<P> A democracy is a political system , or a system of decision - making within an institution or organization or a country , in which all members have an equal share of power . Modern democracies are characterized by two capabilities that differentiate them fundamentally from earlier forms of government : the capacity to intervene in their own societies and the recognition of their sovereignty by an international legalistic framework of similarly sovereign states . Democratic government is commonly juxtaposed with oligarchic and monarchic systems , which are ruled by a minority and a sole monarch respectively . </P>
what ideas gave birth to the first democratic nation
Modern democracies are characterized by two capabilities that differentiate them fundamentally from earlier forms of government : the capacity to intervene in their own societies and the recognition of their sovereignty by an international legalistic framework of similarly sovereign states .