Democracy
In a democracy, the government is elected by the people. The root word "demos" means people. In a democracy there can be many leaders. Some democracies have an elected president and elected representatives while others simply just elect a body of representatives and no president. Democratic governments are ruled by the people who have the right to vote which gives the people the power.
Present-day democratic government differs significantly from the democracy practiced in ancient Greece, particularly in the city-state of Athens, where democracy reached its height. All male Athenian citizens were expected to participate directly in their government. They helped make laws and choose officials.
The modern democratic state is usually a republic. In a republic, the people do not take a direct role in legislating or governing but elect representatives to express their views and wants.
A change in power happens when free elections are held and the people use their power of the vote to choose new leadership. Typically which ever leader gets the most or majority of votes win.
In addition to free elections, true democratic governments also have other standards by which they can be measured. One is freedom of speech, under which people may criticize their governments without fear of persecution. Another is the peaceful and orderly transfer of political power when new leaders are elected to office.
A map of the world’s governments, color coded by how democratic they are. Greener nations are more democratic and redder ones are more dictatorial.
