Ethics and Values in Physical Education

Types of democracies

Democracy has taken a number of forms, both in theory and practice. Some varieties of democracy provide better representation and more freedom for their citizens than others. However, if any democracy is not structured so as to prohibit the government from excluding the people from the legislative process, or any branch of government from altering the separation of powers in its own favour, then a branch of the system can accumulate too much power and destroy the democracy.

The following kinds of democracy are not exclusive of one another: many specify details of aspects that are independent of one another and can co- exist in a single system.

Basic forms

Representative democracy is a form of democracy in which people vote for representatives who then vote on policy initiatives as opposed to a direct democracy, a form of democracy in which people vote on policy initiatives directly.

Direct

A Landsgemeinde (in 2009) of the Canton of Glarus, an example of direct democracy in Switzerland.

In Switzerland, without needing to register, every citizen receives ballot papers and information brochures for each vote (and can send it back by post). Switzerland has a direct democracy system and votes are organised about four times a year.

Direct democracy is a political system where the citizens participate in the decision-making personally, contrary to relying on intermediaries or representatives. The use of a lot system, a characteristic of Athenian democracy, is unique to direct democracies. In this system, important governmental and administrative tasks are performed by citizens picked from a lottery. A direct democracy gives the voting population the power to:

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  Change constitutional laws,
  
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  Put forth initiatives, referendums and suggestions for laws,
  
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  Give binding orders to elective officials, such as revoking them before the end of their elected term, or initiating a lawsuit for breaking a campaign promise.
  

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Within modern-day representative governments, certain electoral tools like referendums, citizens' initiatives and recall elections are referred to as forms of direct democracy. Direct democracy as a government system currently only exists in the Swiss cantons of Appenzell Innerrhoden and Glarus.