Democracy
What is Democracy?
1.government by the people; a form of government in which thesupreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly bythem or by their elected agents under a free electoral system.
2.a state having such a form of government.
3.a state of society characterized by formal equality of rights andprivileges.
4.political or social equality; democratic spirit.
5.the common people of a community as distinguished from anyprivileged class; the common people with respect to theirpolitical power.
Democracy consists of four basic elements: I want to begin with an overview of what democracy is. We can think of democracy as a system of government with four key elements: 1. A political system for choosing and replacing the government through free and fair elections. 2. The active participation of the people, as citizens, in politics and civic life. 3. Protection of the human rights of all citizens. 4. A rule of law, in which the laws and procedures apply equally to all citizens.
I want to talk about each of these four elements of what democracy is. Then I will talk about the obligations and requirements of citizens in a democracy. Then I will conclude by talking about the obligations that we, the international community, have to the people of Iraq as you seek to build the first true democracy in the Arab world.
I. Democracy as a Political System of Competition for Power Democracy is a means for the people to choose their leaders and to hold their leaders accountable for their policies and their conduct in office. The people decide who will represent them in parliament, and who will head the government at the national and local levels. They do so by choosing between competing parties in regular, free and fair elections. Government is based on the consent of the governed. In a democracy, the people are sovereign—they are the highest form of political authority. Power flows from the
1.government by the people; a form of government in which thesupreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly bythem or by their elected agents under a free electoral system.
2.a state having such a form of government.
3.a state of society characterized by formal equality of rights andprivileges.
4.political or social equality; democratic spirit.
5.the common people of a community as distinguished from anyprivileged class; the common people with respect to theirpolitical power.
Democracy consists of four basic elements: I want to begin with an overview of what democracy is. We can think of democracy as a system of government with four key elements: 1. A political system for choosing and replacing the government through free and fair elections. 2. The active participation of the people, as citizens, in politics and civic life. 3. Protection of the human rights of all citizens. 4. A rule of law, in which the laws and procedures apply equally to all citizens.
I want to talk about each of these four elements of what democracy is. Then I will talk about the obligations and requirements of citizens in a democracy. Then I will conclude by talking about the obligations that we, the international community, have to the people of Iraq as you seek to build the first true democracy in the Arab world.
I. Democracy as a Political System of Competition for Power Democracy is a means for the people to choose their leaders and to hold their leaders accountable for their policies and their conduct in office. The people decide who will represent them in parliament, and who will head the government at the national and local levels. They do so by choosing between competing parties in regular, free and fair elections. Government is based on the consent of the governed. In a democracy, the people are sovereign—they are the highest form of political authority. Power flows from the