Representative Democracy:
* Indirect: Citizens elect representatives to make decisions on their behalf.
* Representative: Power is vested in elected officials who act as intermediaries.
* Larger scale: More suitable for larger populations and complex societies.
* Elected: Representatives are chosen through competitive elections.
* Specialized: Representatives often have expertise in specific areas of governance.
* Practical: Provides a more efficient and practical way to govern large populations.
* Bureaucratic: Involves complex systems of government and administration.
* Professional: Represents a more professionalized form of government.
Direct Democracy:
* Direct: Citizens directly participate in decision-making.
* Citizen-led: Power is vested in the citizens themselves.
* Smaller scale: More suitable for smaller communities or specific issues.
* Referendums & Initiatives: Citizens directly propose and vote on laws or policies.
* Less specialized: Requires a higher level of citizen engagement and knowledge.
* Less efficient: Can be time-consuming and resource-intensive.
* Can be vulnerable to manipulation: Large-scale direct democracy can be susceptible to mob rule or misinformation.
Contrasting terms:
* Representative vs. Participatory: Representative democracy emphasizes elected representation, while participatory democracy emphasizes citizen involvement.
* Indirect vs. Direct: Representative democracy is indirect, while direct democracy is direct.
* Elected vs. Citizen-led: Representative democracy is elected, while direct democracy is citizen-led.
* Professionalized vs. Citizen-driven: Representative democracy is more professionalized, while direct democracy is more citizen-driven.
It's important to remember that most modern democracies combine elements of both representative and direct democracy. For example, many countries use referendums and initiatives to give citizens a more direct voice on certain issues, even while maintaining a representative system overall.