Consent of the governed
Democracy is a dirty word. It has been cast as an inferior form of government, corrupt, ineffectual, ambiguous, and fractious, but democracy’s central tenet is government with consent of the governed. But how to break this down into brass tacks?
Three principles
These three principles, the subsequent breakdown of how democratic regimes were, and the list of some events leading to the fall of democracy are from this book:
Takenaka, H. (2014). Failed Democratization in Prewar Japan: Breakdown of a Hybrid Regime (1st edition). Stanford University Press.
Political Competition and Elections
In a democracy, there are many groups who vie for power with limited or no restriction on freedom of assembly and association. There are free and fair elections. Free indicates that anyone eligible to vote can vote. Fair indicates that the election results tally accurately and so reflect the will of the people. An election indicates that citizens make informed choices on and then select their representatives or officials with a tally of ballots. The representative or official with the most votes win. In some cases, laws themselves could be enacted into law through the ballot, such as with referenda and propositions.
Electoral Control over Political Offices
All political offices are under electoral control. All political offices are chosen by voters through elections. The less offices that are appointed or carved out from electoral control indicate more voter control over their government and more offices directly accountable to the voters.
Extent of Electoral Participation
The wider suffrage, the more participatory the government is. The more people become voters the more accountable the government is to the people. Education forms citizens capable of such self-rule and not mob-rule under the persuasion of a demagogue or oligarchy.