in Iran, where civil laws conform to religious teachings and the highest authority is a religious leader.

Solidarity Movement

A struggle for democratic government that took place in Poland during the $1980s$ involving workers, students, and civil society.

Economic Inequality

A challenge to democracy where the wealth gap allows the rich to dominate politics and negatively impacts the fairness of elections.

Accountability

Being responsible for what you do and able to give a satisfactory reason for it.

Coercion

The act of forcing someone to do something they don't want to do, which can occur during undemocratic electoral processes.