Thursday 19 February 2015

By Olivia Cross


The use of democracy and republic interchangeably is innocently erroneous because there exist major differences. This makes the constitutional republic vs democracy debate a very crucial platform for clarifying issues. The rights of citizens in republics are safeguarded and cannot be taken away by the government. On the other hand, democracies disregard the rights of minority.

The rights of individual citizens and powers of governments differentiate democracies from republics. It is an uncontested fact that the majority rule in both cases. However, it is the extent of power and relationship with minority that differentiates the two. Both systems allow citizens to determine their representatives into the government.

Democracies appear to give absolute right to the government of the day. This allows the majority rulers to alter the constitution or laws based on their desires. This means that as long as a majority government is in power, it has free will over all the citizens regardless of their political affiliation. This leaves the minority in a vulnerable position.

There are restrains put in place during formulation of republics. The minority cannot be oppressed because certain rights are inalienable. This is a notable difference when one wants to understand how democracies differ from republics. The level of exposure facing minority groups in democracies does not exist in republics.

Democracies allow rule by omnipotent majority. This gives them the power to impose their will upon the minority unlike in republics where there are restrictions. The rights of citizens in republics are changeable through a consultative approach that leads to voting.

Constitutions and charters guarantee sovereignty in different formats depending on whether a nation is a democracy or a republic. In democracies, the entire population holds sovereignty as a group. This paves way for the majority to determine the extent of rights. This system of governance traces its origin to Classical Athens.

Republics follow a different system where individuals have inalienable rights. Even majority governments cannot take away these rights. This form of government traces it roots to Classical Rome with characteristic three arms of government. This is the system that USA has adopted.

There is confusion between direct and representative democracy. The two forms are distinguished by elections where the representative system allows the citizens to elect individuals into a body that advocates for their interests. The vote, opinion and voice of their representative are taken as the wish of his electorates.

Direct democracies operate in a different way. Each individual has a say in decision making on issues. This means that the masses make laws and determine government policies directly. A perfect example of this way of doing things is by voting or participating in referendums.

The USA is a republic based on the fact that it is governed by the rule of law. The existence of written law and the constitution means that representatives are bound by these statutes. This is the trend in most nations though there exist variations based on traditions and the processes of nation formation. The limits that exist to protect minorities from being muscled by the government signal a mixture of governance systems.




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