---
authors:
- Aya.elfadil
contributors:
- Aya.elfadil
summary: Liberal democracy is a form of democratic rule that maintains a balance between
  the principle of limited government and the ideal of popular consent, enabling citizens
  to participate directly in the governance of their society and state. It can take
  on various forms, such as monarchy or republic, and operate under parliamentary,
  presidential, or semi-presidential systems, typically with universal suffrage. Its
  characteristics include power separation, an independent judiciary, a system of
  checks and balances, and regular competitive elections based on universal suffrage
  and political equality.
title: Liberal Democracy
---

### Definition

Liberal democracy is a form of democratic rule that maintains a balance
between the principle of limited government - limited power - and the
ideal of popular consent - the ability of citizens to participate
directly in state governance. As a result, liberal democracy enables
citizens to participate directly in the governance of their society and
state.

### Forms of Liberal Democracy

A liberal democracy can take on a variety of constitutional forms,
including *monarchy* or *republic*. It may operate under a
*parliamentary*, *presidential*, or *semi-presidential* system. Liberal
democracies typically have *universal suffrage*.

### Characteristics

It places a premium on power separation, an independent judiciary, and a
system of checks and balances between the executive and legislative
branches of government. Liberal democratic characteristics are founded
on a system of regular and competitive elections based on universal
suffrage and political equality. These characteristics are:

1.  Multi-party systems with at least two persistent.
2.  Viable political parties.

## Further reading

- Wikipedia: [Liberal democracy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberal_democracy)


## See also

- [Democracy](democracy.md)
- [Representative Democracy](representative-democracy.md)
- [Constitutional Democracy](constitutional-democracy.md)
- [Direct Democracy](direct-democracy.md)
- [Grattan Institute](../organisations/grattan-institute.md)
- [newDemocracy Foundation](../organisations/newdemocracy.md)