Democracy as a System of Governance

Democracy is the accepted forms of governance of people throughout the world and is divided into direct and indirect democracy. Direct democracy is a system of democracy in which power is placed directly in the hands of people. The strengths of direct democracy include it provides direct responsibility, enhances transparency, increases political participation, and facilitates the creation of a well cooperative community. However, its weaknesses include difficulties in decision making, ignoring the opinions of the minority, and needs for extremely high costs. On the contrary, indirect democracy is a system of governance where leaders and officials are elected by the people and mandated with the responsibility of making decisions, formulating policies, lawmaking, and running the country. Its strengths include well balanced decisions, effective legislative body, and well balanced policies whereas the weaknesses include under representation of minorities and increased likelihood of inefficiency and corruption. The most effective democracy is indirect democracy since it has more benefits as compared to direct democracy. For instance, the United States utilizes indirect democracy since citizens choose electors who in turn elect the president.

Part 2

1. Democracy is the most effective form of government since it's more beneficial as compared to other systems. Despite its flaws, democracy is the most effective since it ensure the government is created by the people and for the people. Secondly, democracy promotes and respects human rights, creates fundamental freedoms, and ensures everyone is equal before the law.

2. Money plays a big role in presidential as well as state and local elections given its influence on the political process. The big role of money in presidential elections is that it influences decisions regarding winners and losers. Therefore, there should be limits on the amount of money that people and corporations can give to a candidate in an election cycle and to an individual candidate or party respectively. The best solution to the current campaign finance situation in the United States is establishing laws that establish limits on political donations by individuals and corporations. This would help resolve the current situation by lessening the likelihood of wealthy individuals and corporations to influence political decisions at the expense of the opinions of poor people.

Part 3

Presidents use their formal and informal powers as well as resources to pursue their agendas despite the need for cooperation between the various arms of government. The president's formal powers are derived from the Constitution, which make him/her the administrative head of the government. Presidents use these strong formal powers to pursue their agenda through forcing Congress into session, issuing executive orders, granting pardons, and veto legislation. On the other hand, informal powers are implied powers derived from the Constitution though they are not explicitly stated in the Constitution. Presidents use powers that are assumed to be granted by the Constitution to enhance their personal influence (Annenberg Foundation, par, 3). With regards to resources, presidents use constitutional laws and informal powers to exercise their authority regarding various issues and accomplish their agendas. For instance, President Obama recently issued new gun control orders through informal executive actions in order to accomplish his personal agendas. Given the formal powers, informal powers, and resources at his/her disposal, the President is too powerful.

Part 4

1. An example of a recent domestic policy that has gained considerable attention in the media is the recently enacted Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. This legislation was enacted to provide health coverage to the uninsured and underinsured as part of realization of the American dream of health care for all. The policy includes several less famous provisions that focus on dealing with increased healthcare costs and modifying the ineffective delivery of American medicine. However, the policy has become controversial since it was characterize by partisan approaches during its enactment. An example of a foreign policy is President Obama's recent executive order that seeks to protect approximately 5 million undocumented individuals from deportation. The President issued these orders in attempts to make the country's immigration system more fair and just through giving some undocumented persons work documents and protection from deportation. These domestic and foreign policies have shaped American politics by making healthcare and immigration become major topics in the 2016 Presidential Election campaigns and generating significant concerns regarding the issue and presidential powers.