Editing Representative democracy (section)

{{Short description|Type of democracy principled on elected representation}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2015}}
{{Democracy}}
{{Basic forms of government}}
'''Representative democracy''', also known as '''indirect democracy''' or '''electoral democracy''', is a [[types of democracy|type of democracy]] where elected delegates  [[Representation (politics)|represent]] a group of people, in contrast to [[direct democracy]].<ref>{{cite web|date= 28 July 2005|access-date= 14 December 2007|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071213045132/http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/SARC/E-Democracy/Final_Report/Glossary.htm|archive-date= 13 December 2007|url= http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/SARC/E-Democracy/Final_Report/Glossary.htm|title= Victorian Electronic Democracy, Final Report – Glossary}}</ref> Nearly all modern [[Liberal democracy|Western-style democracies]] function as some type of representative democracy: for example, the [[United Kingdom]] (a [[unitary state|unitary]] [[parliamentary system|parliamentary]] [[constitutional monarchy]]), [[Germany]] (a [[federal parliamentary republic]]), [[France]] (a unitary [[semi-presidential system|semi-presidential]] [[republic]]), and the [[United States]] (a federal [[Presidential system|presidential]] republic).<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last= Loeper|first=Antoine|year=2016|title= Cross-border externalities and cooperation among representative democracies|journal=European Economic Review|doi= 10.1016/j.euroecorev.2016.10.003|volume= 91|pages=180–208|hdl=10016/25180|hdl-access=free}}</ref> Unlike [[liberal democracy]], a representative democracy may have ''de facto'' multiparty and free and fair elections, but may not have a fully developed [[rule of law]] and additional individual and minority rights beyond the electoral sphere.<ref name="Lührmann 2018">{{Cite journal |last1=Lührmann |first1=Anna |last2=Tannenberg |first2=Marcus |last3=Lindberg |first3=Staffan I. |date=19 March 2018 |title=Regimes of the World (RoW): Opening New Avenues for the Comparative Study of Political Regimes |url=https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/1214/714 |journal=Politics and Governance |volume=6 |issue=1 |access-date=May 16, 2025 |pages=60–77 |issn=2183-2463 |doi=10.17645/pag.v6i1.1214 |doi-access=free |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250321135605/https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/1214/714 |archive-date=March 21, 2025 }}</ref>

Representative democracy places power in the hands of representatives who are elected by the people. [[Political parties]] often become central to this form of democracy if [[electoral systems]] require or encourage voters to vote for political parties or for candidates associated with political parties (as opposed to voting for individual representatives).<ref>De Vos et al (2014) South African Constitutional Law – In Context: Oxford University Press.</ref> Some [[Political theories|political theorists]] (including [[Robert Dahl]], [[Gregory Houston]], and [[Ian Liebenberg]]) have described representative democracy as [[polyarchy]].<ref>Houston, G F (2001) Public Participation in Democratic Governance in South Africa, Pretoria: Human Sciences Research Council HSRC Press</ref><ref>Dahl, R A (2005) "Is international democracy possible? A critical view", in Sergio Fabbrini (editor): ''Democracy and Federalism in the European Union and the United States: Exploring post-national governance'': 195 to 204 (Chapter 13), Abingdon on the Thames: Routledge.</ref>

Representative democracy can be organized in different ways including both [[Parliamentary system|parliamentary]] and [[presidential system]]s of [[form of government|government]]. Elected representatives typically form a [[legislature]] (such as a parliament or congress), which may be composed of a [[unicameralism|single chamber]] (unicameral), [[bicameralism|two chambers]] (bicameral), or [[Multicameralism|more than two chambers]] (multicameral). Where two or more chambers exist, their members are often elected in [[electoral system|different ways]].