The Pros And Cons Of Direct Democracy

1. What various conceptions of democracy are there?

The fundamental, uncontested concept of democracy ‘rule by the people.’ Direct democracy, ‘self-rule’, was born in ancient Athens in the 5th century BC. Direct democracy, as defined by Hague, is “a system of government in which all members of the community take part in making the decisions that affect that community.” (Hague et al 2016, 39). Its goals were popular involvement, open deliberation, and educated citizens with an understanding of the public good (Hague et al 2016, 39). This is a normative goal, however impracticable in reality. Thus, different conceptions of democracy have come to the fore.

However, there were flaws with this system, and today direct democracy is considered

In the 9th edition of the textbook Comparative Government and Politics published in 2013, Putin’s Russia is categorised as a ‘competitive authoritarian regime’ (or ‘hybrid/semi-authoritarian regime’). In the 10th edition published in 2016, Russia is categorised as an ‘authoritarian regime’. What might have changed to merit this categorisation?

Authoritarian regimes are defined, at their core, by having all the power in the hands of one leader or a small elite where rights of citizens are not protected. Other characterisations, according to Headley, including having no rule of law, a lack of independent civil society, ambiguous mechanisms of succession, military control, and populist nationalism (lecture 5). Authoritarianism is categorised into types: dictatorship, one-party rule, military rule, theocracy and hybrid. Liberal democracies are the opposite to authoritarian regimes, with focuses on the education, liberalism and equality of their

Many people believe that politics should be called ‘political science.’ This is because it implies that politics is positivist and predictive, which provides a sense of comfort and security. Research is based on a combination of theories, or seeking to determine to determine which theory is best through evidence (Lecture 6). How evidence is gathered is considered by some people to be a scientific process, similar to that of the natural sciences. Observational methods ____, experimental methods____. The purpose of comparative politics is to compare governments and institutions across countries to gain a better understanding of our own countries, come up with an ideal methodology, and predict the future. Putting individual access into context broadens our understanding and gives a factual understanding for normative debate (Lecture 7). Variables provide a medium for