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
  Pressure for Military Intervention in Syria Grows
  Assad Seems To Underestimate Opposition to his Regime
  by Mozart99 / on Jan 15, 2012
• in Politics
  Is the Death of the Lokpal Good Riddance or Bad Rubbish for Indian Democracy?
  What broke the fun was the objection Mamta Banerjee raised to a clause permitting the central government to enact anti corruption laws for the states, a promise extracted by Anna Hazare from a parliament under duress which it has no power to deliver.
  by forgevalley / on Dec 30, 2011
• in Politics
  India’s Lokpal – Shooting His Own Foot With Democracy?
  What is extra ordinary about the whole democratic event which is unfolding in India is the question of how much influence a mass agitation outside can wield on the elected representatives engaged in legislation inside the parliament
  by forgevalley / on Dec 28, 2011

Latest blogosphere posts tagged “democracy”

 

• Aung San Suu Kyi gives speech to people at NLD office in Dawei (Part1+ 2)

  
  democracy for burma — Authority: 127
  She said she wants to revise a 2008 army-drafted constitution that gives the military wide-ranging powers, including the ability to appoint key cabinet members, take control of the country in a state of emergency and occupy a quarter of the seats in parliament.
  1 hour ago

• 
  Din Merican: the Malaysian DJ Blogger — Authority: 424
  February 1, 2012 www.awsj.com Israel Dominates the Debate in Malaysia – Again By Shibani Mahtani (01-31-12) Recent comments by Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim have demonstrated yet again how issues related to Israel continue to divide this majority-Muslim country – and could influence the ...
  2 hours ago

• in the US official emails fall under Freedom of Information Act

  
  No quality without security — Authority: 122
  There was already the request for the official emails of Palin and the Bush White House, but now it is coming…
  23 hours ago

• Eskinder Nega | Prisoner of Conscience

  
  Africa Unchained — Authority: 117
  Jason McLure of the Committee to Protect Journalists writing in the Ethiopian review It would be hard to find a better symbol of media repression in Africa than Eskinder Nega. The veteran Ethiopian journalist and dissident blogger has been detained at least seven times by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s ...
  1 day ago

• what are acta, PIP, SOPA and all the other secretive agreements and comments

  
  No quality without security — Authority: 122
  ACTA : ACTA is an international trade agreement that criminalizes intellectual property theft across borders. Its targets are both those counterfeiting physical…
  1 day ago

• About That Democracy Plan in Egypt

  
  Conservative Daily News — Authority: 580
  Two U.S. political activists groups pushing for what is largely an undefined “democracy” in Egypt under the guise of  human rights/ election monitoring [U.S. Government funded]  programs have been told they will not be allowed to leave Egypt recently. The two groups involved are the International Republican ...
  1 day ago

• Thousands of people welcome the freedom fighters.wmv

  
  democracy for burma — Authority: 127
  [IMG: http://img.youtube.com/vi/yDiAEe_w9iU/2.jpg]
  1 day ago

• Hating Democracy in the Middle East?

  
  OUPblog — Authority: 525
  By Steven A. Cook Has the Washington foreign policy establishment disavowed democracy in the Middle East? According to Salon.com’s Glenn Greenwald the answer is a resounding yes. Greenwald, a lawyer by training and blogger/author by trade, has long been a trenchant critic of various “establishments.” In ...
  1 day ago

• Ideal Mayoral/City Council candidate campaign agenda: Getting Our Citys S*** Together

  
  Rebuilding Place in the Urban Space — Authority: 463
  So I just woke up from a dream/nightmare where I somehow became an at-large City Councilmember through appointment and I had to share an office with Vincent Orange (in DC, Councilmembers have their own individual offices, as do councilmembers in most places). I wouldnt agree to something he wanted me to do, but I ...
  1 day ago

• The Nature and Effects of Imperialism by Fazal Rahman, Ph.D.

