Democratic states appear in many different forms. Some are as old as France or as young as Lithuania; some are large like Canada and India or small like Estonia and Namibia; some are as rich as Sweden or as poor as Mali. States can be characterised and classified in endless ways, but for political analysis the use of power is a crucial aspect. Once a country is sovereign, it can use its power as it wishes. Here, too, the diversity is astonishing.

Many states gradually accepted the idea that citizens should have the opportunity to be involved in political decision making processes. Even in small communities such as the classical city-state of Athens or a contemporary Swiss town, it is very difficult to base decisions on the participation of many people. For that reason, political decision making is usually left to officials who have been elected by citizens. A democracy is a system of government in which leaders are chosen in competitive elections, where many parties and candidates participate and where opposition parties can attain power if they gain popular support. Terms such as ‘political democracy’ and ‘liberal democracy’ are often used as synonyms for democracy. Together with elections, democracies are characterised by their protection of the human and civil rights of their citizens.

We deal with democratic states or democracies in this book. These states typically also accept responsibility for the young and old, the sick and disabled and the unemployed and poor among their citizens.