Principles Underpinning Democracy

Based on the accounts we have read so far, we can identify three principles that lie at the heart of democratic values:

  • pluralism/diversity
  • citizenship
  • human rights

If these three principles are in operation, they create the conditions under which critical debate and dialogue can flourish. These connections can be shown in a diagram (below):

Principles underpinning democracy

Now let us look at each part of this more closely.