frank theriault mused: > > But if England and Canada aren't democracies by > your definition (since their constitutions prevent the majority from > oppressing the minority), and they aren't republics (having a > non-elected monarch), then what are they?
They're what is generally referred to as "parliamentary democracies", just as the system of government in the USA (and France, and ...) are known as "democratic republics". They're far more similar than they are different; an elected group (elected by a democratic franchise) running the country. A classical democracy puts almost every important decision directly to the electorate (government by referendum).
