Popular democracy is direct democracy, unmediated and participatory, popular self-government. Rousseau conceptualised such form of government. Legitimacy of the government flows from citizen’s determining their legislation and policy in their direct assembly. It presupposes a ‘general will’ or a collective will of the community without any factional or sectional division. It is said that Julius Nyerere in Tanzania through his concept of ujamaa (that insist on consensus and prohibits factionalism) sought Rousseau-type popular democracy, though not with direct participation.
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