Rule by law. Democracies are not controlled by the whims of a leader, but they are governed by
laws that apply to leaders and citizens equally.
Meaningful political participation by citizens. By itself, a citizen's right to vote is not a good measure of democracy. The government must respond in some way to citizen demands. If they vote, the candidate they choose must actually take office. If they contact government in other ways -writing, protesting, phoning-officials must respond.
The degree to which a government fulfills these criteria is the degree to which it can be considered democratic. Examples of such governments include Great Britain, France, Japan and the United States.
Whats the most important idea of this paragraph?