Democracy is a form of government in which all eligible citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal (direct or indirect) participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law. It encompasses social, economic and cultural conditions that enable the free and equal practice of political self-determination. It originates from the Greek: δημοκρατία(dēmokratía) "rule of the people",[1] which was coined from δῆμος (dêmos) "people" and κράτος (kratos) "power", circa 400 BC, to denote the political systems then existing inGreek city-states, notably Athens.
Generally speaking, a democratic government is said as opposed to systems where power is either held by one, monarchy, or where power is held by a small number of individuals, oligarchy. Nevertheless, these oppositions, inherited from Greek philosophy (including the classification by Aristotle, except that the government of one was then designated as tyrannical), are now ambiguous because contemporary governments have mixed democratic, oligarchic, and monarchic elements. Karl Popper defined democracy as opposed to dictatorship or tyranny, thus focusing on opportunities for the people to control their leaders, and to oust them without the need for a revolution.
For implementing democracy in a society there are two main approaches, which are closely related on how the whole body of citizens, which is the sovereign power in any variant of democracy, will execute its will. In the original form, democracy was a direct democracy, meaning that the citizens have direct and active participation in the decision making of the government. In modern democracies the whole body of citizens remain the sovereign power but the political power is exercised through representatives, such a system of rule is called representative democracy.
Other cultures since Greece have significantly contributed to the evolution of democracy such as Ancient...