Liberal democracy

Liberal democracy is a form of representative democracy where the ability of elected representatives to exercise decision-making power is subject to the rule of law and moderated by a constitution which emphasizes the protection of the rights and freedoms of individuals and minorities (also called constitutional liberalism), and which places constraints on the extent to which the will of the majority can be exercised.

Relation to indirect democracy

Liberal democracies are representative democracies. Some of these democracies have additional systems of referenda to give the electorate a possibility to overrule decisions of the elected legislature or even to make decisions by plebiscite without giving the legislature a say in that decision. Switzerland is one of the few liberal democracies with a representative system combined with referenda and plebiscites. Other countries have referenda to a lesser degree in their political system. Adding referenda to a political system could help prevent the evolution of a liberal democracy into an oligarchy.

Related Topics:
Referenda - Electorate - Legislature - Plebiscite - Switzerland

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Australia, Canada, the member states of the European Union, Iceland, India, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Brazil and the United States are all examples of somewhat liberal democracies.

Related Topics:
Australia - Canada - European Union - Iceland - India - Japan - New Zealand - Norway - Brazil - United States

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