democracy

Democracy is a political concept referring to a society administered by a democratic government, in which all adult citizens have a say in social and political decisions that affect the country. It is widely viewed as the most fair and progressive form of government, since it reflects the will of the majority, while also granting and protecting the rights of minorities.

The way by which individuals can express their will regarding initiatives that affect everyone is voting. A distinction is made between direct democracies and representative democracies. In direct democracies, people vote on policies directly, while in representative democracies, the people elect a number of representatives (which constitute the country's legislature) who then vote on policy initiatives in the name of the people. However, many representative democracies also allow for three forms of direct political action on the part of the people, namely referendum, citizens' initiative and recall.

The referendum is a direct vote in which the electorate is asked to accept or reject a specific proposal. The citizens' imitative is a petition signed by a certain number of registered voters that can eventually force a public vote, or referendum. A recall is a political procedure by which registered voters can remove an elected official from service before their term has expired. Recalls are also initiated via petition.

You'll find bloggers talking about democracy at sites like economist.com and dailycaller.com.

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Original Technorati articles tagged “democracy”

• in Politics
  Romney or Obama: A Simple Choice of Critical Importance
  The stark differences between the candidates offer an easy choice for voters.
  by jimmyzuma / on Sep 7, 2012
• in Politics
  The Greek Election: Finally Some Democratized Economics
  Democracy finally takes control of economic policy in Greece
  by alexh14 / on Jun 14, 2012
• in Politics
  Historical Election for Egypt
  Thirteen candidates. Two days.
  by eklemens / on May 23, 2012

Latest blogosphere posts tagged “democracy”

 

• Digital democracy: Fair Deal goes global

  
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  Digital democracy: Fair Deal goes global by karol Yesterday NZ’s Fair Deal Coalition launched a new website, ourfairdeal.org , aimed at networking globally with others concerned about the secretive negotiation of intellectual property matters in the TTPA (Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement).  This includes a ...
  5 days ago

• Bassem Youssef Isnt Joking Around - By David Kenner

  
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  The Egyptian satirist stands on the front lines of Egypt’s culture wars.
  5 days ago

• NSF Critical of Draft NGO Law; Anti-Morsi Alliance Grows

  
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  Photo Credit: AP Egypt’s National Salvation Front (NSF) criticized a draft NGO law over the weekend, saying the Muslim Brotherhood-backed bill is more restrictive than laws under former President Hosni Mubarak . The opposition bloc said the law “seeks to reproduce a police state by putting into law the role ...
  5 days ago

• ‘Operation Total Eradication’? Russia NGO crackdown threatens leading pollster

  
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      Russia’s NGO law branding overseas-funded groups as foreign agents is impeding the country’s civil society development, says a former Finance Minister. “The law on NGOs as foreign agents that the Duma has passed is a clear restriction of …
  5 days ago

• Boko Haram ‘in disarray’? But NGOs question purely military response

  
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  Boko Haram militants in Nigeria ’s north-east have been forced onto the defensive , says the country’s military, adding that the Islamist group is “in disarray” and retreating in large numbers as a result of the current offensive. The insurgents …
  5 days ago

• Setback for Afghan women’s rights, but ‘civil society blossoms’

  
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  Afghanistan’s parliament has rejected a law banning violence against women in “a severe blow to progress made in women’s rights in the conservative Muslim country since the Islamist Taliban was toppled over a decade ago,” Reuters reports : President Hamid …
  5 days ago

• J-School in the Land of the Junta - By Dustin Roasa

  
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  Can Burma build a free media or will the government’s new soft-sell propaganda win out?
  5 days ago

• In crackdown on NGOs’ foreign funding, India follows the ‘sicks among the BRICs’

  
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  “Amid an intensifying crackdown on nongovernmental groups that receive foreign funding, Indian activists are accusing the government of stifling their right to dissent in the world’s largest democracy,” The Washington Post’s Rama Lakshmi , reports from New Delhi : India …
  5 days ago

