Governance, democracy and the rule of law
What is tested
Governance, democracy and the rule of law: how power is gained, used and limited, and why institutions matter.
Governance
Governance is the way decisions are made and implemented. Good governance includes participation, transparency, accountability, responsiveness, effectiveness, fairness and the rule of law. Corruption - bribery, nepotism, embezzlement - undermines all of these.
Democracy
Democracy is government by the consent of the governed. Features include a constitution, regular free and fair elections, universal adult suffrage, multiparty competition, majority rule with protection of minority rights, an independent judiciary, a free press and respect for civil liberties.
Separation of powers
- Executive: implements laws and runs the country.
- Legislature: makes laws, approves budgets, oversees the executive.
- Judiciary: interprets laws and decides disputes.
Checks and balances mean each arm limits the others. The courts can declare a law unconstitutional; parliament can amend laws; the executive is answerable to parliament.
Rule of law
Everyone, including leaders, is equal before the law. Laws should be known in advance, applied consistently and enforced by independent courts with fair trials. Retrospective punishment and arbitrary detention violate the rule of law.
Worked example
Parliament passes a law restricting peaceful assembly. A citizen challenges it in court. The court finds it unconstitutional and strikes it down. Reasoning: the legislature made the law, but the judiciary checks whether it complies with the constitution. This is a check, not a conflict.
Traps
- Confusing democracy with simply holding elections.
- Thinking separation of powers means the arms never interact.
- Describing the judiciary as making policy.
- Treating the rule of law as "rule by law", where the government uses law against opponents.