Federalism

Federalism is central to democratic governance because it divides power between national and
regional governments, which results in the limited power of the government. This division of
sovereignty is embedded in many constitutions including the one of the United States, to add
an additional layer of checks and balances and disperse the concentration of power across
various levels of government. As a result, both levels of government have authority in certain
areas: the national government focuses on issues that affect the whole country, such as foreign
policy, whereas the regional governments manage issues that are more local in their nature,
like education. Through this setup of governance abuse of power is limited by distributing
governmental functions and responsibilities across different branches.

Judicial review
The judicial branch utilizes the doctrine of judicial review to exercise its right to check the
legislative and executive branches This principle, which makes the two branches subject to
review by the judiciary, is an important tool to limit governmental power and ensure that it
functions in accordance with the law and constitution. Judicial review gives the courts the
authority to abolish laws and all actions of the executive branch that they deem
unconstitutional. In the United States, the power of judicial review was established in 1803
with the case of Marbury v. Madison and defined its function as the force ensuring the rule of
law, making sure the laws passed by the legislative align with it as well as the actions of the
executive. Judicial review allows the judiciary to check the powers of the other branches,
which puts other checks and balances in practice and strengthens the constitution.

Elections
In democracies, free and fair elections play an important role because they allow the citizens
to express their will and actively participate in their governance. Through elections, power is
peacefully transitioned when voters decide their representatives - if the citizens are not happy
with the government, they show their discontent with the representatives’ performance in
office, by voting for another representative. This electoral process is extremely crucial to
democratic rule, as it holds the government accountable and strengthens the principle of
popular sovereignty, which reinforces the idea that the government is of the people, by the
people, and for the people. By actively participating in elections, citizens have a direct impact
on the direction of their government, which puts power into their hands, an inherently
democratic principle.