Democracy is direct and representative. Direct democracy Representative democracy in brief

direct participation of every citizen (1 person = 1 vote) in governance and legislative activities.

Democracy as a form of public power that recognizes the people as its source arose in the days of pre-class society, which had not yet been formalized into a state.

In conditions of the tribal system, democracy was direct and immediate. The most important issues in the life of the tribe (election of a leader, decisions on resettlement, wars with neighbors, etc.) were decided at general meetings of adult members of the community. It is obvious that in conditions of the victory of patriarchal relations in clan society, only men could be full participants in such meetings. This norm (with some changes) existed in the legislation of even the most developed democratic states until the beginning of the 20th century, and in some communities (parts of Muslim countries) it is still in effect today.

People's assemblies, as a rule, met at certain times of the year, on days sacred for a given people, and were held in a place associated with the sacred traditions of the clan or tribe. During the times of paganism, many European nations had a custom of making abundant sacrifices to deities before the start of a meeting; after the adoption of Christianity, prayer services were held for the success of the event.

Direct democracy was common in the small town-policies of ancient Greece. Democratic procedures could be carried out in them due to the small size of policies and the small number of free people (citizens) participating in governance.

Plato criticized the ancient form of direct democracy as a system that “does not have proper governance” and is “not at all concerned with what occupations someone moves on to state activities.”

Polis with democratic governance, as a rule, turned out to be unstable both internally (democracy was often replaced by despotism) and in confrontation with a strong external enemy. One of the oldest parliaments on the planet - the Icelandic Althing - also grew out of the people's assembly - the Thing.

The traditions of direct democracy were also strong in Rus'. The entire adult male population of the city and free peasants from the surrounding villages could participate in the Novgorod veche. Formally, it was the veche that could elect and remove senior officials, approve new laws and repeal old ones, declare war and make peace. But, as in other countries where a class structure developed and a state was formed, the veche system in Novgorod and Pskov was an example of a transitional stage from direct democracy to a different type of social structure.

Real power in these cities belonged to the nobility and merchants, for whom the approval of the veche decisions formulated by the ruling elite was nominal. It is not surprising that the abolition of veche institutions after the annexation of Novgorod and Pskov to the Moscow state did not cause serious social and political consequences or popular unrest.

Elements of direct democracy also appeared in the subsequent history of Russia, both during the Zemsky Councils in the 16th and 17th centuries, and during popular unrest. During the Streltsy riots, it was these servicemen who made decisions on the election of a tsar, the appointment or punishment of senior officials in the interests of one or another group of boyars and nobility.

Over time, as the tasks solved by the state became more complex, direct democracy was almost universally replaced by monarchical forms of government. In bourgeois societies, democracy acquired new features that differed from the direct, direct participation of citizens in governance and lawmaking.

Liberal democracy, the foundations of which were formed in the 18th century, was based on the doctrine of popular sovereignty of J. Locke (1632–1704), according to which the source of all power in the state is the people (they themselves choose power so that it enforces those laws , “on which the community or authorized persons agree”).

Bourgeois revolutions of the 18th - 19th centuries. in Europe and America led to the creation of parliamentary republics in many countries and the introduction of universal suffrage. The specificity of the procedures ensuring every citizen’s participation in government governance has determined the formation of two main forms of existence of modern democracy.

Representative democracy, characteristic of Western countries, assumes that the people delegate management functions to their competent representatives through elective methods.

Plebiscitary democracy (adopted, for example, in the USSR) implies that the government itself chooses the course and exercises control, and the people either support or do not support, without going into details.

The essence of both forms of democracy is the indirect participation of citizens in making decisions and laws, in governance at the state or local level.

Many traditions of direct, immediate democracy, when decisions were made not by universal suffrage, but through popular approval (or disapproval), have been preserved in the practice of modern public life. Rallies, protests, and other public events, when the procedure for scrupulously counting votes is simply impossible, reproduce in form the people's assemblies of antiquity.

