Democracy

A system of government in which political authority derives from the people, exercised directly or through elected representatives. Its forms differ in how citizens participate and how majority power is constrained.

Popular sovereignty: The principle that a government’s legitimate authority comes from the people. It states the source of authority that distinguishes democracy from rule by hereditary or self-appointed rulers.
Direct democracy: A form of democracy in which citizens decide policy questions themselves rather than solely through representatives. It shows the direct route from popular preferences to public decisions.
Authoritarianism: A form of government that concentrates power and restricts meaningful political competition and public dissent. It limits the competition and participation that distinguish democratic government.
Athenian democracy: A system of citizen participation practiced in ancient Athens, especially during the fifth and fourth centuries BCE. Athens provides an early, influential example of direct citizen rule, though citizenship was restricted.
Democratic backsliding: The gradual weakening of democratic institutions, norms, and protections within a political system. It describes how elected governments can erode the conditions that sustain popular rule.
Political equality: The principle that people should have equal standing and influence in political life. Equal political standing supports the democratic claim that citizens govern as equals.
Representative democracy: A form of democracy in which citizens elect officials to make public decisions on their behalf. It is the dominant way large modern states exercise popular rule.
Autocracy: A system of government in which a single ruler holds supreme political power. It locates ultimate authority in one ruler rather than the people.
Roman Republic: The ancient Roman state governed through elected magistrates, assemblies, and a Senate from 509 to 27 BCE. Its mixed institutions shaped later debates about representation and republican government.
Democratic peace theory: The theory that established democracies rarely wage war against one another. It links regime type to a debated pattern in relations between states.

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