Most political systems are based on representative or indirect democracy. Traditional parties and the left-right divide are questioned by citizens who ask for more participation. How are citizens in democratic English-speaking countries represented?

IPolitical systems

1 Presidential and parliamentary democracy 

The US political system is called presidential democracy, focusing on the election of the president. It also manifests with two chambers: the upper house (the Senate) and the lower house (the House of Representatives). The president, the chief executive, and his or her vice president are elected every four years.

The political system in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand is called parliamentary democracy. The Head of State is the British monarch, but he/she has no real power. The executive power is in the hand of the Prime Minister (PM) who has the majority of seats in the lower house, so the PM is not directly elected by the citizens.

2 Representativeness and balance of powers

These political systems guarantee, more or less, the opinion and the representation of the citizens. In the UK, the PM is not elected directly by the voters (although he/she is appointed by the Monarch) and in the USA, citizens choose their president by voting for Electoral College members (universal indirect suffrage) who then vote for the president. Both rely on a two-party system.

When presidential election is held, American citizens also make their voices heard on local referendums about subjects that affect their cities.

Power given in an official election is limited though. In the USA, in 1787, a system of checks and balances is set up to ensure no single branch (executive, legislative or judicial) would have too much power. In the UK, the “Shadow Cabinet” (the opposition) plays this role.

IIIdeological and political mutations

1 Other political power

Political participation is not the only way to have your say. Citizens can gather in trade unions, form pressure groups or NGOs (non-governmental organisations). The AFL-CIO (the American Federation of Labor) represent more than 12 million active and retired workers.

Direct commitment is made possible thanks to the Internet. A strong aspiration to become fully participative (direct democracy) in societal issues is expressed by cyberactivism.

2 A will to change

Pressure on the traditional system is seen through new claims whether it be ecologist with self-sufficient communities, or the will to gain more power locally.

Some English-speaking countries want to reach a fairer representation of citizens. 10% of Members of the House of Commons are from ethnic minority backgrounds, if this figure reflected the population, there would be about 19%.

The slow weakening of traditional parties has triggered the gradual appearance of third parties (UKIP in the UK, Tea Party in the USA…). The effect of the Internet on voting behaviour is a fact and paradoxically has sparked a desire for strong populist men to snatch the system. D. Trump was elected President in 2016 because he knew how to take advantage of this evolution.