Elements of direct democracy in the form of laws on referendums, strikes, rallies, petitions and appeals are preserved in the legislation of different countries. With the emergence of totalitarian, fascist regimes in the first half of the 20th century, which was a logical consequence of the development of the bourgeois total state, a kind of renaissance of direct democracy occurred, when the ruling elites, in order to strengthen their power, provoked mass forms of social activity (party congresses, popular initiatives, movements, campaigns on a whole country scale, etc.).

The nationalization of society, the “massification” of people is still happening, but on a fundamentally different basis - in the conditions of the information society and the “new world order” based on the dominance of TNCs. Therefore, at the present stage, manifestations of direct democracy (rallies, actions, marches) are simply a way of manipulating mass consciousness in the interests of the ruling elites. Such methods of democratic governance as referendums, polls, consultations, and round tables also serve the same goals.

Often, “direct action” methods are used when traditional democratic procedures do not lead to the goals desired by the world’s ruling elite - during “velvet revolutions”, which are the result of manipulation of public opinion from the outside with the help of modern political technologies and Cold War means. Moreover, it is precisely the supporters of the liberal state that have actually now turned into its fierce enemies, because, denying traditional democratic institutions, questioning the results of elections, they are increasingly resorting to destructive political activity, to primitive forms of social activity that go back to tribal democracy.

In connection with the development of communication and the growth of education in society, some theorists (Barber, Toffler, Nasbit, Grossman, Reingold, Pal, Rhodes, etc.) started talking about an era of return to direct democracy. Even the terms “teledemocracy” and “cyberdemocracy” have appeared, suggesting the use of interactive capabilities of radio, television and the Internet for discussing and developing laws, voting, and governance. True, none of the theorists have ever found a way to avoid manipulation, the triumph of incompetence, and the loss of time due to the involvement of large masses of people in management processes. To date, these projects have not been applied in practice.

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Direct and representative democracy are the two main forms of democracy enshrined in the Constitution of the Russian Federation. This is the immediate (direct) exercise of power by the people and the exercise of power through the bodies of state power formed by them and. The main forms of direct democracy are elections. See Elections, .

Referendums and elections are the highest direct expression of democracy. establishes the highest authority for decisions made directly by the people.

Forms of direct democracy are used both to solve national problems - federal elections and referendums of the Russian Federation, and to resolve issues of regional and local significance - elections and referendums of constituent entities of the Russian Federation, and local referendums.

Elections and referendums are independent forms of direct democracy; they cannot replace each other. It is also impossible to talk about the priority of one form over another, since the Constitution of the Russian Federation proclaims both of these forms to be the highest direct expression of democracy. Through each form of direct democracy, certain tasks are solved. Elections are a way to form government bodies. At the same time, issues of forming the composition of state authorities and local self-government bodies cannot be the subject of a referendum.

An important form of democracy is representative - the exercise of power by the people indirectly, through public authorities and. See, Elected Official. These bodies are formed and shaped by the people for the day-to-day exercise of power on their behalf. The method of formation is through direct free elections. Citizens' control over the activities of bodies constitutes the democratic basis of the system of state authorities and local self-government in the Russian Federation.

The representative form of democracy is present at all levels. In accordance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation, federal government bodies are formed and operate at the federal level (See Federal government bodies) - the President of the Russian Federation, the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation. In the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, in accordance with the legislation, legislative and executive bodies of state power of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation are established (See). At the local level, legislation also provides for the mandatory presence of elected bodies (See).

Russian electoral law: dictionary-reference book. 2013 .

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More on topic 4.2.2. Forms of democracy: direct (immediate), indirect (representative):

1. Sentences with direct and indirect speech, their structural and semantic features. The mechanism for replacing direct speech with indirect speech.

Countries around the world are, to one degree or another, creating or striving to create a democratic society. This is a rather complex control system. Let's look at what direct democracy is, how it differs from representative democracy, and what advantages it gives to ordinary people. The main theses of modern politicians are in one way or another connected with the “will of the people.” That is, no one denies the importance of the population’s opinion in choosing a country’s development strategy and making less important decisions. Direct democracy was invented to legitimize popular views. But not everyone understands what it is in practice. We'll try to figure it out.

