Liberal democracy

A system of representative government that combines competitive elections and majority rule with constitutional limits, civil liberties, political pluralism, and equal legal rights.

Representative democracy: A system in which elected officials make public decisions on behalf of citizens. Elected representation supplies liberal democracy’s basic structure of government.
Electoral system: The rules that translate votes into elected offices or legislative seats. Electoral rules determine how voter preferences become representative power.
Illiberal democracy: A political system with elections but weakened protections for rights, opposition, or institutional constraints. It shows how elections can persist while liberal safeguards erode.
Minority rights: Legal and political protections for groups that lack numerical or political dominance. Rights protections limit the risk that majority rule will marginalize smaller groups.
United States Constitution: The founding charter of the United States, establishing a federal government with separated powers and enumerated limits. It provides an early example of constitutional limits combined with representative government.
Constitutionalism: The principle that government authority is limited by and exercised under a constitution. Constitutional limits prevent elected majorities from exercising unrestricted power.
Political parties: Organizations that coordinate candidates and supporters to gain political power and advance policies. Parties organize competition and offer voters distinct governing alternatives.
Electoral autocracy: An authoritarian system that holds elections without providing genuinely fair competition for power. Its managed contests contrast with the open competition liberal democracy requires.
Accountability: The obligation of public officials to explain their conduct and face consequences for their decisions. Elections and oversight give citizens means to sanction governing officials.
Weimar Republic: Germany’s democratic republic from 1919 to 1933, established after the First World War. Its collapse demonstrates how a constitutional democracy can be dismantled from within.

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