Any of a number of forms of
government which at their
core have some degree of decision-making performed by a system of voting. Exactly who can
vote (franchisement) often varies quite widely, and has historically in many countries been divided along lines of age,
gender, religion, economic status, class, race, ethnic group, language, nationality, and citizenship. The degree of participation can also vary. A direct democracy, for example, would in principle have all decisions made by popular vote. Most democratic nations use some form of representative democracy, whereby voters designate certain people or groups to make decisions for them.