# Democratic Process **Domain:** Political Science, Government **Doc Type:** Concept Node **Classification:** Infrastructure Concept **Maturity:** Foundational **Related:** [[Democratic Deliberation]], [[Democratic Expectations]], [[Democratic Succession]], [[Constitutional Governance]] --- ## Definition The **set of institutional procedures through which political communities make collectively binding decisions**. Democratic processes specify how participation occurs, how preferences are aggregated, and how legitimacy is established for decisions. --- ## General Context Democratic processes include elections, legislatures, constitutional amendment procedures, and referenda. Different democratic processes (proportional versus majoritarian, direct versus representative) produce different outcomes and serve different constituencies. --- ## Governance Context Climate governance increasingly operates outside democratic process through executive agencies, international organizations, and private governance. Democratic processes are often excluded when decisions are framed as technical or urgent. --- ## Key Insight No democratic process is neutral. Procedural choices about voting rules, participation requirements, and decision thresholds determine which outcomes are likely and which constituencies are advantaged. --- ## See Also [[Governance]], [[Constitutional Safeguards]]