The grassroots notion of democracy

Abstract

The definition of the word democracy from the time of ancient Greece up to now, has not been that constant. There have been many theories and ideologies on this concept. Thus existed many debates on the ability of democracy to present properly both the will of the people and to do what is right. This sociological study will therefore expose the different viewpoints of different sociologists, who had expressed various ideologies regarding this subject. This study will also focus on development of democracy in Malta, with special reference to the introduction and evolvement of Local Councils in these islands. Such a concept would be the source through which the ever important features of democracy: decentralisation, devolution of power and subsidiarity are within reach and grasp of common citizens. This will be done by focusing on one particular Gozitan Local Council, that of the locality of Xaghra, and by resorting mainly two qualitative research methods. Semi-structured interviews and with councillors and ex-councillors together with textual analysis of minute meetings will be used as tools for this research. The findings will be brought together to give a more comprehensive picture of the phenomenon under investigation.