{{short description|Form of government}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{More citations needed|date=September 2021}}
{{Original research|date=September 2021}}
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{{Democracy}}
'''Majoritarian democracy''' is a form of [[democracy]] based upon a principle of [[majority rule]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=David. |first=Arter |title=Democracy in Scandinavia : consensual, majoritarian or mixed? |date=2006 |publisher=Manchester University Press |isbn=9780719070464 |location=Manchester |page=15 |oclc=64555175}}</ref> Majoritarian democracy contrasts with [[consensus democracy]], rule by as many people as possible.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /><ref>{{harvnb|Clark|Golder|Golder|2017|p=703}}</ref>

== Characteristics ==

[[Arend Lijphart]] offers what is perhaps the dominant definition of majoritarian democracy. He identifies that majoritarian democracy is based on the [[Westminster model]], and majority rule.<ref name="auto">{{Cite book|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1ww3w2t.5|title=The Westminster Model of Democracy|author=Lijphart, Arend|year=1984|journal=Democracies|pages=1–20|publisher=Yale University Press |doi=10.2307/j.ctt1ww3w2t.5|jstor=j.ctt1ww3w2t.5 |isbn=978-0-300-03182-9 }}</ref> According to Lijphart, the key features of a majoritarian democracy are:
* Concentration of executive power. This means that the [[Cabinet (government)|Cabinet]] or [[Executive (government)|executive]] is composed entirely of members from a single party who holds the majority of seats in the legislature.
* Cabinet dominance over the [[legislature]]
* Asymmetric [[bicameralism]]. This means that while there are two houses of parliament, one house has significantly more power than the other house.
* [[Two party system]]
* One-dimensional party system, where the two dominant parties largely fall on a spectrum along a single dimension e.g. representing the left and right from a socio-economic perspective.
* [[Plurality voting|Plurality-based electoral system]]
* [[Unitary state|Unitary]] and [[centralised government]]
* [[Unwritten constitution]] and [[parliamentary sovereignty]]
* [[Representative democracy|Representative]] (not [[Direct democracy|direct]]) democracy.

In the majoritarian vision of democracy, voters mandate elected politicians to enact the policies they proposed during their electoral campaign.<ref>{{harvnb|Clark|Golder|Golder|2017|pp=703–704}}</ref> [[Elections]] are the focal point of political engagement, with limited ability for the people to influence [[policymaking]] between elections.<ref>{{harvnb|Clark|Golder|Golder|2017|p=704}}</ref>

== Criticisms ==
Though common, majoritarian democracy is not universally accepted – majoritarian democracy is criticized as having the inherent danger of becoming a "[[tyranny of the majority]]" whereby the majority in society could oppress or exclude minority groups,<ref name=":0" /> which can lead to violence and civil war.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last=Reynal-Querol|first=Marta|s2cid=38417520|date=2002|title=Political systems, stability and civil wars|journal=Defence and Peace Economics|language=en|volume=13|issue=6|pages=465–483|doi=10.1080/10242690214332|quote=According to our model the proportional system has a lower probability of rebellion than the majoritarian system. ... Empirically, we find that countries with proportional system has the lowest probability that groups rebel and that the more inclusive is the system, the smaller the probability of suffering a civil war.|citeseerx=10.1.1.17.2796}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6txlCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA48|title=From Majority Rule to Inclusive Politics|last=Emerson|first=Peter|publisher=Springer|year=2016|isbn=9783319235004|edition= 1st|location=Cham|oclc=948558369|quote=Unfortunately, one of the worst democratic structures is the most ubiquitous: majority rule based on majority voting. It must be emphasised, furthermore, that these two practices are often the catalysts of division and bitterness, if not indeed violence and war.}}</ref> Some argue{{who|date=August 2021}} that since parliament, statutes and preparatory works are very important in majoritarian democracies,{{citation needed|date=August 2021}} and considering the absence of a tradition to exercise [[judicial review]] at the national level,{{citation needed|date=August 2021}} majoritarian democracies are undemocratic.{{citation needed|date=August 2021}}

