Democracy

At its core, democracy concerns who has authority to make decisions for a political community and how members of that community can influence those decisions. Political theorists describe democratic decision-making in terms of equality among participants at an essential stage of the process; in a state, this may take the form of an equal vote, participation in deliberation, or a combination of arrangements. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights expresses a related principle: people have a right to take part in their country's government, directly or through freely chosen representatives, and the authority of government should rest on the will of the people. Democracies do not all use the same institutions, and the label alone does not establish how inclusive or effective participation is in practice.

In direct democracy, citizens participate themselves in decisions—for example, by voting on a law or policy in a referendum or taking part in an assembly. In representative democracy, voters choose officials who deliberate, legislate and make public decisions on their behalf. Representative institutions are common in large modern states, while direct-democratic procedures may supplement them. Systems can combine these approaches and use different electoral rules; their design affects how voters' preferences are translated into seats and decisions.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights identifies periodic and genuine elections, universal and equal suffrage, and secret or equivalent free voting procedures as ways the will of the people is expressed. Democratic governance also depends on people's ability to participate between elections and on institutions that make public officials answerable for their decisions. Civil liberties, equal access to public service, legal protections and checks on concentrated power help make political participation meaningful. These principles are widely discussed, but countries put them into practice through differing constitutions and institutions.

Democratic decision-making must address disagreements over who belongs to the political community, how representatives should act, and what rules should settle disputes. Majority voting can produce decisions while leaving minorities consistently outvoted, so democratic theory considers how equal political standing and basic rights can be protected alongside majority rule. Large populations also make direct participation in every decision difficult and raise questions about representation, informed public debate and citizens' practical influence. For these reasons, democracy is both a family of political institutions and an ongoing subject of debate about how collective self-government should work.