Definition of terms and concepts

Any society ideally strives to satisfy the needs of all its members. Some people have to agree with the majority, but political instruments and institutions are developing in the direction of taking into account the views of each group or layer, not excluding the marginal ones. Direct democracy is a set of tools and legal norms that make it possible to organize the expression of the will of the people and take it into account in state policy. Its principles are written down in the basic law of the country - the constitution. It should be borne in mind that the forms of democracy today are different. In the scientific literature, representative and direct are distinguished. Both of them are related to the main idea - the expression of the will of the population, but have different methods for its implementation. Let us add for those who have forgotten, democracy is a regime where decisions are made collectively, as a rule, by the majority. At the same time, all members of the team are also involved in the implementation of the approved plan. That is, democracy is a system where there is joint (read “common”) responsibility. Citizens do not simply do what the state dictates to them. They have the right to advise him, express their own opinions, and participate in governing the country both at the planning stage and in the process of implementing ideas and projects.

Definition of direct democracy

Deciding how and where to go for a huge country is not so easy. There are many citizens, everyone has their own opinion on this matter. But direct democracy, that is, the participation of the people in initiating and planning development, concerns not only global issues within one country, but also more specific issues. For example, people do not like the condition of the roads in the village. They have every right to contact the local administration with a proposal to carry out repairs at the expense of the community’s money. This is a concrete example of democracy. People see for themselves what needs to be done for their village, city, country. They can initiate projects personally (citizens) or as part of a social movement, usually a political party. In practice, the organizing committee conducts opinion research to find out what people care about. These issues are included in the party program, which it embodies in reality. That is, direct democracy is the right to participate in the leadership of the country, the organization of public life, the distribution and control of the budget, confirmed by law.

Forms of democracy

If you imagine that every citizen will take a direct part in resolving any important issue, the country will stop developing. Technically organizing voting, counting and analysis of opinions is quite difficult and expensive. Therefore, in addition to direct democracy, there is representative democracy. This is a system of elected bodies formed by citizens as a result of expression of will. Groups of people delegate their right to participate in the development of the country to specific individuals or parties. They, in turn, speak on their behalf, expressing their stated views. That is, citizens enter into an agreement with their representative - a deputy, instructing him to take care of their interests. This is representative democracy. Moreover, it is impossible without a straight line, the same is true in the opposite case. The two forms of democracy are interdependent and cannot exist without each other.

Methods and forms of direct democracy

The activities of the state are a complex matter. Many important issues have to be resolved. Some of them concern certain groups of the population, others – all citizens. The population participates in power not chaotically, but in strictly defined, legally established ways. Among them are:

• imperative;
• advisory.

Forms of direct democracy differ in the level of obligation for government bodies. Imperatives do not require further approval and are final. Consultative ones are designed to ensure that government bodies take into account the opinion of the people when making decisions and organizing their implementation.

Elections

Modern democracy is based on taking into account the views of the majority of the population. To organize the representation of citizens, elections are held to local councils and the country's parliament. In some states, this procedure is carried out in relation to judges (in the Russian Federation they are appointed by the president). Elections are among the imperative methods of democracy. Their results are final and do not require further confirmation. When people vote for a certain MP or party, they receive a share of the seats in parliament or council. This decision can only be challenged in court if there are serious grounds for doing so.

Referendum

This democratic method was originally also considered imperative, that is, final. Citizens make a binding decision by voting. Recently, some countries have begun to organize deliberative referendums related to consultative methods. This is a form of identifying majority opinion, used to develop consensus in society, sometimes for propaganda. For example, the referendum in the Netherlands on the ratification of the agreement with Ukraine on the European association was of a recommendatory nature. There are countries where parliament can be dissolved and the president recalled by direct expression of will (there is no such provision in the Russian Federation). In certain territories there are no representative bodies. The conditions for democracy in these regions are created by organizing general discussion of important issues by the population. They are decided by direct vote.

