Democracy is a concept with a variety of potential meanings and is not easy to understand or define (Rusell J. Dolton, 2007). Democracy is by far the most challenging form of government, both for politicians and for the people. The term democracy comes from the Greek language and means "government of the people (simple)". (John Stuart Mill, 1859 p.7) Democracy is a political form of government in which the governing power derives from the people, either by direct referendum (direct democracy) or by representatives elected by the people (representative democracy). In a direct democracy, all citizens, without the intermediation of elected or appointed officials, can participate in public decisions. Such a system is clearly only practical with a relatively small number of people – in a community organization or tribal council. Ancient Athens, the first democracy in the world, managed to practice direct democracy with an assembly that could number 5,000 to 6,000 people, perhaps the maximum number that can physically gather in one place and practice direct democracy. Today, the most common form of democracy, whether for a city of 50,000 or for nations of 50 million, is representative democracy, in which citizens elect officials to make policy decisions, formulate laws, and administer programs for the public good. On behalf of the people, such officials can deliberate on complex public issues in a thoughtful and systematic manner, which requires an investment of time and energy that is often impractical for the vast majority of private citizens. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Democracy is more than a set of constitutional rules and procedures that determine how a government works. In a democracy, government is only one of the elements that coexist in a social fabric composed of numerous and varied institutions, political parties, organizations and associations. This diversity is called pluralism and presupposes that the many groups and institutions organized in a democratic society do not depend on government for their existence, legitimacy, or authority. Thousands of private organizations operate in a democratic society, some local, some national. Many of them play a mediating role between individuals and the complex social and governmental institutions of which they are part, filling roles not assigned to government and offering individuals opportunities to exercise their rights and responsibilities as citizens of a democracy. These groups represent their members' interests in a variety of ways: supporting candidates for public office, discussing issues, and trying to influence political decisions. Through such groups, individuals have the opportunity to participate meaningfully in both government and their communities. Examples are many and varied: charitable organizations and churches, environmental and neighborhood groups, business associations and unions. In an authoritarian society, virtually all of these organizations would be controlled, licensed, surveilled, or otherwise accountable to the government. In a democracy, the powers of government are, by law, clearly defined and severely limited. As a result, private organizations are free from government control; on the contrary, many of them put pressure on the government and try to hold it accountable for its actions. Other groups, interested in the arts, the practice of religious faith, academic research, or other interests, may choose to have little or no contact with the government. The pillars of democracy Sovereignty of the people. Government based on the consent of the governed .Governmentof the majority. Rights of minorities. Guarantee of fundamental human rights. Free and fair elections. Equality before the law. Due procedure. Constitutional limits on government. Social, economic and political pluralism. Values ​​of tolerance, pragmatism, cooperation and compromise. All democracies are systems in which citizens freely make political decisions according to majority rule. But majority rule is not necessarily democratic: no one, for example, would define as fair a system that allows 51% of the population to oppress the remaining 49% in the name of the majority. In a democratic society, majority rule must be accompanied by guarantees of individual human rights which, in turn, serve to protect the rights of minorities – be they ethnic, religious or political, or simply losers in the debate on a controversial topic . legislation. (James David Barber, 1995: p.32) Minority rights do not depend on the good will of the majority and cannot be eliminated by the vote of the majority. Minority rights are protected because democratic laws and institutions protect the rights of all citizens. Diane Ravitch, a scholar, author and former assistant to the US Secretary of Education, wrote in an article for an educational seminar in Poland: “When a representative democracy operates under a constitution that limits the powers of the government and guarantees fundamental rights for all citizens, this form of government is a constitutional democracy. In such a society, the majority rules and the rights of minorities are protected by law and through the institutionalization of law.” There are four main theories of democracy that are considered central to democratic governments. These theories focus on individual engagement in the political process, the logic of government involvement, and how it relates to the needs of society. These are protective, pluralistic, evolutionary and participatory. Protective Democracy Rooted in liberalism, protective theory believes that government exists to protect the rights of individual citizens. Government involvement in the lives of citizens should focus on protecting material wealth and maintaining free markets. A protective democracy recognizes that there will be an imbalance in wealth and assumes that the elite will be in power. Large-scale civic engagement is discouraged unless it is tied to the protection of civil liberties. Pluralist theory links democracy to power held by special interests. Pluralists believe that citizens are disinterested in getting involved. Those who are engaged do so through smaller political groups. Government leadership is in the hands of those who are elected and these are generally considered elite. Special interest groups play an important role and hold power in areas related to specific issues and values. According to development theory, citizens are engaged in civic affairs and focused on what is best for society as a whole. Democracy is connected to morality. This theory recognizes the need for elected officials, but holds the people responsible for selecting and overseeing their work. Participatory democracy emerged in the 1960s and focuses on reorganizing government to encourage greater citizen involvement. The main idea of ​​this theory is to provide more involvement and control over all governmental and non-governmental laws relating to citizens. (Kelly S. Meier, 2009)Except there are four different types of democracy such as deliberative democracy, social democracy, liberal democracy, sovereign democracy and 1989.