Forms and Principles of Democracy

Lessons

Senior 1 · History and Citizenship

Forms and Principles of Democracy

4 lessons

Lesson 3 of 4

Forms of democracy: from Athens to today

25 min

A speech in Athens, 431 BCE

In the winter of 431 BCE, the Athenian leader Pericles spoke at a public funeral for soldiers who had died in war. The historian Thucydides, who lived in Athens at the time, wrote down the speech as he remembered it. Here is a short part, in a translation from 1874:

"Our constitution does not copy the laws of neighbouring states; we are rather a pattern to others than imitators ourselves. Its administration favours the many instead of the few; this is why it is called a democracy."
Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War, book 2, chapter 37, translated by Richard Crawley (London, 1874). Public domain.

Pericles was proud that Athens was ruled by "the many". But who exactly were "the many"? That is the question of this lesson's case study.

Definition

Direct democracy: a form of democracy in which citizens themselves debate and vote on laws and decisions, without representatives. Example: the assembly (ekklesia) of ancient Athens; a referendum today.

Definition

Representative democracy: (also called indirect democracy) a form of democracy in which citizens elect representatives to make laws and decisions on their behalf, and hold them to account at the next election. Example: citizens electing members of a national parliament.

Definition

Constitutional (liberal) democracy: a representative democracy in which a written constitution limits the power of the government and of the majority, protects individual rights and freedoms, and sets out how leaders are chosen and checked. Example: a country whose constitution is the supreme law and whose courts can strike down laws that break it.

Definition

Referendum: a vote in which all voters decide directly on one question, such as whether to accept a new constitution. Example: Rwanda's constitutional referendums of 2003 and 2015.

Case study: the assembly of ancient Athens

Athens was a Greek city-state. In 508–507 BCE a leader named Cleisthenes reorganised its citizens into ten "tribes" based on where they lived rather than on the family or clan they belonged to, and gave the citizens' assembly great power. This system lasted, with some breaks, until 322 BCE.

The assembly (ekklesia). Every adult male citizen could attend, speak and vote. Meetings were held in the open air on a hill called the Pnyx. A typical meeting drew about 6,000 people, and some decisions needed at least 6,000 votes. The assembly voted on war and peace, laws and money, usually by a show of hands.
The Council of 500. Its members were chosen by lot, 50 from each tribe, and served for one year. It prepared the business for the assembly.
Selection by lot. Most officials and the large citizen juries were chosen at random, using a stone machine called a kleroterion, so that ordinary citizens, not only the rich, would govern.
Ostracism. Once a year citizens could vote to send one powerful man into exile for ten years, by scratching his name on a piece of broken pottery (an ostrakon).

Who was left out? Women, enslaved people and foreign residents (metics) could not take part. Of perhaps 250,000 or more people living in Athens and its countryside, only about 30,000 were adult male citizens with the right to vote. Athens was a direct democracy for a minority.

Comparing the forms of democracy

Figure 2. In a direct democracy the citizens decide; in a representative democracy they choose people to decide for them and hold them to account. Drawn by Ganzaa.

	Direct democracy	Representative democracy	Constitutional (liberal) democracy
Who decides	the citizens themselves	elected representatives	elected representatives, within limits set by a constitution
How	meetings and votes of all citizens; referendums	regular elections; a parliament makes laws	elections, plus a constitution, a bill of rights and independent courts that check the government
Examples	the assembly of ancient Athens; referendums; some small Swiss communities that still meet outdoors to vote	national parliaments; district and sector councils	most countries today, including Rwanda, whose Constitution is the supreme law (Article 3)
Strengths	every citizen's voice counts directly; decisions are clearly the people's own	works for millions of people; representatives can study issues in depth	protects minorities and individual rights even from a majority; limits the power of leaders
Weaknesses	impossible for large populations to meet; citizens may lack time or information; a majority can act hastily	citizens may feel far from decisions; representatives may ignore voters between elections	depends on independent courts and citizens who know their rights; changing the constitution can be slow

Most modern countries mix these forms: they are representative and constitutional, and they add direct elements such as referendums and citizens' assemblies.