Public discussion and initiative

Representative bodies do not always make popular decisions. Democracy presupposes initiative from below. That is, the opportunity to make proposals to parliament to change paragraphs or part of the resolutions. This method is called popular discussion. Currently, it is not enshrined in the constitutions of states, including the Russian Federation. People's initiative is considered to be the right of citizens to propose binding decisions to a representative body. Parliament is obliged to discuss and respond to them. Sometimes the initiative leads to the dissolution of the representative body. An imperative mandate is the ability to give orders to your deputies. During its implementation, people have the right to assign certain tasks to elected representatives, demand an account, or recall them. It is believed that direct democracy is most developed in Sweden, Italy, Liechtenstein and some other countries. They hold referendums more often than others. European states resort to this form of communication with the people in difficult situations in order to ensure consensus in society.

Conclusion

The importance of direct democracy for modern countries cannot be overestimated. On its basis, legislative bodies responsible for the development of society are formed. Issues that matter most to people are resolved through referendums. Every citizen is given the opportunity to take part in a fateful event, as was the case in Crimea in 2014. This allows you to maintain calm in society and prevent revolutionary explosions. In addition, the institutions of direct democracy are aimed at raising the general intellectual level of the population. Without understanding the essence of ongoing processes, it is impossible for people to participate in decision making. Therefore, educational work based on the interest of the population in the topics of referendums and plebiscites is necessary.

Direct democracy (Direct democracy) is a form of political organization and structure of society in which the main decisions are initiated, adopted and executed directly by citizens; direct implementation of decision-making by the population itself of a general and local nature; direct law-making of the people.

According to the formulation given by Professor M.F. Chudakov: direct democracy is a set of methods and forms by which an individual or a team can independently be included in the process of making generally binding decisions, or participate in the formation and functioning of a representative system, or influence the development of a state politicians.

A characteristic feature of direct democracy is the use of the civil population (citizens of the state), who are directly responsible for the adoption and execution of decisions made.

Options and directions for initiating issues can come from both individual citizens and entire groups (parties, public or economic associations, local and state government bodies).

The advantage of direct democracy is the rapid formulation and adoption of specific decisions at the level of individual small groups of society (issues of a local and private nature).

The disadvantage of direct democracy is the complexity of its application over large territories (complexity of forming issues, increasing the time required to agree on issues and conduct voting) without the use of computer technology and mobile communications.

Most common methods of direct democracy are:

1) elections - election of deputies or judges by citizens. In most states (including the Russian Federation), all deputies are elected; in a number of countries, only a few members of the upper house of parliament are appointed. Judges can either be elected by the people or appointed by the president or monarch (in the Russian Federation, judges are appointed by the president). Also, at different times in different states, commanders of armed forces (for example, commanders of the National Guard in France in the 1790s) and various police positions could be elected. Electivity also includes the right of citizens to nominate candidates for elected positions and the right to challenge candidates. At the moment, in most states, discussion of candidates is held at a meeting of the groups of voters that nominated them (party congresses, congresses of public organizations, meetings of initiative groups), electoral meetings at which candidates are discussed are not convened in most states; they were convened in the French Republic in 1791 - 1799 and in the Ligurian Republic 1797 - 1799.

2) popular vote (referendum) - adoption of resolutions by voting of citizens. These resolutions are mandatory, but recently in a variety of countries the people may adopt non-binding resolutions (consultative referendum). In some states, lower local units may not have a representative body, and a given local unit may be governed by a general meeting of its residents. At the moment, in most states (including the Russian Federation), the people cannot accept or reject the budget, introduce or cancel taxes and fees, ratify or denounce international treaties, declare war and make peace, or declare an amnesty. At the same time, in a number of states the question (in the Russian Federation cannot) of dissolving parliament or recalling the president must be put to a referendum.

3) popular discussion - the right of a group of voters to make proposals to amend and supplement individual paragraphs or sections of parliamentary resolutions. At the moment, in most states (including the Russian Federation), public discussion is not spelled out in the constitution and laws.

4) popular initiative - the right of a group of voters to introduce draft resolutions with the obligation of parliament to accept, change, supplement or reject it. A special case of popular initiative is a counterproposal - the right of a certain number of citizens to put forward an alternative proposal in the context of a legislative initiative or referendum procedure, while in some states the acceptance of such a proposal by the people may lead to the dissolution of parliament. The opinion is often expressed that the procedure of popular voting, which should be initiated not by citizens, but exclusively by government institutions, has nothing to do with direct democracy.

