Theories of Democratic Theories of Democratic Government Government Democracy has shades of meaning that must be understood, different theories lead to different ideas of the definition of democracy. By: Bunralin Nheb
Jan 13, 2016
Theories of Democratic Theories of Democratic GovernmentGovernmentDemocracy has shades of meaning that must be understood, different theories lead to different ideas of the definition of democracy.
By: Bunralin Nheb
Power and Power and AUTHORITYAUTHORITY•Examining political power- who hold government offices and how government officials behave in using power.•Authority is the right to use power.•Authority comes from legal or constitutional sources.
Constitution as a Constitution as a source of source of authorityauthority
The Constitution today is widely accepted as a source of legitimate authority.
Constitutional Convention Thomas Jefferson
HOWEVER, legitimacy is also based on the concept of democracy.
The Meaning of The Meaning of DemocracyDemocracyAristotle defines it as “the rule of
the many.” Second meaning of democracy is
Representative Democracy. It is impractical for people to
decide on all public issues, so representative must be elected to formulate policy.
Problems of Representative Problems of Representative DemocracyDemocracyLeadership competition Communication The number of candidatesPaying for campaigns
Direct vs. Representative Direct vs. Representative Those in favor of direct stated
that in the spirit of direct democracy, many states have referendums and initiatives.
Those in favor of representative argued that citizens do not have time and knowledge to make good policy choices.
Distribution of Political Distribution of Political PowerPowerA group called Political Elite
possess a disproportionate share of power.
They represent the actual distribution of power in making and implementing policy.
Views of Political EliteViews of Political EliteClass View
Power elite view
Bureaucratic view
Pluralist view
Political Change Political Change The evolution of our
institutions and policies has not stopped but is continuing.
Political change is not always accompanied by change in policy and law but also the policy process.
Video !Video !http://www.hippocampus.org/History & Government?loadLeftClass=CourseCombination&loadLeftId=18&loadTopicId=1286