- published: 26 Feb 2014
- views: 2882
Liberal democracy, also known as constitutional democracy, is a common form of representative democracy. According to the principles of liberal democracy, elections should be free and fair, and the political process should be competitive. Political pluralism is usually defined as the presence of multiple and distinct political parties.
A liberal democracy may take various constitutional forms: it may be a constitutional republic, such as France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, or the United States, or a constitutional monarchy, such as Japan, Spain, or the United Kingdom. It may have a presidential system (Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, the United States), a semi-presidential system (Finland, France, Taiwan), or a parliamentary system (Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, Poland, the United Kingdom).
The Liberal democracies usually have universal suffrage, granting all adult citizens the right to vote regardless of race, gender or property ownership. Historically, however, some countries regarded as liberal democracies have had a more limited franchise, and some do not have secret ballots. There may also be qualifications such as voters being required to register before being allowed to vote. The decisions made through elections are made not by all of the citizens, but rather by those who choose to participate by voting.
11 Aspects of a Liberal Democracy
Liberal Democracy and Its Limits
Western liberal democracy would be wrong for China
Obama Admits the Limits of Liberal Democracy
Gaspar Tamas on The Failure of Liberal Democracy
Empire - 9/11 and the End of Liberal Democracy?
Zhang Weiwei: Liberal democracy may be right for the West, but would be wrong for China
Liberal Democracy & Representative Democracy
Faith, Politics and Liberal Democracy
Why? Is "liberal democracy" important?
Prof Bob Woodberry - Religion & the Roots of Liberal Democracy
John Esposito on Islam and Liberal Democracy
Characteristics of Liberal Democracy Project
Zsolt Bayer, László Bogár: LIBERAL DEMOCRACY IS A DICTATORSHIP! 2016. 01.28