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Questions and Answers
What is the key characteristic of a democratic government?
What is the main difference between a democratic and non-democratic government?
Which of the following is an example of a non-democratic government?
What is a key feature of democracy that helps to distinguish it from non-democratic governments?
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What is the main advantage of democracy over other forms of government?
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What happened in Pakistan in October 1999?
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What is a characteristic of a democratic country?
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What is a fundamental principle of democracy?
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Which of the following elections can be considered as an example of free and fair electoral competition?
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What is a necessary condition for democracy to exist?
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Study Notes
What is Democracy?
- A form of government in which the rulers are elected by the people.
- The government is chosen by the people, which is a common feature of all democracies.
Difference between Democratic and Non-Democratic Governments
- Non-democratic governments: rulers are not elected by the people, e.g. Myanmar, where the army took over and people had no say.
- Examples of non-democratic governments: dictatorships (e.g. Pinochet in Chile), monarchies.
Features of Democracy
- Major decisions are made by elected leaders, not by military officers or dictators.
- Free and fair electoral competition, where those currently in power have a fair chance of losing.
Examples of Non-Democratic Elections
- Pakistan: General Pervez Musharraf overthrew the democratically elected government and granted himself a five-year extension.
- China: elections are held, but candidates need the approval of the Chinese Communist Party, and the government is always formed by the Communist Party.
- Mexico: elections were held, but until 2000, every election was won by the PRI (Institutional Revolutionary Party).
Principle of Political Equality
- Democracy is based on the principle of one person, one vote, one value.
- Examples of denial of equal right to vote:
- Until 2015, women in Saudi Arabia did not have the right to vote.
- Estonia's citizenship rules made it difficult for the Russian minority to get the right to vote.
- Fiji's electoral system is biased towards the indigenous population.
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Description
Learn about the basics of democracy, its features, and how it differs from non-democratic forms of government based on CBSE Class 9 Political Science textbook, 'Democratic Politics- I'.
