Democracy, Representation, Elections and Political Parties
What the domain tests
This domain links democratic theory to machinery: representation, electoral systems, and party competition. Expect definitions plus an understanding of how votes become seats and governments.
Core ideas
- Democracy: direct or indirect; government accountable to the people through participation, rights, and free elections.
- Representation: territorial or functional; a representative may act as delegate or trustee.
- Elections: universal adult franchise, secret ballot, periodic elections, independent election machinery, and a level playing field.
- Political parties: aggregate interests, formulate programmes, recruit leaders, contest elections, and form governments. Party systems may be one-party, two-party, or multi-party.
Worked example
In India's first-past-the-post system, the candidate with the most votes wins even without a majority. A party may win a large seat share with less than half the vote. The reasoning distinguishes vote share from seat share and shows why representation can be disproportional.
Traps
Do not equate democracy with elections alone; rights, rule of law and accountability matter. Do not confuse parties with pressure groups. Do not assume proportional representation and FPTP produce the same party system.