Annenberg Classroom Understanding Democracy A Hip Pocket Guide

Leo Migdal

-Nov 24, 2025, 4:22 AM

annenberg classroom understanding democracy a hip pocket guide

This guide, written by John J. Patrick, explains the core concepts of democracy in a clear A-Z format. This guide, written by John J. Patrick, explains the core concepts of democracy in a clear A-Z format. The complete book is available for download. Uploaded by station59.cebu on June 7, 2022

We live in an era of democracy. A majority of the world’s people live in countries with a democratic form of government, and many others desire democracy. This is a startling new development. During most of the 20th century, there was mortal conflict between democracy and its rivals, and the nondemocratic side often seemed to be winning the struggle. In 1920, for example, there were only 15 democracies in the world, and at mid-century fewer than one-third of the world’s people lived in the 22 established democratic countries. By the end of the 20th century, however, democracy was ascendant; nearly two-thirds of the world’s people lived in the more than one hundred countries with a democratic form of government.

The global advancement of democracy has continued into the 21st century. What exactly is democracy? When and where did it begin? What are the differences between democracy in ancient and modern times? How do we know the difference between democracy and non-democracy today? What is the universal problem of good government in a democracy?

What are arguments for and against democracy? And why do citizens of a democracy need to know exactly what it is and is not? Although democracy is newly resurgent, it is an old idea. More than 2,500 years ago in Athens and other cities of Greece (Hellas), there was rule (kratia) by the people (demos). Democracy (demokratia), or rule by the people, was an alternative to such traditional governments as monarchy, rule by one, and oligarchy, rule by the few. In the first democracies, citizens made and enforced the laws for their small republic, the polis or community of the city.

There was majority rule by the citizens, the people of the polis who participated directly in their assembly, the lawmaking body. The status of citizen, however, was restricted to free males of Greek descent, a minority of the population. Women and slaves could not be citizens, and only a small number of non-Greek males ever were granted the privilege of citizenship. Ancient Greek democracy afforded citizens equal rights to participate directly in governance for the common good of their community. The claims of the community upon the person, however, were primary and superior to the claims of the person upon the community. A good citizen was expected to serve unconditionally the interests of the city-community, especially to defend its freedom and independence against the threat of foreign domination.

Popular sovereignty is government based on the consent of the people. The government’s source of authority is the people, and its power is not legitimate if it disregards the will of the people. Government established by the free choice of the people is expected to serve the people, who have sovereignty, or supreme power. There are four ways that popular sovereignty is expressed in a democracy. First, the people are involved either directly or through their representatives in the making of a constitution. Second, the constitution made in the name of the people is ratified by a majority vote of the people or by representatives elected by the people.

Third, the people are involved directly or indirectly in proposing and ratifying amendments to their constitution. Fourth, the people indicate support for their government when they vote in public elections, uphold the constitution and basic principles of their government, and work to influence public policy decisions and otherwise prompt their... Popular sovereignty was asserted as a founding principle of the United States of America. The Declaration of Independence of 1776 asserts that legitimate governments are those “deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed.” Later, in 1787, the framers of the U.S. Constitution proclaimed popular sovereignty in the document’s Preamble: “We the people of the United States . .

. do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” Popular sovereignty was also expressed in Article 7 of the Constitution, which required that nine states approve the proposed framework of government... The people of the several American states chose representatives to ratifying conventions who freely decided to approve the Constitution in the name of those who elected them. Popular sovereignty was also included in Article 5 of the Constitution, which provides the means to amend the Constitution through the elected representatives of the people. Finally, popular sovereignty is reflected in two different parts of the Constitution that require members of Congress to be elected directly by the people: Article 1 pertaining to the House of Representatives and Amendment... The founding of the United States and the framing of its Constitution heralded the idea of popular sovereignty as the standard by which popular government should be established and sustained.

The American example, exceptional in the late 18th century, has become a world-class standard of legitimacy for governments in the 21st century. No country can realistically claim to be a democracy unless it proclaims constitutionally and implements functionally the principle of popular sovereignty. This standard has been upheld in the constitutions of democratic nation-states today. For example, Article 2 of the 1993 constitution of the Czech Republic says, “All state power derives from the people . . .

