Representative democracy

<p>Representative democracy, also known as indirect democracy or electoral democracy, is a <a href="/facts/Types_of_democracy/73zokDNj">type of democracy</a> where elected delegates  <a href="/facts/Representation_(politics)/EfU0v8bj">represent</a> a group of people, in contrast to <a href="/facts/Direct_democracy/YmyUWBDX">direct democracy</a>. Nearly all modern <a href="/facts/Liberal_democracy/5blgnbkS">Western-style democracies</a> function as some type of representative democracy: for example, the <a href="/facts/United_Kingdom/kuPAILt2">United Kingdom</a> (a <a href="/facts/Unitary_state/HAxK1eMM">unitary</a> <a href="/facts/Parliamentary_system/HAsnSsRz">parliamentary</a> <a href="/facts/Constitutional_monarchy/C0TtVRq8">constitutional monarchy</a>), <a href="/facts/Germany/paluuWBX">Germany</a> (a <a href="/facts/Federal_parliamentary_republic/k0q9mhNo">federal parliamentary republic</a>), <a href="/facts/France/CxIeIKM3">France</a> (a unitary <a href="/facts/Semi-presidential_system/vncj96gR">semi-presidential</a> <a href="/facts/Republic/vc8D2pA8">republic</a>), and the <a href="/facts/United_States/P0sCdLe5">United States</a> (a federal <a href="/facts/Presidential_system/lFFCrzpv">presidential</a> republic). Representative democracy places power in the hands of representatives who are elected by the people. <a href="/facts/Political_parties/IAKw7oEK">Political parties</a> often become central to this form of democracy if <a href="/facts/Electoral_systems/e6zvx3Bo">electoral systems</a> require or encourage voters to vote for political parties or for candidates associated with political parties (as opposed to voting for individual representatives). Some <a href="/facts/Political_theories/JuLBNdAX">political theorists</a> (including <a href="/facts/Robert_Dahl/8pvfK2Ve">Robert Dahl</a>, Gregory Houston, and Ian Liebenberg) have described representative democracy as <a href="/facts/Polyarchy/YF1bgIWk">polyarchy</a>.
</p><p>Representative democracy can be organized in different ways including both <a href="/facts/Parliamentary_system/HAsnSsRz">parliamentary</a> and <a href="/facts/Presidential_system/lFFCrzpv">presidential systems</a> of <a href="/facts/Form_of_government/N4bYL0VC">government</a>. Elected representatives typically form a <a href="/facts/Legislature/ycUCe91S">legislature</a> (such as a parliament or congress), which may be composed of a <a href="/facts/Unicameralism/Uv6VUhG4">single chamber</a> (unicameral), <a href="/facts/Bicameralism/qdbjFfpm">two chambers</a> (bicameral), or <a href="/facts/Multicameralism/jYGHKbTx">more than two chambers</a> (multicameral). Where two or more chambers exist, their members are often elected in <a href="/facts/Electoral_system/e6zvx3Bo">different ways</a>.
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Representative democracy open-in-new

Representative democracy