• What is a democratic government?
• Characteristics of a democratic government
• How does a democratic government work?
• Types of democracy

We explain what a democratic government is, what types exist and what their characteristics are. Also, how it works.

Democracy is considered in the West the best form of government.

What is a democratic government?

A government democratic is a model from management of Condition that meets the minimum requirements to be considered democracy. That is, when the can political is administered based on the principle of sovereignty of the towns.

In a democratic government, the people can decide how they want to be governed, within a minimum framework of guarantees that ensure the Liberty, the equality and the Justice.

Democracy is an extremely ancient system of government, the foundations of which were laid by the Greeks during classical times. It reappeared in the West after the fall of the Old Regime and the return of the Republic as a model of state organization.

At present, it is the method of majority government in the world. However, it does not always operate in the same way in all countries, nor does it always work perfectly.

In fact, of the 165 member nations of the United Nations (UN), the Democracy Index (Democracy Index, in English) prepared by the Intelligence Unit of The Economist distinguishes four blocks of countries, ordered according to how democratic their method of government is:

• Full democracies (20 countries, 12% of the total)
• Imperfect democracies (55 countries, 32.9% of the total)
• Hybrid regimes (39 countries, 23.4% of the total)
• Authoritarian regimes (53 countries, 31.7% of the total)

In any case, democratic governments have brought to their peoples some of the most flourishing stages of prosperity, freedom, and social and cultural advancement. In the West they are considered the best method possible government, and are encouraged by various international and regional organizations.

Characteristics of a democratic government

The minimum characteristics of a democratic government are:

• There's a Rule of law. This means that all citizens they are the same before law, which is applied with equal criteria without discriminating in any way between citizens, always guided by the content expressed in the laws and in the National Constitution.
• There are reliable choices. The political authorities (those of the executive power Y legislative, generally) are freely elected by the people, through universal, secret and legitimate elections, without manipulation or coercion of the vote from any party.
• There is independence of powers. There can be no democracy without public powers Independents who monitor each other and allow the political debate to take place in an organized and healthy way, without any state authority imposing itself on the others and disposing of the State at will, as is the case in autocracies.
• The human rights universal. The State guarantees the defense and protection of the inalienable minimum rights of all human being living, as are the right to life, to the identity, to freedom, to work, etc.
• The freedom of expression. Although it is included in fundamental human rights, we set it apart because freedom of expression or of the press is what allows them to exist media independents who challenge the government and inform the public about what is happening, free from censorship and retaliation against journalists.

How does a democratic government work?

Different political opinions are expressed in a democracy.

Democratic governments function on the basis of representation and political participation. National sovereignty, that is, the ability to make fundamental national decisions, resides in democracies in the totality of the population ("the village").

The different political opinions and tendencies of thought They must be able to express themselves and take part in the debate on how to manage the beef public, that is, the public thing, the republic.

Thus, plebiscitary, electoral or other consultation mechanisms are the mechanisms that democracy uses to know the opinion of the sovereign and to elect the officials and representatives in charge of executing it. The vision that obtains the most popular support, in accordance with the country's electoral laws, will prevail.

However, in democracies not everything can be put to a vote: nothing that goes against democracy itself, or against the fundamental rights of anyone, or that violates the rule of law, can be put to a vote. To guarantee said operation, the public powers have the autonomy and authority:

• The executive power. It is the one that represents the leadership of the State, and proposes the government plan to the country to march towards the common welfare.
• The legislative power. He is in charge of drafting, modifying or repealing the laws, and supervising the action of the executive. In addition, it usually consists of a parliament in which the different political forces and political parties that make life in the country have a voice.
• The power of attorney. He is in charge of interpreting the laws and ensuring compliance with them, as well as defending the guiding principles of the Constitution. They are the only public power not elected by vote, but by appointment of the legislative power.

The public powers, in this way, are made up of representatives who have a certain margin of authority to decide on behalf of the people. Depending on the model of democracy, this representative character will be greater or lesser, and the people will be more or less involved in the final decision-making on the conduct of the State.

Types of democracy

Direct democracy was created in ancient Greece.

There are two types of democracy, according to their way of consulting the sovereign:

• Direct or participatory democracy. Similar to the implementation in Athens of the Antiquity, is the one that prefers direct consultation with the people for the decision making important, through plebiscites and referendums, in which the people themselves also get involved. Thus, it requires a greater margin of popular participation and may be more time consuming, since constant consultations consume weather, effort and resources.
• Indirect or representative democracy. It is one in which the people elect their representatives so that they, in turn, make political decisions on their behalf. In other words, they transfer part of their sovereignty to these representatives, thus acting indirectly in the conduct of the State.

On the other hand, it is possible to speak of parliamentary democracies, when the largest share of political power falls on the legislative, and presidential democracies when the largest share of political power falls on the figure of the president (the executive).