When power is held by representation
Democracy
These involve representation with a vote. The aim is to provide the people with as much representation as possible. The maximum amount of representation would resemble more an anarchistic system, or an Ancient Greek democratic system, which differs from a modern democracy in various ways. Modern democracies are really “representative democracies”. The electorate elects representatives who have a seat and can vote in a parliament where debates occur and decisions are made. Modern democracies are usually structured with separate bodies, some comprised of elected representatives, and others comprised of appointed (unelected) officials. Most notably these are judicial, governing, and executive bodies which provide various checks, and are designed to prevent an individual or a group wielding too much power. The aim is a balance of power. When this goes awry, it can become an Ochlocracy or an Oligarchy.
Ochlocracy
Ochlocracy describes mob rule, when the majority has all the power and misuses it by, for example, mistreating minorities. Ochlocracy was the biggest fear of the wealthy who lived in the times of Athens’ democracy in Ancient Greece, not for fear of rights of minorities or slaves, but for fear of their own property and lack of power. Often in an Ochlocracy power is wielded by a demagogue, and not by the actual masses, although they support it. The French Revolution quickly became an ochlocracy, under the influence of the demagogue Robespierre and the Jacobins. Modern day Israel could be called an ochlocracy, although the discrimination against non-Jewish people under its power (in Israel and the Palestinian areas) is probably influenced more by small fanatical right wing or religious groups rather than the majority. Switzerland is well-known for its direct democratic system. The London School of Economics states “Immigrants from Turkey and former Yugoslavia applying for citizenship in Switzerland were ten times more likely to be rejected than similar applicants from southern or richer European countries under its system of direct democracy, according to an analysis of official data carried out by the London School of Economics and Political Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and University of Zurich.”
Oligarchy
The German sociologist Robert Michels believed that any political system eventually evolves into an oligarchy. He called this the iron law of oligarchy. As stated above an oligarchy is when the state is ruled by a select group of people, and where the general public have very limited or no influence on that selection. Some modern political movements in Western democracies believe that these systems are corrupt oligarchies, “illegally” dominated and influenced by a select few – usually large business. The generally peaceful Movimiento 15-M (15th May) and Indignados (“the Outraged”) movements of 2011 in Spain were manifestations of anger and despair at what they claim as the corrupt influence of the few (mainly corrupt select political parties and big business) over politics. The fact that they were peaceful could be attributed partly to their belief that their rights as protesters were protected, and that if they could obtain a critical mass, they would be able to enact change. It may also be influenced by a realisation in the futility of using violence against the modern state, demonstrated by the failure of ETA to achieve its aims through violent means, and the dependence on modern technology including CCTV cameras, email and mobile phone and financial transaction tracking, generally giving an advantage to the state. The Red Army Faction (RAF) or Baader-Meinhof group in Germany, ETA (Basque acronym for Basque Homeland and Freedom), the IRA (Irish Republican Army) and Red Brigades (Brigate Rosse, often abbreviated BR) in Italy are examples of radical groups who believe that change can only be achieved by violence.
Winston Churchill famously declared in his speech to the British House of Commons on 11th November, 1947 “Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.”