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Difficulty: HardDemocracy

In a democratic constitution, citizens hold the constitutional right to initiate nationwide referendums to repeal laws enacted by parliament, while an independent judiciary retains the power to invalidate executive orders that violate fundamental human rights. Which pair of democratic concepts is most directly demonstrated by this constitutional arrangement?

  1. Popular sovereignty and checks and balancesAnswer
  2. B
    Absolute legal sovereignty and legislative supremacy
  3. C
    Coercive power and structural centralization
  4. D
    Executive immunity and parliamentary privilege

Answer

Popular sovereignty and checks and balances
Direct citizen involvement in decision-making through mechanisms like referendums reflects popular sovereignty, which establishes that supreme power in a democracy resides in the electorate. Simultaneously, allowing the judiciary to review and nullify executive actions ensures that governmental organs limit each other's power, exemplifying checks and balances.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the first component of the scenario: citizens overriding parliamentary legislation via referendum.
Identified as an expression of popular sovereignty, where supreme political power ultimately rests with the electorate.
Popular sovereignty asserts that democratic authority originates from and remains accountable to the people.
2
Analyze the second component of the scenario: judicial oversight invalidating unlawful executive actions.
Identified as checks and balances.
Institutional mechanisms preventing any single organ of government from exercising unchecked power represent checks and balances.
3
Synthesize both analytical findings to select the matching option.
The correct combination is popular sovereignty and checks and balances.
Both elements directly correspond to the two constitutional mechanisms described in the stem.

Key Concept

Core Pillars of Democratic Governance: Popular Sovereignty and Institutional Checks
Estimated Time:1m 30s
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Topics

Democracy

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