Answer:
A representative government is a type of government comprised of politicians who represent certain individuals or groups. In most cases, these representatives are voted for by citizens through a democratic process. The US Congress and British Parliament, for example, are both representative governments because the politicians represent people from different parts of the country in the political arena.
How Do Representative Governments Work?
Representative governments are the cornerstone of democratic political systems because they allow citizens to decide who will speak and act on their behalf in the larger government. In the United States, for example, the legislative branch of the government (Congress) is comprised entirely of elected officials who are responsible for representing the citizens from their states. This type of government allows for each state to be equally and adequately represented in the federal government, which theoretically makes everyone's voices heard.
While US Congress is a common example of representative governments, most Western democratic countries have some variation of this style. In Germany, for example, the Bundestag is the branch of the German government that is responsible for representing the citizens in the larger governmental body. Like the US Congress, members of the Bundestag are primarily responsible for meeting with their constituents, which is just a fancy name for the people whom they represent, and addressing their concerns, answering their questions, and bringing their issues before the national government.
Because they speak for the people, the most important aspect of any member of a representative government is that they are accessible to the people whom they represent. This allows them to be of direct service to citizens and ensures that they are intimately familiar with the issues and suggestions that they address in the larger government.
