DEMOCRACY choose 

them to represent their general will and

interest
•Define and identify a functioning
Democracy and its elements.  “The key role of citizens in a democracy is to
•Contrast Democracy and Authoritarianism/ participate in public life.”
Dictatorship.  “Citizens have an obligation to become informed
• Develop a systematic and informed about public issues, to watch carefully how their
approach in choosing leaders.  political leaders and representatives use their
powers, and to express their own opinions and
•Informed voters translate into electing good
interests.”
and competent leaders
•The best leaders would make decisions and “Voting in elections is another important civic
actions which are beneficial to the people! duty of all citizens. But to vote wisely, each
•The people benefit from the decision of their citizen should listen to the views of the different
leaders because they voted the right parties and candidates, and then make his or her
person for the job based
own decision on whom to support.”
on their capabilities NOT on empty promises
and emotions. Democracy is a system of rule by laws, not
According to Larry Diamond, a political by individuals.
science professor from Stanford University,
there are four key elements of Democracy: In a democracy, the rule of law protects the
1. Democracy as a political system rights of citizens, maintains order, and limits the
of competition of power.  power of government.
2. Participation  as the role of citizens
in democracy.  All citizens are equal under the law.  No one
3. Rule of law  may be discriminated against on the basis
4. The  rights of the citizens  of their race, religion, ethnic group, or gender.
According to Diamond:
“Democracy is a means for the people to choose Fanatics
their leaders and to hold their leaders
accountable for their policies and their conduct “a person exhibiting excessive enthusiasm
in office.” and intense uncritical devotion toward some
Accountability on leaders meant that leaders controversial matter (as in religion or politics).”
must own up to their mistakes or shortcomings.
To hold someone accountability of illegal and These are the people who despite the mistakes of
immoral act is to seek redress, to seek justice. their beloved leaders, they will still follow them
“In a democracy, the people are sovereign— blindly, and ignore altogether.
they are the highest form of political authority.”
“Power flows from the people to the leaders of They are close-minded. They don’t want
government, who hold power only temporarily.” to consider your opinion despite based on facts
and logic because they are devoted.
“The people are free to criticize their elected
leaders and representatives, and to observe how Competition of power means that
they conduct the business of government.” candidates may run for office with their own
platforms. There interests vary from person to
Leaders should serve the people not their own person.
interests. They are in that position because the
people, being the sovereign power, had
Difference of ideas and opinions is welcomed
in Democracy. You have to remember that we
are entitled with our own beliefs and ideas.
Although, you must be careful on your ideas.
Ideally, it should be informed and does not harm
any other people.
“It is a moral duty of the citizens of a democratic
country!”
Constitution is the supreme law of the land.
It is the highest law of land as the power
and limitation of government as well as the
rights of the people emanate from it.
Authoritarianism, principle of blind
submission to authority, as opposed to
individual freedom of thought and action.  representation.
In government, authoritarianism denotes
any political system that concentrates power in
the hands of a leader or a small elite that is not
constitutionally responsible to the body of the
people.
Authoritarian leaders often exercise power
arbitrarily and without regard to existing
bodies of law, and they usually cannot be
replaced by citizens choosing freely among
various competitors in elections.
GOVERNANCE
Founded in 1945, the United Nations aims to
provide an avenue to which states could discuss
and talk about various pressing issues among
them. It is mainly established as an organization
in assisting in the mainly on the prevention of
war, but it has much broader scope.
The United Nations can take action on the issues
confronting humanity in the 21st century, such
as peace and security, climate change,
sustainable development, human
rights, disarmament, terrorism, humanitarian and
health emergencies, gender equality,
governance, food production, and more.
SECRETARIAT
 The SECRETARIAT comprises
the SECRETARY-GENERAL and tens of
thousands of international UN staff members
who carry out the day-to-day work of the UN as
mandated by the General Assembly and the
Organization's other principal organs.  
 The Secretary-General
is CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER of the
Organization, appointed by the General
Assembly on the recommendation of the
Security Council for a five-year, renewable term.
 The Security Council has
primary responsibility, under the UN
Charter, for the maintenance of international
peace and security.  It has 15 Members (5
permanent members and 10 non-
permanent members). 
General Assembly is the main deliberative,
policymaking and representative organ of the
UN. All 193 member states of the UN
are represented in the General Assembly,
making it the only UN body with universal
 Economic and Social Council is the principal
body for coordination, policy review, policy
dialogue and recommendations on economic,
social and environmental issues, as well
as implementation of internationally agreed
development goals. It serves as the central
mechanism for activities of the UN system and
its specialized agencies in the economic, social
and environmental fields, supervising subsidiary
and expert bodies.
 trusteeship council was established in 1945 by
the UN Charter, under Chapter XIII, to provide
international supervision for 11 Trust Territories
that had been placed under the administration of
seven Member States, and ensure that adequate
steps were taken to prepare the Territories for
self-government and independence. By 1994, all
Trust Territories had attained self-government or
independence.  The Trusteeship Council
suspended operation on 1 November 1994.
INTERNATIONAL COURT OF
JUSTICE is the principal judicial organ of the
United Nations. Its seat is at the Peace Palace
in the Hague (Netherlands). It is the only one of
the six principal organs of the United Nations
not located in New York (United States of
America). The Court’s role is to settle, in
accordance with international law, legal
disputes submitted to it by States and to
give advisory opinions on legal
questions referred to it by authorized
United Nations organs and specialized agencies.