Democracy Vs. Republic

Many a time, you will see that people are indulging in democracy vs. republic debate. For a number of them it is difficult to say, whether United States of America is a democracy or a republic. The confusion arises, as there are some similarities between democracy and republic and people find it difficult to differentiate. It can also be due to the fact, that people pledge their allegiance to the Republic. Read further to know what is a democracy, republic and the difference between democracy and republic.

Democracy

The word democracy is derived from the Greek word demokratia. The Greek word was coined from two different words namely demos, which means people, and kratos, which means power. Hence demokratia means power to the people, in other words governing powers are given to the people. Democracy in ancient Greece was different than what it is seen today in the world.

Different thinkers have defined democracy differently and hence there is no one universally accepted definition of democracy, but there are two principles, which are common to most of the definitions. These two common principles are equality and freedom. Most of us, however, are aware of the definition of democracy as given by Abraham Lincoln. It says, "Democracy is a government, of the people, by the people and for the people". The characteristic feature of democracy is majority rule. For a democracy to remain a democracy and not become tyranny of a few, it is important to have fair and competitive elections, at periodic intervals. The other characteristics of democracy include freedom of speech, expression and the press. 'Separation of power' in the United States of America is said to be the supporting attribute of democracy.

To sum it up, the four basic elements of democracy are: a political system (with which a government can be chosen or replaced, through free and fair elections), active participation of the people in political as well as civic life, Rule of law (which is applicable alike to all citizens) and not to forget protection of human rights of each and every citizen of the country. There are two forms of democracy. One of them is direct democracy, where governance is carried out directly by the people and republicanism in which the power of governance is granted to the elected representatives of the state. There are, however known advantages and disadvantages of democracy.

Republic

Republic is a form of government and the most important characteristic of it is, that it does not have a monarch as a head of state. The word republic is derived from Latin word res publica, which means public affair. People are said to be participants in the government, either directly or indirectly. The founding fathers of United States of America called America a 'representative democracy'. In simple words, it was republicanism as opposed to direct democracy. Republican form of government has advantage over democracy, as it avoids democracy turning into 'mobocracy'. The characteristics of a republican form of government are an executive arm of the government, a legislative arm (of which the representatives are elected through free and fair elections), a judicial arm and certain inherent rights given to every individual of the state. If these four fundamental elements are taken away from the state, then it turns in to an autocracy.

Democracy Vs. Republic

Now that we have understood what is a democracy and what is a republic, it is time to understand the difference between democracy and republic. The government in a democracy is by the people, or in better terms it is the rule of the majority. The supreme power rests with the people. This power can be exercised by them either directly or indirectly. On the other hand, in a republic the supreme power rests in the citizens, but it is exercised by a body of elected people. The governance in a republic is according to the laws of the land, whereas in a democracy, the will of the majority prevails and it can be based upon deliberation or governed by passion, prejudice, impulse without any restraint or regard to consequences.

I hope, with this article you are able to differentiate between a democracy and republic. There is also deeper legal side to the whole debate about democracy and republic. I, however, would not like to get into the legal complications of it.