Jane Z. Rm. 18 Feb.

5, 2014

Representative Democracy
1. Who has the power? In a representative democracy, the citizens (18 yrs and older) have the power. Then the government decides based on the majority. 1. How do they get the power? Candidates have to persuade the citizens into electing them by trying to impress them. Citizens can choose who they want to represent them. They elect representatives in a direct democracy. 2. How do they keep the power? If the citizens think the leader did a good job they could be re-elected. 3. How do they lose the power? The rule is, after 4 years and the leader must step down and be succeeded by another person. They could be re-elected for another 4 years, but can only be re-elected twice. So the maximum number of years a leader can stay in power is 8 years. However, this rule can change in different countries. Or, if the citizens arent satisfied, they have the ability to vote him or her out in the next election. 4. What country or leader uses this government? Today, Chile, Cambodia, the (United Kingdom) UK, and the Dominican Republic are some examples of representative democracy. But some countries kind of use representative democracy and another type of government.

Jane Z. Rm. 18 Feb. 5, 2014

Representative Democracy
5. An interesting story/fact/anecdote/wondering of my choice? This article is from July 6, 2012. In Britain, people are questioning whether they are or are not a representative democracy, or even democratic. The politicians are becoming less responsible, the citizens are confused and not voting. Boris Johnson during the London mayoral elections, The study warns confusion among voters 'threatens to undermine democratic decision-making. A study into the state of democracy in Britain over the last decade warns it is in "longterm terminal decline" as the power of corporations keeps growing, politicians become less responsible of their constituencies and disillusioned citizens stop voting or even discussing current affairs.

A widening gap in the participation rates of different social classes of voters; and an "unprecedented" growth in corporate power, which the study's authors warn "threatens Boris Johnson during the London mayoral elections: the study warns confusion among voters 'threatens to undermine democratic decision-making'.

Jane Z. Rm. 18 Feb. 5, 2014

Representative Democracy
"The reality is that representative democracy, at the core, has to be about people voting, has to be about people engaging in political parties, has to be about people having contact with elected representatives, and having faith and trust in elected representatives, as well as those representatives demonstrating they can exercise political power effectively and make decisions that tend to be approved of," said WilksHeeg.

The UK's democratic institutions were strong enough to keep operating with low public input, but the longer people avoided voting and remained disillusioned, the worse the problem would get, said Wilks-Heeg.

"Over time, disengagement skews the political process yet further towards those who are already more advantaged by virtue of their wealth, education or professional connections. And without mass political participation, the sense of disconnection between citizens and their representatives will inevitably grow."

Sources: http://www.ask.com/question/list-of-countries-with-representativedemocracy.htm

http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k.docs.Representative_democracy.htm

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-representive-democracy.htm

http://www.historylearingsite.co.uk/representative_democracy.htm

http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2012/jul/06/british-democracy-decline-report