  
  Dandelion Salad — Authority: 496
  by Fazal Rahman, Ph.D. Guest Writer Dandelion Salad Originally published on imperialismandthethirdworld.wordpress.com January 31, 2012 Multidimensional and complex nature and effects of imperialism on democracy, society, nature, and human nature “At the same pace that mankind masters nature, man seems to become ...
  1 day ago

• Compound interest

  
  Neighbourhoods — Authority: 101
  Heres a lesson in grassroots democracy, from Libya. The BBC have a short report from Gabriel Gatehouse on a local democratic initiative emerging from the ruins of Colonel Gaddafis former compound in Tripoli. After Gaddafis cronies fled, apparently some 68 families moved in to the various buildings, some of which ...
  2 days ago

• For the defense

  
  Mon Casiple's Weblog on Philippine Politics — Authority: 92
  The Corona impeachment trial is entering its third week. In that time, both the prosecution and the defense have shown their mettle. To be fair to the prosecution, they were dogged in their determination to maintain a steady pace of uncovering and presenting their evidence and witnesses. To be sure, they got whipped ...
  2 days ago

• From Montgomery Blair Sibley on Judicial Abuses and the Myth of Judicial Immunity as a “Common Law Tradition”

  
  TIERRA LIMPIA by Charles Lincoln — Authority: 106
  An Account of Some Instances of the Practice of Former Times in Order to the Improvement of Justice and Safeguard of the Constitution  Montgomery Blair Sibley wrote, at http://amoprobos.blogspot.com/search/label/Judicial%20Tyranny A dear colleague of mine has brought an interesting book to my … Continue reading ...
  2 days ago

• Dragon Tattoo Shows Too Much Skin for India

  
  Truthdig: Drilling Beneath the Headlines — Authority: 699
  India may be the world’s biggest democracy, but it has a little something to learn about free expression. Film censors have banned the Hollywood version of “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” because of three sexual and/or violent scenes. Related Entries January 26, 2012 A Unique Face of Evil January 20, ...
  2 days ago

• "Irish Voters are unlikely to endorse a European Austerity Treaty in 2012" by Nat OConnor

  
  Social Europe Journal — Authority: 119
  Irish democracy may become Europe’s focus in 2012, if the Merkel-Sarkozy ‘stability and growth union’ proposals are put to a vote of the Irish people. Any change to the Constitution of Ireland...
  2 days ago

• Egyptians Use Graffiti to Reclaim Streets (Slide Show)

  
  Politics Blog — Authority: 130
  Two children walk past graffiti on a wall in Cairo, Egypt in late december. by AYA BATRAWY, Associated Press CAIRO (AP) — The conflict between Egypt’s ruling military and pro-democracy protesters isn’t just on the streets of Cairo, it’s on the walls as well, as graffiti artists from each side duel it out with ...
  2 days ago

• Opportunity for constitutional reform in Jamaica

  
  IntLawGrrls — Authority: 122
  At her swearing-in ceremony as Jamaica’s seventh Prime Minister a few weeks ago, Portia Simpson Miller (right) announced her government’s intention to begin the process of removing all ties with the British monarchy to make Jamaica an independent republic. (Prior IntLawGrrls post ) A product of the ...
  3 days ago

• The new Twitter censorship policy might not be as bad as it looks

  
  Writing Cave — Authority: 92
  There is lots of buzz on the Internet regarding the recent announcement by Twitter that it would be blocking certain tweets in certain countries, although the same tweets will be available in the countries outside of the jurisdiction of those countries wanting to block that particular content. In the beginning, as ...
  3 days ago

• The concept of local governments emerged in 18th and 19th centuries

  
  Light of Peace — Authority: 104
  Modern system of local government emerged in the 18 th and 19 th centuries. Their units were the administrative units of former monarchies which were being transformed into modern nation-states. In the 20 th century two new types of local political systems developed, both resulting from major political upheavals. ...
  3 days ago

• The Cold War Minute for January 28

  
  The Cold War Minute — Authority: 110
  BerlinBrigade.com presents The Cold War Minute: January 28 edition. In this episode, we talk about Canada, Ronald Reagan, Energy Crisis, Red Brigade, Space Shuttle Challenger You can also download the todays episode of The Cold War Minute by right clicking and saving here for January 28 KEYWORDS: • ...
  3 days ago

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