Editing Democracy (section)

====Representative====
{{Main|Representative democracy}}

Representative democracy involves the election of government officials by the people being represented. If the head of state is also [[Democratically elected government|democratically elected]] then it is called a democratic [[republic]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/REV/RADICAL.HTM|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990203212816/http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/REV/RADICAL.HTM|archive-date=3 February 1999|title=Radical Revolution – The Thermidorean Reaction|publisher=Wsu.edu|date=6 June 1999|access-date=22 August 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> The most common mechanisms involve election of the candidate with a majority or a [[Plurality (voting)|plurality]] of the votes. Most western countries have representative systems.<ref name="Golay" />

Representatives may be elected or become diplomatic representatives by a particular district (or [[constituency]]), or represent the entire electorate through [[Proportional representation|proportional]] systems, with some using a combination of the two. Some representative democracies also incorporate elements of direct democracy, such as [[referendum]]s. A characteristic of representative democracy is that while the representatives are elected by the people to act in the people's interest, they retain the freedom to exercise their own judgement as how best to do so. Such reasons have driven criticism upon representative democracy,<ref>{{cite book|last=Köchler|first=Hans|title=The Crisis of Representative Democracy|publisher=Frankfurt/M., Bern, New York|isbn=978-3-8204-8843-2|year=1987}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Urbinati|first=Nadia|title=Representative Democracy: Principles and Genealogy|isbn=978-0-226-84279-0|date=1 October 2008|chapter=2|publisher=University of Chicago Press}}</ref> pointing out the contradictions of representation mechanisms with democracy<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Fenichel Pitkin|first=Hanna|s2cid=154048078|title=Representation and democracy: uneasy alliance|journal=[[Scandinavian Political Studies]]|volume=27|issue=3|pages=335–42|doi=10.1111/j.1467-9477.2004.00109.x|date=September 2004}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Aristotle|title=Politics|volume=Book 4|chapter=Ch. 9}}</ref>

=====Parliamentary=====
{{Main|Parliamentary system}}
[[File:Houses.of.parliament.overall.arp.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Palace of Westminster]] in [[London]], United Kingdom. The [[Westminster system]] originates from the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|British Houses of Parliament]].]]
Parliamentary democracy is a representative democracy where government is appointed by or can be dismissed by, representatives as opposed to a "presidential rule" wherein the president is both head of state and the head of government and is elected by the voters. Under a parliamentary democracy, government is exercised by delegation to an executive ministry and subject to ongoing review, checks and balances by the legislative parliament elected by the people.<ref>[[Keen, Benjamin]], A History of Latin America. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1980.</ref><ref>Kuykendall, Ralph, Hawaii: A History. New York: Prentice Hall, 1948.</ref><ref>Brown, Charles H., The Correspondents' War. New York: [[Charles Scribner's Sons]], 1967.</ref><ref>Taussig, Capt. J. K., "Experiences during the Boxer Rebellion," in Quarterdeck and Fo'c'sle. Chicago: Rand McNally & Company, 1963</ref>

In a parliamentary system, the prime minister may be dismissed by the legislature at any point in time for not meeting the expectations of the legislature. This is done through a vote of no confidence where the legislature decides whether or not to remove the prime minister from office with majority support for dismissal.<ref name="O'Neil, Patrick H 2010" /> In some countries, the prime minister can also call an election at any point in time, typically when the prime minister believes that they are in good favour with the public as to get re-elected. In other parliamentary democracies, extra elections are virtually never held, a minority government being preferred until the next ordinary elections. An important feature of the parliamentary democracy is the concept of the "[[loyal opposition]]". The essence of the concept is that the second largest political party (or opposition) opposes the governing party (or coalition), while still remaining loyal to the state and its democratic principles.

=====Presidential=====
{{Main|Presidential system}}

Presidential democracy is a system where the public elects the president through an election. The president serves as both the head of state and head of government controlling most of the executive powers. The president serves for a specific term and cannot exceed that amount of time. The legislature often has limited ability to remove a president from office. Elections typically have a fixed date and are not easily changed. The president has direct control over the cabinet, specifically appointing the cabinet members.<ref name="O'Neil, Patrick H 2010" />

The executive usually has the responsibility to execute or implement legislation and may have the limited legislative powers, such as a veto. However, a legislative branch passes legislation and budgets. This provides some measure of [[separation of powers]]. In consequence, however, the president and the legislature may end up in the control of separate parties, allowing one to block the other and thereby interfere with the orderly operation of the state. This may be the reason why presidential democracy is not very common outside the Americas, Africa, and Central and Southeast Asia.<ref name="O'Neil, Patrick H 2010" />

A [[semi-presidential system]] is a system of democracy in which the government includes both a prime minister and a president. The particular powers held by the prime minister and president vary by country.<ref name="O'Neil, Patrick H 2010" />