The state power serves all citizens and can be exercised only in cases within the scope stipulated by law, and by means specified by law.” The 1988 constitution of Brazil asserts in Article 1,... Sovereignty shall be vested in the people.” Further, Article 4 says, “The people shall exercise the supreme sovereign power vested in them either directly or through their democratically elected representatives.” A democracy depends upon the competent participation of its citizens in government and civil society. This can only happen when the people are educated for citizenship in a democracy. Therefore, all democratic countries provide formal and informal opportunities for civic education, or teaching and learning about citizenship. Formal civic education is carried out through the curriculum of schools, and informal civic education occurs through the interaction of individuals in various societal organizations.

Civic education is teaching the knowledge, skills, and virtues needed for competent citizenship in a democracy. Unlike despotic forms of government, in which the people are merely passive receivers of orders from their rulers, democracy involves a significant measure of independent thinking and popular decision making. A democracy cannot be maintained unless the citizens are educated sufficiently to carry out certain duties and responsibilities of a self-governing people, such as voting intelligently, communicating effectively about public issues, cooperating with others... Wherever in the world democracy exists, schools are expected to prepare students for citizenship through civic education. The society outside the school also provides lifelong opportunities for civic education through the mass media and by participation in community service organizations and political parties. The primary component of civic education is imparting the knowledge needed for citizens’ informed participation in their democracy.

Informed citizens have basic knowledge of such subjects as history, economics, geography, and government or political science. They comprehend core concepts of democracy, the constitution and institutions of democracy in their own country, and public issues in the past and present pertaining to the practice of democracy. The second component of civic education is developing the intellectual and practical skills that enable citizens to use knowledge effectively as they act individually and collectively in the public life of their democracy. These skills include the capacities of citizens to read, write, and speak effectively; to think critically; to make and defend sound judgments about public issues. Skills of thinking and participating, in combination with civic knowledge, enable citizens with common interests to influence the decisions of their representatives in government. Government is the institutional authority that rules a community of people.

The primary purpose of government is to maintain order and stability so that people can live safely, productively, and happily. In a democracy, the source of a government’s authority is the people, the collective body of citizens by and for whom the government is established. The ultimate goal of government in a democracy is to protect individual rights to liberty within conditions of order and stability. Every government exercises three main functions: making laws, executing or implementing laws, and interpreting and applying laws. These functions correspond to the legislative, executive, and judicial institutions and agencies of any government. In an authentic democracy, the government is constitutional and limited.

A constitution of the people, written by their representatives and approved directly or indirectly by them, restrains or harnesses the powers of government to make sure they are used only to secure the freedom... There are at least five means to limit the powers of government through a well-constructed constitution. First, the constitution can limit the government by enumerating or listing its powers. The government may not assume powers that are not listed or granted to it. Second, the legislative, executive, and judicial powers of government can be separated. Different individuals and agencies in the government have responsibility for different functions and are granted constitutional authority to check and balance the exercise of power by others in order to prevent any person or...

An independent judiciary that can declare null and void an act of the government it deems contrary to the constitution is an especially important means to prevent illegal use of power by any government... The legislature can use its powers of investigation and oversight to prevent excessive or corrupt actions by executive officials and agencies. Third, power can be decentralized throughout the society by some kind of federal system that enables the sharing of powers by national and local units of government. Widespread distribution of power to various individuals, groups, and institutions throughout a country can also be accomplished by constitutional protections of individuals’ rights to form and maintain the voluntary associations of civil society and... Crick, Bernard. Democracy: A Very Short Introduction.

Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press, 2002. Dahl, Robert A. On Democracy. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1998. Gordon, Scott. Controlling the State: Constitutionalism from Ancient Athens to Today.

Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1999. Hamilton, Alexander, James Madison, and John Jay. The Federalist. Ed. Charles Kessler and Clinton Rossiter. New York: Mentor, 1999.

Annenberg Classroom Understanding Democracy A Hip Pocket Guide

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