Types of Democracy

The word democracy means that it is a way of life. It is not just about documents or governments, yet it is about the things people do every day that contribute to society and make it a better place to live. People will examine the day-to-day actions that create the democratic way of life. In true democratic fashion, it invites people to join the discussion and share their own experiences as citizens. According to Abraham Lincoln, the 16^th president of United States of America divided democracy into three types:

(1). Direct democracy or Pure democracy: It is a form of democracy in which the people as a whole make direct decisions, rather than have those decisions made for them by elected representatives. For example, in a decision making of electing or dismissing someone, it has to be done by all participations and signatures, or this kind of measure will not work. 

(2). Representative democracy: It is a type of democracy in which the citizens delegate authority to elected representatives. For instance, when it is required to make a decision to promote someone in the organization, the people will give all the authority to the elected representative to decide whether he or she will be promoted or not.

(3). Liberal democracy, bourgeois democracy or constitutional democracy: It is a type of democracy that has free and fair elections, a multiplicity of political parties, political decisions made through an independent legislature, and an independent judiciary, with a state monopoly on law enforcement. This can found in a lot of countries in the world, and it goes against autocracy or illiberality. For example, when the decision to do some thing is required to be made, it will not only be participated by the elected parties but also depending the on the legislature and constitutional law itself.

Besides the above types of democracies, it can be found another category of democracy, and that is “Deliberative democracy or discursive democracy”: It is is a system of political decision-making that relies on popular consultation to make policy, or it is the combination between direct democracy and representative democracy.

                                                          Sam Aun (Andy)