Forms of States and Governments

Will of the people through free and fair elections

A liberal-democratic state derives its legitimacy — that is, its right to rule — from the will of the people. This is expressed through universal adult franchise and free and fair periodic elections. The elected representatives are accountable to the people. Military strength, wealth of the ruling class, or religious authority are bases of power in non-democratic systems. India is a good example, where the government gets its authority from the people through elections.

Government monopoly over mass media

According to A.R. Ball, in a liberal-democratic state, the mass media (TV, radio, newspapers) is NOT monopolised by the government — it has freedom to criticise the government within certain limits. Government monopoly over media is actually a feature of totalitarian and authoritarian states. Features like periodic elections, an independent judiciary, and freedom of speech ARE characteristic of liberal democracies. This is an important distinction to remember.

A written constitution that is supreme law of the land

A federal system requires three important features: (1) A written, rigid constitution as the supreme law, (2) Distribution of powers between the central and regional governments, and (3) An independent and impartial judiciary. Concentration of all powers with the centre is a feature of unitary government, not federal. The constitution in a federal system must be rigid — neither the centre nor the states can change it alone. The USA and India are good examples of federal systems.

The Individual States

In the USA (and Switzerland), residuary powers — meaning powers not specifically listed in the constitution — belong to the individual states. The central government in the USA has only 18 enumerated (listed) powers. This is different from India and Canada, where residuary powers belong to the central government. This reflects the American philosophy of strong state autonomy and limited central authority.