What is the constitutional democracy - Essay Example

Constitutional Democracy Constitutional democracy is a system of government in which political ity-- is defined, limited, and distributed by a body of fundamental law called "the Constitution" and (2) the electorate--the general voting populace within the political society--has effective means of (a) controlling the elected representatives in the government and (b) holding them accountable for their decisions and actions while in public office (Dr. Way). America is one of the prominent countries in which constitutional democracy is prevailing.

American president or the government cannot function against the written principles of American constitution. American democratic system or Constitutional Democracy has two essential components; one related to the constitution and the other related to democracy. The component related to constitution, limits, or controls the power of the government whereas the component related to democracy determines the political power of the government. In America, political authority is attained by a government through the elected representatives in the government.

It should be noted that the members of the Congress in America is elected by the people and these congress men/women are responsible for controlling the actions of the government. American president cannot work against the will of the members of the Congress. In other words, the majority of the members of the Congress should vote in favour of a particular policy before it can be implemented by the president or the government. In a constitutional democracy like America, people hold supreme power.

In other words, the government cannot work against the will of the people. All the policies or laws implemented in America based on the majority rule. Even though a constitutional democracy, is a government by majority rule, it does not mean that the minority rights can be violated by such a government. It is the duty of the government in constitutional democracy to protect the rights of both minorities as well as the majorities. Judiciary (Court), Parliament (Congress) and Executive (Government) are the three major pillars of any democratic system and the case of America is also not an exception.

In America, Supreme Court has the highest authority to decide whether the government is functioning according to the norms of constitution or not. Supreme Court interprets the clauses and norms in the constitution and decides whether the government violated any existing constitutional laws in the country. The philosophy of American constitution lies on three major pillars; natural rights, republicanism, and constitutionalism. Freedom, liberty and human rights are considered as the natural rights of the individuals in America.

At the same time, these natural rights should not be used against the interests of the country. Since America is a federal republic, individual states have the responsibility to safeguard the interests of the country as a whole while taking decisions. It is possible that some federal policies will cause harm to few states and good to majority of the other states. In such cases, it is the duty of all the states or people to accept such policies for the betterment of the country as a whole. To conclude, America is a constitutional democracy in which people hold supreme power.

Judiciary, parliament, and executive are the three major pillars upon which American democracy is built. Works CitedDr. Way, Almon Leroy. “Constitutional Democracy & Other Political Regimes”. Web. 24 September 2012.