5) imperative mandate - the right of the people to accept orders mandatory for individual deputies or judges, the right of the people to recall individual deputies or judges, the obligation of individual deputies or judges to regularly report to the people and the right of the people to demand an extraordinary report from them. At the moment, in most states, the people cannot recall individual deputies, pass mandatory orders for individual deputies, and individual deputies do not have to give reports to the people (in the Russian Federation, the imperative mandate is not prohibited, but it is not spelled out either).

Direct democracy is closely related to other methods of political participation, which do not give the right to directly resolve issues of public life, but allow one to influence the process of making such decisions.

Elements of direct democracy are most developed in Switzerland, the US state of California, Liechtenstein, Italy and some other countries where referendums are most frequent. But in most countries, the ability to initiate a referendum “from below,” that is, on the initiative of ordinary citizens, is very limited in law or in practice. At the same time, popular vote and popular initiative exist in most states, but the main political issues are excluded from consideration at the referendum. The mandatory mandate exists in the People's Republic of China, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, the Lao People's Democratic Republic and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, as well as in some US states.

Both forms of exercise of power - direct and representative - are classified by the Russian Constitution as the foundations of the constitutional system:

2. The people exercise their power directly, as well as through state authorities and local governments.

3. The highest direct expression of the power of the people is a referendum and free elections.

Art. 3 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation

The right of the people corresponds to the constitutional right of every citizen of the Russian Federation to participate in the management of state affairs, both directly and through their representatives:

1. Citizens of the Russian Federation have the right to participate in the management of state affairs, both directly and through their representatives.

2. Citizens of the Russian Federation have the right to elect and be elected to government bodies and local self-government bodies, as well as to participate in a referendum.

Art. 32 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation

The Constitution of the Russian Federation especially emphasizes the role of direct democracy for local self-government:

2. Local self-government is exercised by citizens through referendums, elections, and other forms of direct expression of will, through elected and other local government bodies.

Art. 130 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation

The procedure for holding referendums in Russia is regulated by the Federal Constitutional Law.

Representative democracy - a political regime in which the people are recognized as the main source of power, but government is delegated to various representative bodies, whose members are elected by citizens. Representative democracy is the leading form of political participation in modern states. Its essence lies in the indirect participation of citizens in decision-making, in their selection of their representatives to government bodies, designed to express their interests, pass laws and give orders.

Representative democracy is necessary especially when, due to large territories or other reasons, regular direct participation of citizens in voting is difficult, and also when complex decisions are made that are difficult for non-specialists to understand.

Manifestations of representative democracy are:

1) adoption of laws, budget, establishment of taxes and fees, ratification and denunciation of international treaties by parliament; At the moment, in most states (including the Russian Federation), laws and budgets are adopted by parliament and approved by the president or monarch, with the latter having the right to send the draft law or budget for reconsideration by parliament. In addition, in a number of states the range of issues on which laws are adopted should be limited (in the Russian Federation there is no such restriction).

2) formation of the government by parliament. At the moment, in most states (including the Russian Federation), the parliament approves candidacies for members of the government or the candidacy of the chairman of the government proposed by the president or monarch;

3) the right of legislative initiative - in most states it belongs only to groups of several deputies, while the right of legislative initiative also belongs to the president or monarch; in a number of states (including the Russian Federation) legislative initiative belongs to individual deputies.

4) parliamentary control over the government: includes parliamentary approval of the government program, the obligation of the government and the minister to give regular reports to parliament and the right of parliament to demand an extraordinary report from the government and its members and the right of parliament to declare no confidence in the government or minister leading to the resignation of the government or minister. At the moment, in most states (including the Russian Federation), the government and ministers are removed by decree of the president or monarch on the basis of mistrust on the part of parliament.

The fundamental disadvantage of representative democracy is the formation of government bodies through elections, during which voters are forced to vote for candidates they are unfamiliar with and who do not represent the interests of all segments of the population.