What is democracy ?

1. Whatisdemocracy? • The word “Democracy” comes form the Greek word “δημοκρατία – (demokratía)”. It means “peoples power”: rules by the people and for the people. • Types of Democracy: Liberal democracy  • Other forms of government • Separation of powers • Check list: Democracy? • Criticisms of Democracy • Spanish Democracy • Brief history of Democracy • Exams • Auto-evaluation activity • Essay writing. • Test or exam.

2. Types of Democracy • Direct or Representative? • Direct Democracy: means each citizen makes decisions and laws at public meetings or assemblies (typical of Classic Greece or in our days small organizations). • Representative Democracy: those who write the Laws are chosen (elected) by citizens to represent them (used in larger organizations and nations states) • Unitary (Central) or federal? • Unitary States: full authority in their central government, it can overrule other institutions. • Federal States: limited power of central government; most powers are developed by individual provinces or states. • Mixed: Spain has 17 Autonomous Communities, 50 provinces (and their Provincial Deputations) and 2 Autonomous cities. • Presidential of Parliamentary? • Presidential systems of government where the chief executive (the president) is elected separately from legislative (law-makers); Congress can therefore hold him or her to account. US is an example. • Parliamentary systems such as Spain where the chief executive (president) is the leader of the majority of the legislature (Deputies’ Congress); so, there is not separation of powers. • Strong or Weak Democracy? • Weak Democracy: a political elite governs the state. There is a distrust of the ability of ordinary people to rule themselves. • Strong Democracy: where direct participation in political processes is encouraged (lobbies, pressure groups, direct action, referenda…)

3. Liberal democracy • Liberal democracy (bourgeois democracy or constitutional democracy) is a common form of representative democracy. According to the principles of liberal democracy, the elections should be free and fair, and the political process should be competitive. Political pluralism is usually defined as the presence of multiple and distinct political parties. • A liberal democracy may take various constitutional forms: it may be a federal republic, as the United States, India, Germany or Brazil, or a constitutional monarchy, such as the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada or Spain. It may have a presidential system (United States, Brazil), a parliamentary system (Westminster system, UK and Commonwealth countries), or a hybrid, semi-presidential system (France).

4. Other forms of Government • Authoritarian regimes: One party states (China) or military dictatorships (Spain with Franco) where there is not free information. • Totalitarian regimes: One party systems (Cuba) or dictatorships that tightly control most aspects of public life and intrude in private life. • Traditional monarchies: most powers is controlled by the royal family (Morocco or Saudi Arabia), passed down from generation to generation • Oligarchy:  power rests with a small segment of society (royalty, wealthy family, corporate, or military); in Greek "ὀλίγος" (olígos) means a few. • Monarchy: a form of government where political power is absolutely or nominally in hands of an individual: monarch ("single ruler"), king (male), or queen (female). • A constitutional monarchy is a form of government where a monarch acts as head of state within the parameters of a written, or unwritten constitution. It differs from absolute monarchy where an absolute monarch is the sole source of political power in the state and is not legally bound by any constitution.

5. Separation of Powers • The state is divided into branches, each with separate and independent powers and areas of responsibility so that no branch has more power than the others. • Executive part of the government has the soleauthority and responsibility for the daily administration of the state bureaucracy. This power takes the day-to-day decisions to run the country. All civil servants are somehow part of the executive power of the state. • A legislatureis the deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law is therefore created by the legislature (Parliament or Congress). • The Judiciary is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in the name of the sovereign or state, providing a mechanism for the resolution of disputes. The judiciary does not make law (responsibility of legislature) or enforce law (responsibility of executive), but rather interprets law and applies it to the facts of each case.

6. Check List: Democracy? • Rule by Majority: Person or Party with most votes forms government. It governs the State authorized by the electorate, but final authority belongs with the people (popular sovereignty). • Free and regular elections: citizens must be allowed to express their opinions freely (secret balloons). They must be regular to allow citizens to show their agreement or disagreement with their current government. • Universal Suffrage: all adult citizens have to be allowed to vote and exercise their political rights (whatever their age, sex, wealth, religion, race….) • Rule of Law: Governments and its institutions must act within the framework of rules or laws. A basic law (Constitution) or customs defines how the government must behave and how laws are made. • Respect for Individual rights: within liberal democracies are compromised with the respect of rights and freedoms of their citizens. • Free flow of information: There is not censorship (or just a little) and citizens should be properly informed.

7. Criticisms of Democracy • “Politicians can not be trusted”. Our rulers are an elite defending their own interests (not serving the people): scandals, corruption… • “Governments rule as dictatorships”. Each few years we vote, and they do their will till next election. • “Money rules”. The richest people in society still take important decisions using democracy as a façade. • “Too complicated”. Ordinary people don’t understand the complex political issues. • “Mass media govern”. TV, journals, internet dominate political processes, distorting and disguising real issues.

8. Spanish Democracy • Spain is a Representative Democracy. Spanish citizens elect who represent them in Spanish “Cortes Generales”. • General Courts is the legislature of Spain. It is a bicameral parliament where the monarch presides two cameras: • Congress of Deputies (or lower house) and, • the Senate (or upper house). • The Cortes has power to enact any law and to amend the constitution. • Spanish Democracy is defined in its constitution as: Social, Rule of law and with Autonomous Communities. • Spain is a constitutional monarchy where the powers of the Monarch are defined by the Constitution. • Spanish General Courts have several functions: • Legislative power: makes laws and examines their details. • Protects rights of citizens. • Questioning the government and its ministers’ policies • Holds debates on national and international matters

9. Democracy • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GK0gRMANRWw • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Arn8Fp1jyok&feature=related • Voting: a problem of Canadian democracy? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PaV_K6GHms