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The term democracy first appeared in ancient Greek political and philosophical thought in the city-state of Athens during classical antiquity. [46] [47] The word comes from dêmos '(common) people' and krátos 'force/might'. [48] Under Cleisthenes, what is generally held as the first example of a type of democracy in 508–507 BC was ...
Athenian democracy – democracy in the Greek city-state of Athens developed around the fifth century BCE, making Athens one of the first known democracies in the world, comprising the city of Athens and the surrounding territory of Attica. It was a system of direct democracy, in which eligible citizens voted directly on legislation and ...
In American English, the definition of a republic can also refer specifically to a government in which elected individuals represent the citizen body, also known as a representative democracy (a democratic republic) and exercise power according to the rule of law (a constitutional republic).
A liberal democracy is a representative democracy with rule of law, protection for individual liberties and rights, and limitations on the power of the elected representatives. An illiberal democracy is a representative democracy with weak or no limits on the power of the elected representatives to rule as they please.
The power of representatives is usually curtailed by a constitution (as in a constitutional democracy or a constitutional monarchy) or other measures to balance representative power: [7] An independent judiciary, which may have the power to declare legislative acts unconstitutional (e.g. constitutional court, supreme court).
The term "democracy" is derived from the Greek expression δημοκρατία (dēmokratia) (δῆμος/dēmos: people, Κράτος/kratos: rule). [3] It has two main subtypes, direct and representative democracy. In the former, the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation; in the latter, they choose governing officials ...
Commentary: More than 4 billion people, or more than half of humanity, live in countries with upcoming elections.
In the post-classical era, the authority of a ruler was typically accepted without question and without consideration of the wishes of the people. Religious authority or the blessing of a deity was often invoked as justification for a ruler's power. [18] The first ideas of a mandate for popular rule developed around the year 1500. [19]