Editing Polyarchy (section)

{{short description|Term used to describe a form of government in which power is invested in multiple people}}
{{democracy}}
{{forms of government}}
{{politics}}
In [[political science]], the term '''polyarchy''' ({{lang|el-Latn|poly}} "many", ''arkhe'' "rule")<ref>[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/polyarchy polyarchy - Definitions from Dictionary.com<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> was used by [[Robert A. Dahl]] to describe a form of government in which power is invested in multiple people. It takes the form of neither a [[dictatorship]] nor a [[democracy]].<ref name=":0">Robert Dahl, Polyarchy: participation and opposition, New Haven, Yale University Press, 1971</ref> This form of government was first implemented in the United States and France and gradually adopted by other countries. Polyarchy is different from democracy, according to Dahl, because the fundamental democratic principle is "the continuing responsiveness of the government to the preferences of its citizens, considered as political equals" with unimpaired opportunities.<ref name=":0" /> A polyarchy is a form of government that has certain procedures that are necessary conditions for following the democratic principle.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20060808235611/http://web.mit.edu/polisci/research/cohen/dahl_on_democracy.pdf "Dahl on Democracy and Equal Consideration"], by Joshua Cohen</ref><ref name="Michels2004" />

In semblance, the word "polycracy" describes the same form of government,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/polycracy |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090819052202/http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/polycracy |archive-date=2009-08-19 |title=Polycracy Definition {{!}} Definition of Polycracy at Dictionary.com}}</ref> although from a slightly different premise: a polycracy is a society ruled by more than one person, as opposed to a [[autocracy|monocracy]]. The word derives from Greek ''poly'' ("many") and ''kratos'' ("rule" or "strength").