POWERand

DEMOCRACY

Remember this question?

• To what extent do democratic governments have an obligation to do what people want?

• Recognizing the will of the people:– Voting; allows for public input, provides

representation that reflects public opinion, holds politicians accountable

• Direct and Representative Democracies• Direct democracy; people DIRECTLY

participate in decision making which can be time consuming

• Representative Democracy; citizens elect candidates to make decisions on their behalf, different levels of government, sometimes use methods of direct democracy.

• In representative democracy, one of the most important concepts is representation by population or rep by pop

• This is the idea that each person has a vote, and each representative roughly represents the same number of people

Representative Democracy

• There are essentially two main types of voting systems that are used to determine who wins an election

• First Past the Post (Canada)• Proportional Representation or popular

vote(Sweden)

First Past the Post

• Also known as “Winner Takes All”• The winner in this system is the candidate

that receives the highest total number of votes

• Ex. If there are only two candidates, and the total number of votes was 100, the winner would get at least 51 to win

*This system becomes more complicated with more than two candidates and when this happens, the vote is often split and lends argument to using proportional representation*

First Past the Post• This is the system used in Canada• In an election (provincial or federal), the winner of the riding

or constituency, represents all the people who live in that area• There is one seat in the House of Commons (federal) for the

winning candidate to occupy• Considering the following information, is this system fair?

Riding: Edmonton CentreElection Results (October 14, 2008):

Candidates Percent vote in the riding Percent of seats won (1 available)

Conservative 49 100

Liberal 27 0

NDP 15 0

Green 8 0

Overall ResultsElection Results (May 2011):

Candidates Percent vote Percent of seats won (308 available)

Conservative (167) 39.62% 54%

New Democratic Party (102)

30.62% 33%

Liberal (34) 18.91% 11%

Green (1) 3.91% 0.3%

Proportional Representation• This system allots seats based on the

percent of the vote received by a political party

• Ex. Canadian House of Commons by Party- Percentage of seats (2011)Conservatives 54%

New Democratic Party 33%

Liberal 11%

Bloc Quebecois 1.2%

Green Party 0.32%

Other 0

Percentage of Popular Vote (2011)

Conservatives 39.62%New Democratic Party 30.62%Liberals 18.91%Bloc Quebecois 6.05%Green Party 3.91%Other 0.43%

Proportional Representation

• Supporters argue that proportional representation is more democratic because every voter’s vote counts

• Critics say that it can often result in a minority government or a coalition which tend to be less stable than a majority government.

Minority, Majority, Coalition Governments

• Minority Government is where the ruling party has more seats in government than any one other party, but not more than the other parties combined

• Majority Government is where the ruling party has more seats in government than any one other party, AND all other parties combined.

• Coalition Government is when there is a minority government in power, and theyneed to form an alliance with other parties in order to get their legislation passed.

Parties 2-4 combined = 183 seats

Number of Seats in House of Commons (308)

Conservatives 167 New Democratic Party 102

Liberals 34 Bloc Quebecois 4Green Party 1 Other 0

The Will of the People• Party Politics are one way in which the

government can reflect the will of the people– Party platforms reflect a particular ideology for the party– The main parties of Canada are the Conservatives, Liberals,

Bloc Quebecois, New Democratic Party, and Green Party» There are officially 19 registered political parties in

Canada» Candidates can also run independently

The Will of the People• MP’s in Canada are expected to vote how they

think their constituents would want them to vote• This may lead to conflict if the constituents

demands are against the beliefs of the political party

• In many instances, parties demand PARTY SOLIDARITY to vote along party lines on a given issue

• Members can be asked to leave the party if they vote against their party.

Will of the People• Free votes; some times members are

allowed to vote their conscience, or for their constituents

• Usually on controversial issues• Ex. Gay marriage, abortion, legalized prostitution

• In the United States elected officials are generally free to vote against their party’s positions and all votes are considered to be free

Will of the People

• How is the government accountable to the people in representative democracy?– Question period– Freedom of the press

• Referendums and Plebiscites• Method of direct democracy used when the country

is dealing with important issues• Ex. Conscription Crisis in WWII Canada• Ex. Quebec Referendum

Consensus Decision Making

• Consensus decision making uses group decision making to resolve issues or make decisions

• Ex. Tsuu Tína First Nations Peacemaker Court• Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment

• Supporters argue that is promotes equality and allows everyone to participate in the decision

• Critics say that it is time-consuming and emotionally demanding and participants may not reach a solution

Interest Groups• The people we elect, generally do not

represent all people, beliefs, or issues• Interest Groups (lobby, advocacy or pressure

groups) work to encourage legislation based around their specific goals and beliefs.

Protests and Riots• When people feel they are not being listened

to by their government, they are more likely to protest, or even to riot.

• These tactics represent the frustration felt by the people who believe they are not listened to.

• How do YOU think governments should listen to the people of their country?

Disregarding the Will of the People

• There are times when the government may decide the common good and the survival of the country is more important than individual desires

• In emergency situations sometimes a liberal democratic governments may suspend the rights of their citizens by implementing illiberal legislation.

Public Safety and Security Acts• In Canada, our security legislation is known

as the War Measures Act• This allows the government to suspend civil rights

and liberties in times of crisis• It has been used during WWI, WWII and the

October Crisis in 1970.• The October Crisis was when an extremist separtist

group, the FLQ, abducted two politicians and held them hostage, killing one. The War Measures Act allowed the government to arrest and hold people to quickly find the guilty parties without having to go through the usual legal channels.

» CBC Archives

Safety and Security Legislation• After the Canadian Charter of Rights and

Freedoms was enacted, the government was forced to re-examine the War Measures Act. The new security legislation is the Emergencies Act, which replaced the WMA in 1988.

• As well, Canada passed the Anti-Terrorism Act in 2001.

– Suspends rights of suspected terrorists– Detain for up to three days without charges– Electronic surveillance– Judges can compel witnesses for evidence– Designate groups as terrorist organizations

Authoritarian Political Systems• Decisions are made by a small group of people or by

one person• Liberal values are not a priority• Absolute Monarchies- a king or queen is in total

control; France before the French Revolution• Military Dictatorships- most common form of

authoritarian control; usually gain control after overthrowing the previous government; Iraq under Saddam Hussein, Chile under Pinochet, Uganda under Idi Amin

• Minority Tyranny- small group of people have political control over the population; National Party in South Africa with apartheid