Difference Between Democracy and Republic
There are hundreds of countries spread around the world and each of these countries is being run by different kinds of governments. Each government is of a varied type and has its own individual characteristics. There are democratic forms of government as well as republics which operate in their own exclusive manner.
There is certainly a vast variation between both democracy and a republic. Both these are governments that appear to be identical but are quite different from each other.
One of the most interesting facts worth observing is that while direct expression is one of the undertones of democracy, in a republic, the election of public figures by the people is the underlying factor.
There is no doubt about the fact that in both the forms of the democratic and republican forms of governments, the government is elected by the masses. However, the main difference is that in a democracy, the party winning with a majority of votes takes over the reins of the government, while in a republic, the government rules in accordance with the prevailing laws of the land. Still both the governments in power are bound by the constitution of the country.
Democracies throughout the world are typified by the governance of the majority of people living in the country. It can also be considered that it is a kind of government where the supreme power of the governance rests with the people who can use these rights during election time. A democratic form of a government can easily be illustrated as a government of the masses and is in fact the direct control of the people.
A Republic form of a government, on the other hand is a standardized form of a government which is implemented throughout the world in all republic countries. In this form of a government, there are elections held which elect an executive, a legislative body and a judiciary to preserve the law and order situation of the republic and recognize the rights of the individual person. There is a Chief of State at
who acts as the head of state and could be the President. Further, the government acts according to the law which is framed by public figures who are deemed to be men of caliber.
Mobocracy prevails in a democracy when the control of the entire politics is handled by the mob.
It is rather surprising to observe that in spite of the fundamental variations, these two terms specifying the forms of government are used in a similar manner.
To recapitulate, there are marked differences between the republic and democratic forms of government. A democracy believes in the direct rule of the people and the power flows through the people. A republic is basically a standardized form of government and the practice is followed in all republics throughout the world. A democratic government is the rule of the masses while a republic governs by a set of rules framed as per the law of the country.