Types of Democracy
Learn the concepts, study the diagram, then answer 8 questions
Presidential Democracy
How it works: Citizens directly vote to elect both the executive (president) and the legislature (parliament/congress) separately. The two branches are independent from each other — neither depends on the other to govern.
Example: The United States has a presidential system. Americans elect a President and Congress independently. The President leads the government even if Congress disagrees with decisions.
Key feature: Separation of power. Each branch is accountable directly to the voters.
Parliamentary Democracy
How it works: Citizens vote only for the legislature. The legislature then selects the executive (prime minister) from among its members. This makes the two branches interdependent — the executive must maintain support from the legislature to stay in power.
Example: The United Kingdom, Canada, and Germany have parliamentary systems. Voters elect Parliament, which then chooses a Prime Minister who must keep Parliament's confidence to govern.
Key feature: Accountability. The executive directly answers to the legislature and can be removed if they lose support.
Direct Democracy
How it works: Citizens themselves make decisions on major government matters, rather than electing representatives. Citizens perform both the executive and legislative functions directly through voting on issues.
Example: Switzerland uses direct democracy through frequent referendums where citizens vote on laws directly. Ancient Athens practiced direct democracy in its assembly.
Key feature: No intermediaries. Citizens have direct power in governing, though it's difficult to scale to large nations.
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