[[Fascism]] rejects majoritarian democracy because the latter assumes equality of citizens and fascists claim that fascism is a form of [[authoritarian democracy]] that represents the views of a dynamic organized minority of a nation rather than the disorganized majority.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Democracy|last=Anthony.|first=Arblaster|date=1994|publisher=University of Minnesota Press|isbn=9780816626014|edition= 2nd|location=Minneapolis, Minnesota|pages=48|oclc=30069868}}</ref>

== Examples ==
There are few, if any, purely majoritarian democracies. In many democracies, majoritarianism is modified or limited by one or several mechanisms which attempt to represent minorities.

The [[United Kingdom]] is the classical example of a majoritarian system.<ref name="auto"/> The United Kingdom's Westminster system has been borrowed and adapted in many other democracies. Majoritarian features of the [[Politics of the United Kingdom|United Kingdom's political system]] include:
* A single party typically forms a majority in [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|Parliament]], and thus forms executive government
* The executive typically dominates the legislature
* Two party system
* [[First-past-the-post electoral system]].<ref name="auto1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Senate/Powers_practice_n_procedures/pops/pop34/c04|title=Australian Democracy: Modifying Majoritarianism?|first=Canberra|last=corporateName=Commonwealth Parliament; address=Parliament House|website=www.aph.gov.au}}</ref>

However, even in the United Kingdom, majoritarianism has been at least somewhat limited by the introduction of [[Devolution|devolved parliaments]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/how-majoritarianism-endures-in-the-structures-of-the-uks-devolved-institutions/|title=How majoritarianism endures in the structures of the UK's devolved institutions &#124; British Politics and Policy at LSE}}</ref>

[[Politics of Australia|Australia]] is a generally majoritarian democracy, although some have argued that it typifies a form of 'modified majoritarianism'.<ref name="auto1"/> This is because while the lower house of the [[Australian Parliament]] is elected via [[preferential voting]], the upper house is elected via proportional representation. [[Proportional representation]] is a voting system that allows for greater minority representation.<ref>{{Cite web | title=Proportional Representation Voting Systems of Australia's Parliaments {{!}} ECANZ | url=https://www.ecanz.gov.au/electoral-systems/proportional | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190228204455/https://www.ecanz.gov.au/electoral-systems/proportional | access-date=2025-06-26 | archive-date=2019-02-28}}</ref> Canada is subject to a similar debate.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/20451828|title=Is Canada a Westminster or Consensus Democracy? A Brief Analysis|author1=Studlar, Donley T.|author2=Christensen, Kyle|year=2006|journal=PS: Political Science and Politics|volume=39|issue=4|pages=837–841|doi=10.1017/S1049096506061014 |jstor=20451828|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

The [[United States]] has some elements of majoritarianism - such as first-past-the-post voting in many contexts - however this is complicated by variation among states. In addition, a strict separation of powers and strong [[federalism]] mediates majoritarianism. An example of this complexity can be seen in the role of the [[United States Electoral College|Electoral College]] in presidential elections, as a result of which a candidate who loses the [[popular vote]] may still go on to win the presidency.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/list-of-US-presidential-elections-in-which-the-winner-lost-the-popular-vote|title=List of U.S. presidential elections in which the winner lost the popular vote &#124; History, Election, Candidates, & Results &#124; Britannica|website=www.britannica.com}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Majoritarianism]]
* [[Majority rule]]
* [[Consensus democracy]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Refbegin}}
* {{Cite book|title=Principles of Comparative Politics|last1=Clark|first1=William Roberts|last2=Golder|first2=Matt|last3=Golder|first3=Sona Nadenichek|publisher=Sage/CQ Press|edition=3rd|year=2017|isbn=9781506389790|location=Washington, DC}}
{{Refend}}

[[Category:Comparative politics]]
[[Category:Types of democracy]]

[[de:Konkurrenzdemokratie]]