Worked example: could Rwanda be run like Athens?

Question: Rwanda's 2022 census counted 13,246,394 people. Suppose every person spoke for just one minute at a single national assembly. How long would the meeting last?

Total minutes. 13,246,394 people × 1 minute = 13,246,394 minutes.
Convert to days. There are $60 \times 24 = 1440$ minutes in a day: $\frac{13\,246\,394}{1440} \approx 9199 \ \text{days}$
Convert to years. $\frac{9199}{365} \approx 25 \ \text{years}$ of non-stop speaking, day and night.
Compare with Athens. A meeting of 6,000 citizens speaking for a minute each would take $\frac{6000}{60} = 100$ hours, which is already far too long; in practice only a few people spoke at each meeting.
Conclude. A large modern country cannot make all its decisions by direct democracy. It needs representatives, and uses direct democracy for a few great questions, as Rwanda did in its constitutional referendums of 2003 and 2015.

Important

REB names three forms of democracy: direct, representative (indirect) and constitutional (liberal).
Ancient Athens (from 508–507 BCE) was a direct democracy: male citizens met on the Pnyx to debate and vote, and officials were chosen by lot; women, enslaved people and foreigners were excluded.
Large countries use representative, constitutional democracy, with direct elements such as referendums.

Tip

Memory hook: "Do it, Delegate it, Defend it".Direct: the people do it themselves. Representative: they delegate it to people they elect. Constitutional: a constitution defends everyone's rights while they do.

TED-Ed: "What did democracy really mean in Athens?". Watch for why the Athenians preferred choosing officials by lottery to holding elections, and ask yourself whether a lottery could work anywhere today.

Discussion

Debate in pairs: Pericles said Athens was ruled by "the many". One of you argues that Athens was a true democracy; the other argues that it was not. Use the facts about who could and could not vote. Then agree: what would Athens need to change to meet today's idea of democracy?

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Practice

What is the difference between direct and representative democracy?
Where did the citizens' assembly of Athens meet, and who could take part?
Name three groups excluded from Athenian democracy.
What was a kleroterion used for?
What is a referendum? Give a Rwandan example.
About 30,000 of perhaps 250,000 people in Athens were citizens who could vote. Roughly what percentage is that?
Give one strength and one weakness of representative democracy.
Why do most countries today add a constitution and independent courts to representative democracy?

Show answersHide answers

In direct democracy citizens vote on decisions themselves; in representative democracy they elect representatives who decide for them.
On the Pnyx hill; only adult male citizens could take part.
Women, enslaved people and foreign residents (metics).
Choosing citizens by lot (at random) for offices and juries.
A vote in which all voters decide directly on one question; for example, Rwanda's constitutional referendum of 2003 or of 2015.
$\frac{30\,000}{250\,000} \times 100 = 12\%$ .
Strength (any one): works for large populations; representatives can study issues. Weakness (any one): citizens can feel far from decisions; representatives may ignore voters between elections.
To limit the power of governments and majorities, protect individual and minority rights, and make sure leaders follow agreed rules.

Sources and credits

Extract from Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War, translated by Richard Crawley (1874), via Project Gutenberg (eBook #7142), public domain.
Population figure from the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda, Fifth Population and Housing Census (2022).
Image: The Orator's Bema on the Pnyx, 20 September 2019, George E. Koronaios, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Image: AGMA Kleroterion, Marsyas, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.5.
Background facts checked against Athenian democracy, Wikipedia contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, adapted by Ganzaa.
Background facts checked against Ecclesia (ancient Athens), Wikipedia contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, adapted by Ganzaa.
Video: "What did democracy really mean in Athens?", TED-Ed, embedded from YouTube.

The rest of this lesson, its diagrams, tables, worked examples and practice items, and the unit exercises were written by Ganzaa.

This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.

1A speech in Athens, 431 BCE

2Case study: the assembly of ancient Athens

3Comparing the forms of democracy

4Discussion

A speech in Athens, 431 BCE

Case study: the assembly of ancient Athens

Comparing the forms of democracy

Discussion