• Conservatives Will Weather Duffygate

  
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  As my commenters were happy to point out, my last post on Senator Mike Duffy and Conservative political strategy was hilariously mistimed, since Duffy resigned from the Conservative caucus mere hours later. I’ll cop to it: I was wrong, and superceded by events. There hasn’t been such a momentous blunder since ...
  5 days ago

• THE ONE AND ONLY WAY

  
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  Group Think as might be expected is the way of corporations, as is propaganda. When these two characteristics combined with money as political influence, the mere semblances of democracy process are cast into disrepute. That seems a summary of what is happening in the United Kingdom and the United States, and now ...
  5 days ago

• U.S. Humanitarian Assistance to Mali

  
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  At the Mali Donors Conference in Brussels on May 15 the United States announced $32 million in new humanitarian assistance to support Malian refugees in neighboring countries and to the internally displaced. The same day, the U.S. Department of State spokesman said that the Obama administration will request from ...
  5 days ago

• What Guilt Does the U.S. Bear in Guatemala NY Times City Project Comment

  
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  Robert Garcia writes: US enjoys impunity for violating international law repeatedly in Guatemala: US overthrew the democratically elected government in 1954, according to CIA. US for decades was complicit in and sponsored genocide, wiping out entire populations of Maya Ixtil; killing, disappearing, or torturing ...
  5 days ago

• Is Democracy in Trouble?

  
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  By E.J. Dionne, Jr. We know American politics are dysfunctional. But after a week of scandal obsession during which the nation’s capital and the media virtually ignored the problems most voters care about—jobs, incomes, growth, opportunity, education—it’s worth asking if there is something especially ...
  5 days ago

• Finalise the State Exco for Selangor quickly

  
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  May 20, 2013 Finalise the State Exco for Selangor quickly COMMENT: It is indeed unfortunate that Selangor Menteri Besar, Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim, has not able to form his own “Cabinet”for more than 2 weeks since GE-13. This is due to wrangling for seats by component parties within Pakatan Rakyat. ...
  5 days ago

• New democracy 3 developer blog video

  
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  Trying to ensure I do at least one of these a month… I also submitted it to reddit in this subreddit: http://www.reddit.com/r/devblogs/
  5 days ago

• Court Jails Ex-Council Boss For Paying Wife N110,000 Monthly Imprest

  
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  An Asaba High Court has jailed a former chairman of Patani local government area of Delta State, Austin Bebeteidoh, for three years for paying his wife N110, 000 monthly imprest to buy fuel for a non-existing official car. Bebeteidoh, who committed the crime while in office, was also found guilty of converting a N7 ...
  5 days ago

• SCANDAL? ASPARAGUS-GATE?

  
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  THE COLBERT REPORT Asparagusgate The House Judiciary Committee grills Attorney General Eric Holder, and Louie Gohmert accuses Holder of casting aspersions on his asparagus. (03:22) Filed under: COMEDY, CORRUPTION, Democracy, ENTERTAINMENT, Politics, PostAday Tagged: ASPARAGUSGATE, Attorney general, Barack Obama, ...
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• PKR reveals Proof of Phantom Voters

  
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  May 20, 2013 COMMENT: When I went to the polling station at SMK Seafield, Subang Jaya with my wife, Dr. Kamsiah on May 5, I thought I was an isolated case of a voter whose name had been inadvertently deleted during the updating of the electoral roll. I had voted there in 2004 and 2008. I had known in advance that ...
  5 days ago

• Democracy Means Equality

  
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  A fundamental plank of any peace plan has to be universal rights and full equality for all, and that is true whether the solution is one state, two states, twelve states or no states in Israel-Palestine. I elaborate at Souciant . Filed under: One-State Solution , West Bank Tagged: Abraham Foxman , ...
  5 days ago

• Dissent or Terror: How Arizonas Counter Terrorism Apparatus, in Partnership with Corporate Interests, Turned on Occupy Phoenix

  
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