Democracy means rule by the people. There are different ways this can be done:
- People meet to decide about new laws, and changes to existing ones. This is usually called direct democracy. It is never used except in small countries, or perhaps in towns. Modern populations are usually too large to do this.
- The people elect their leaders. These leaders take decisions about laws. This is commonly called representative democracy. Elections are either held periodically, or when an officeholder dies.
- Sometimes people can propose new laws or changes to existing laws. Usually, this is done using a referendum, a vote.
- Sometimes, people are chosen more or less at random. This is common, for example, when choosing a jury for a trial. In Europe, trials with a jury are usually used for serious crimes. However, many legal cases are not about crimes. They are about commercial issues. They are usually held without a jury, and decisions are made by the judge or judicial panel.
The type of government where power is in the hands of a single person is called a dictatorship. Democracy is the opposite of a dictatorship. The Soviet Union almost always was a dictatorship, as Russia is today. Dictatorships often act against freedom of expression.
An important source of information is the Democracy Index published by the Economist periodical.
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