Representative Democracy: Definition, Pros, and Cons, what are the main features of a representative democracy.

Representative democracy is a form of government in which officials are elected by the people.The U.S., the UK, and France all have a form of government based on representative democracy.Representative democracy is sometimes referred to as indirect democracy.

Laws, policies, and other matters of government are created and voted on by the people in a representative democracy.The difference between representative democracy and direct democracy is that the people themselves vote on every law or policy considered by the government.Direct democracy is usually not feasible in larger countries where there is a lot of citizens involved.

One chamber of the legislature is not elected by the people.Members of the British Parliament's House of Lords and the Senate of Canada can get their positions through appointment, heredity, or official function.

Representative democracy is different from forms of government such as authoritarianism, which allow the people little to no elected representation.

Representative democracy is employed at both the national and state levels in the U.S.The House of Representatives and the Senate are elected by the people at the national government level.The governor and members of the state legislature are elected by the people.

The President of the United States, Congress, and the federal courts have powers that are reserved to the national government in the U.S. Constitution.The U.S. Constitution gives certain political powers to the states.

The most common form of government is representative democracy.It has advantages and disadvantages for the government and people.

The desires of a large number of people are represented by a single elected official.Only two Senators represent all of the people in their states in the U.S.A limited number of national elections saves time and money and can be devoted to other public needs.

The people of each of the country's political subdivisions are empowering.The national government will listen to the voices of the representatives.Voters can replace representatives if they fail to meet expectations.

When people are confident that they have a say in their government's decisions, they are more likely to remain aware of issues affecting their country and vote as a way of making their opinions heard.

It is not always reliable that the votes of elected officials reflect the will of the people.The officials don't have to vote the way the people who elected them want them to.Unless term limits apply to the official in question, the only other options are to vote the representative out of office in the next regular election or to demand a recall election.