Democracy

Democracy means rule by the people.^[1] There are different ways this can be done:

1. People meet to decide about new laws, and changes to existing ones. This is usually called direct democracy. It is never used except in small countries, or perhaps in towns. Modern populations are usually too large to do this.
2. The people elect their leaders. These leaders take decisions about laws. This is called representative democracy.^[2] Elections are either held after a certain time, or when a leader dies.
3. Sometimes people can suggest new laws or changes to existing laws. Usually, this is done using a referendum, a vote.
4. Sometimes, people are chosen to make decisions more or less at random. For example, when choosing a jury for a trial. In Europe, trials with a jury are usually used for serious crimes.

The type of government where only one person has most of the power is called a dictatorship. Democracy is the opposite of a dictatorship. Dictatorships often act against freedom of expression so people cannot say bad things about the dictator or replace them for somebody else.

An important source of information is the Democracy Index published by the Economist periodical.

1. ↑ "BBC - h2g2 - Demokratia - the Athenian Democracy". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
2. ↑ "Democracy Conference". Innertemple.org.uk. Retrieved 2010-08-22.