Democracy is a phenomenon that arose in Russia earlier than princely rule. Although the Slavic people submitted to the princes, they retained certain liberties. To resolve public affairs or prevent imminent danger, people agreed on a general advice.
The word "democracy" ("democracy") is a concept that in the 20th century became one of the most popular. At present, there is not a single political movement with great influence that would not use the term for its own purposes, often far from the true principles of democracy.
What is democracy?
Translated from Greek, this term means the concept of "power of the people." Accordingly, democracy is what the residents of states in which the dictatorship and the authoritarian type of government still dominate. Democracy is a form of political structure that is based on the principles of equality and freedom. In addition, the main government bodies must be elected.
Equality should also be established for citizens who need to be granted broad social and political rights and freedoms.
People and nation
The people in Soviet times represented a historical community of people, changing in accordance with what tasks the authorities were solving in a given period. Today it is understood as a combination of citizens of a state.
So, the people whose prerogative is to exercise democracy are citizens living in the state. A nation is a historical community of people, which was formed in the process of creating joint economic, territorial ties, language, as well as some character traits. It should be noted that people can be multinational. It is impossible to identify such concepts as “people” and “nation”. You need to understand what the difference between them is.
Power
Power is a concept that arose long ago. In Soviet times, it was, in fact, organized violence of one class to suppress another. In a general sense, power is seen as the ability to control something or someone, to dispose of, subordinate others to their will. The following properties can be distinguished:
- realization by the subjects of power of their will;
- it has a programmatic nature;
- the subject prompts the object to commit an action.
Democracy in modern Russia
Russian society at the present stage of its development is characterized by significant transformations of the state and legal system. Russia is gradually becoming a sovereign democratic rule of law, which recognizes the priority of international law and universal values.
The Constitution of our country (Article 3) states that the only source of power and bearer of sovereignty in the Russian Federation is its multinational people. In other words, the Russian Federation is a state of democracy, or a democratic state. The recognition that citizens are the supreme bearers of power is an expression of their independence. The sovereignty of the people means that they, not sharing their power with anyone, exercise it themselves, regardless of various social forces. He uses it to his advantage. It should be noted that popular sovereignty is indivisible. He has only one subject - the people. No part of it (social group, stratum or class) can appropriate power in the Russian Federation.
Democracy as an organizational principle
The establishment of democracy means that citizens enjoy the fullness of power, its free exercise in accordance with their fundamental interests and sovereign will. The exercise of power is legitimized, constituted and controlled by citizens of the state, since it acts in the form of self-government and self-determination of the people, in which all residents of the country have the right to participate. As a way of government and a form of state, democracy is thus transformed into the organizational principle of the exercise of power and possession of it. This principle determines that in the exercise of authority or any state tasks legitimization is required, which comes directly from the people or goes back to it. One of the basic concepts in understanding democracy is the idea that people are the starting and ending points of legitimation.
Forms of Democracy
Citizens of the Russian Federation can exercise their power both through local governments and state authorities, and directly. The form of expression of will determines the form of democracy. The latter may be immediate or representative. Forms of democracy are historically established means or methods of expressing and revealing the interests of various sections of society. So, as already noted, there are two varieties of democracy - representative and direct. We briefly describe each of them.
Representative democracy means that its forms, such as elected bodies and parties, as well as public organizations, exercise the power of the people through representatives. They make decisions that express the will of those people who have been given these powers by them: living in a certain territory of the population or the whole people. And what is a form of direct democracy? There are also a number of them. The following institutions belong to the forms of direct democracy: plebiscite, referendum, rural gatherings, assemblies, etc. With their help, the main issues of public and state life are decided directly by the people.
Referendum
As an institution that implements direct democracy, the referendum is by no means a new form of citizen participation in solving global political and socio-economic issues, in resolving territorial problems and other interstate and internal issues. For example, the first referendum in Switzerland took place in 1439.
This institution, which implements direct democracy, after the First World War entered the constitution of a number of European countries. After World War II, he began to actively develop and improve in almost every highly developed country. The intensity of the use of the referendum increased markedly in the 60–80s of the last century. Today, this form of direct democracy is provided for by the constitutions of many countries.
The difference between a referendum and a plebiscite and elections
It should be noted that the referendum is not always interpreted equally in the world state-legal and political theory and practice. Often this form of direct democracy is identified with a plebiscite or election. It is considered as an affirmation of a state decision by popular vote, which makes it binding and final.
Meanwhile, there are differences between a plebiscite and a referendum. During the referendum, the electoral corps speaks out about amendments to the Constitution, a specific bill, or decisive steps in foreign and domestic policy. The difference between this form of democracy and a plebiscite is that in the course of the latter the electoral corps decides another question: is it worth trusting this or that person.
It is also necessary to note the differences that exist between the general election and the referendum. During the course of the election, the people elect candidates or electors, and during the referendum, each voter answers in the affirmative or negative way. In addition, elections are associated with representative democracy, while a referendum differs from them in that it is a form of direct democracy.
Parliament
Parliament is an elected or partially appointed representative legislative body. “Parliamentarism” is a concept that refers to such a system of state structure of the country, in which the parliament takes center stage in political management. Only he has the right to make laws. In parliamentary elections, as well as in local and central authorities, representatives of the people vote for candidates representing particular political parties.
Parties
In modern society, they are integral elements of a democratic system. However, their existence did not suit most supporters of the theory of social contract and natural law. They believed that the goal of a reasonably structured society was to achieve the greatest benefits for the greatest number of citizens. Therefore, there is no contradiction between the interests of a social group or an individual and society as a whole, which implements democracy. This means that the basis for the formation of several parties is also not available.
In a democratic society, as historical experience has shown, a difference in social interests persists. That is why democratic countries were forced to create a mechanism for identifying, coordinating and protecting the interests of the most numerous and important social groups. Political parties have become central to this mechanism. They arise due to the fact that the election campaign must be conducted in the conditions of a rapid increase in the number of citizens having the right to vote, as well as in connection with the need for regular elections. The party is that which is a form of democracy (representative) today. She is the organizer of the electoral process. At the same time, its main role (in a democratic society) as an instrument of communication between the state and citizens was gradually formed.
