Democracy

In this course you will learn about what democracy is and how it functions in the UK. You will explore the different systems of governance and discover how democracy matters to you.

Introduction

The word democracy comes from two Greek words; demos, meaning common people, and kratos, meaning power.

The definition of democracy is: "A system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state." That means in a democracy, you have a right and responsibility to decide how your country is run, and what decisions are made. In small groups this can mean that every person has a direct part to play in all decision making. In a larger group, such as a country, it often means that the people elect representatives to speak and make decisions on their behalf.

There are many ways of ruling or governing a group of people. In general, they can all be defined as one of five types. Sometimes a system of governance will take elements from more than one of these groups to create hybrid models, such as a democratic republic.

You will learn 

1. Explain different systems of governance
2. Know what democracy is
3. Understand how democracy works in the UK
4. Know why democracy matters to you