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