Democracy

Democracy is a relatively recent concept in modern society – for example, in South Africa, the first democratic elections only took place in 1994. Having a democratic region in your world is a sign of a progressive society. Democracy comes along with an innate sense of history. The natural state of humanity is to keep power and apportion power only to those deemed worthy. Democracy is a form of government that has undergone a vast amount of evolution, and you may choose to have a less progressive democracy.

Who Gets the Votes?

Just turn to the Suffrage movement for inspiration. For centuries it was only select members of society that were awarded a vote. You may need to have a certain amount of money, be of a specific ethnicity or gender. An indiscriminate entitlement to a vote is a disturbingly modern concept. Your world may not conform to current democratic standards or may reflect a corrupted system, ultimately you need to assess what contributes the most to your society. Democracy is an indication of how progressive your society is, so adjust the advancement of your democratic government to suit the current societal climate.

Types of Democracy

Direct Democracy

DEFINITION: A form of democracy in which people decide on policy initiatives directly.

In this type of democracy, citizens will not need to vote on representative parties. In other cases, there will be parties to represent the public and make the decisions, but this is where direct democracy differs. In a direct democracy the public will vote on the decisions being made. Nowadays, this system is an idealistic model of government. What is more commonly found, is a combination of direct and representative democracy. In this model, you will have decision-making entities for which the people will vote on issues of leadership, and then the members of the body will vote on decisions.

Why This Works:

Unlike other forms of democracy, this model can be traced all the back to Athens, Greece. Athens is known for a more peculiar type of leadership selection, amounting to little more than the annual drawing of names for 1000 representatives from a hat (this also echoes the prejudice against the participation of women in the decision-making process). This can give society an extremely interesting dynamic. The most respected members of society may no longer be those with the power to make decisions – or if they are, this power is extremely fickle. So, what attributes contribute to a members’ power and respect in your society? Is it wealth? The number of spouses? Aptitude for magic? This allows you to create new and interesting gauges of prosperity and power.

Parliamentary Democracy

DEFINITION: Citizens elect representatives to a legislative parliament to make the necessary laws and decisions for the country.

This often confused with presidential democracy, which is discussed below. The essential difference is that the parliamentary leader will remain involved with the legislative rule. Parliamentary democracy is headed by a prime minister. The prime minister will be among the individuals selected to serve on the parliamentary body. It is this body that will then select a prime minister from their ranks through an internal vote. What is immediately apparent as different from a direct democracy is the presence of a legislative body. Instead of the public voting on issues, they are voting to determine who will participate in the parliament. The prime minister has a more limited role than that of a president. While they will work with members of the legislative body to create and introduce laws to the current framework, the body retains the right to dismiss the prime minister at any time, following a motion of ‘No confidence’. The structure of the parliamentary body comprises of the elite cabinet and then the minority bodies. The cabinet is assembled by the president and serves to deal with all executive issues. The cabinet is still, however, answerable to the minority sectors.

Why This Works

This system is highly compatible with a constitutional monarchy, as is seen in real life in countries such as Britain. Whenever you have multiple options regarding parliamentary members, you can introduce an element of tension into the story as people vie for the rule. This also creates the option for great upheaval using a vote of No Confidence as a tool for sporadic change and tension.

Presidential Democracy

DEFINITION: A system in which the powers of the president are constitutionally separate from those of the legislature.

The presidential form of democracy was crafted to create a government that cannot be forced into oppressing or prosecuting the general populace. Most conventional forms of presidential government are comprised of three spheres of authority: Judicial, Legislative, and Executive. The body of governance is peppered with checks-and-balances to ensure that no one body overshadows another by taking too much power for itself. The actual power implicit in each of these levels will vary in accordance with the law set down by the constitution, but here is a general overview:

The Judicial body, which is considered the lowest sphere of the three, is charged with the upkeep of the law and prosecution in specific cases. This is where all the supreme court and federal courts will fall under.

The legislative body is charged with the larger picture. Instead of assessing individual cases to ensure the law is being upheld, this is where the law is drafted to begin with. The Legislative body will draft and sculpt law that will then be implemented by the judicial system.

The Executive body is where the president sits. The executive body does not have the power to introduce or create laws, however, this does not keep them from making suggestions to the legislative body. Furthermore, the president has the power to veto laws that the legislative body wishes to implement. The president has way less power than the status of the position implies. The president cannot declare war (however, he can mobilize troops). The president's power lies in foreign policy, which includes treaties, executive agreements, and the like, military troops, and his appointment of federal and supreme level judges (as subject to congressional approval).

Why This Works

The key factor about Presidential democracy is that you can get stuck very easily if the wrong person rises to power. Unlike in a parliamentary democracy, the leader figure cannot simply be removed by a vote of no confidence. Removing an unpopular president from power through the impeachment process is a more extensive and complicated process. Additionally, is that if the majority of your target audience is from the USA, they will already be familiar with this type of government.

Representative Democracy

DEFINITION:A type of democracy founded on the principle of elected officials representing a group of people.

In a representative democracy, the people eligible members of society elect members through a vote. The people’s choice lies in the elected officials who then debate and regulate legislature. This can be considered the opposite of direct democracy as the people do not vote directly on the decisions to take place. The representatives are answerable to the constitution of the country. Ideally, the selected government official should overall represent all the demographics and religious groups of the country. However, this is often circumvented by officials, by regulating who can vote and who is eligible for election.

Why this Works

The dynamic produced by a representative democracy can be extremely hypocritical. While the government figures claim to be in the best interest of the people, minorities may not be fairly represented in the government. Also, in a representative democracy there are often multiple parties competing for the limited seats available. Voting is also not always so straightforward If no one party receives the majority quota required to rule, coalitions have to be made, throwing a spanner into the works.

The Suffrage movement took place in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Woman from areas of Europe, the United State, Great Britain and New Zealand participated in the movement.

Nelson Mandela was elected president after the first democratic election in 1994, South Africa.

Britain is a prime Example of a Constitutional Monarchy combined with a Parliamentary Democracy.