Direct democracy - representative democracy
Any discussion of the nature of democracy must take account of the distinction between direct democracy and indirect or representative democracy. In a direct democracy (such as that in some of the ancient Greek city states) the people participate in government directly, whereas in a representative democracy (such as that in the UK and in many other countries at the present time) the people participate in government indirectly, through their elected representatives.
The democracy established in ancient Athens towards the end of the 6th century BCE was a form of direct democracy. The Assembly (ἐκκλησία, ekklesia), which all adult male citizens had the right to attend, constituted the government of the city, meeting on at least 40 days in the year and deciding all major political issues. Anyone present had the right to speak and to vote, and issues were decided by a simple majority, sometimes through a show of hands, sometimes in a secret ballot. The Assembly was sovereign not only in theory but in practice, since both the members of the Council (βουλή, boulē), a smaller body responsible for preparing business for the Assembly and implementing its decisions, and the holders of the main political offices were either chosen by lot from the entire citizen body or elected by the Assembly, and in any case all were in office only for a relatively short period (typically no more than a year). (A statement of the ideals embodied in the Athenian democracy may be found in Pericles’ Funeral Oration, i.e., the speech given by the statesman Pericles in 430 BCE at the public funeral for those who had died during the first year of the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BCE); see Thucydides, Histories II, 34-46, especially 37.)
What made direct democracy possible in ancient Athens was the relatively small number of Athenian citizens and the limited territorial extent of the Athenian state. Even so, attendance at meetings of the Assembly ran into several thousands, and only a minority of those eligible to attend were present. Clearly in the modern world, where states have millions of citizens and exercise authority over very extensive territories, direct democracy on the Athenian model would be quite impractical: there is no way in which, e.g., the citizens of the UK could meet together in one place to discuss and decide political issues. This is not to say that elements of direct democracy are not to be found in contemporary political life: referenda, when a specific question is referred to the entire citizen body (as in the referendum on Scottish independence held in Scotland on 18th September 2014 and the referendum on UK membership of the European Union held in the UK on 23rd June 2016) are conspicuous examples. Further, even if direct democracy is impossible at the national level, it may well be possible at a local level or, outside the political sphere, in the workplace or within certain institutions.
Modern democratic states, then, are representative democracies: the people participate in government indirectly through their elected representatives. The details of the systems for electing these representatives vary from country to country. In the United Kingdom, for example, a General Election, i.e., the election of Members of Parliament (MPs) to sit in the House of Commons, is normally held every five years, and involves the division of the country into a large number of constituencies, i.e., districts each of which elects one representative to sit in the House of Commons. (In the General Election in 2015 there were 650 constituencies, but there are plans to reduce the number to 600.) Candidates, whether standing in the interests of a particular political party or standing as independents, publish a manifesto, setting out their views on the principal issues of the day, and the candidate who secures the most votes in the constituency is elected as MP for that constituency. Members of Parliament normally serve until the next General Election, when their constituents, if dissatisfied with their performance or that of the party to which they belong, have the opportunity to elect an alternative candidate. The government is formed by the leader of the party which has won the General Election, i.e., secured a majority of seats in the House of Commons (or if there has been no outright winner by the leaders of two or more parties), and most, though not necessarily all, of those appointed to positions in government are MPs. However, the government is subject to scrutiny by Parliament as a whole and cannot take significant action or enact legislation without securing the approval of a majority in the House of Commons.
For more about parliamentary government in the UK see Bicameralism - pro and con.
