Bureaucracy refers to both a body of non-elected government officials and an administrative policy-making group. Public administration in many countries is an example of a bureaucracy. Bureaucracy as a political theory is mainly a centralised form of management.
Democracy is a form of government in which the people have the authority to choose their governing legislation. The word Democracy is derived from Greek Words Demos (meaning people) and Kratos (meaning rule).
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Learn to differentiate Democracy with other forms of government too by referring to the following links:
| Difference Between Democracy and Republic | Difference Between Democracy and Dictatorship |
| Difference Between Democracy and Monarchy | Difference Between Democrat and Republican |
Difference between Bureaucracy and Democracy – UPSC Notes:- Download PDF Here
The major differences between Bureaucracy and Democracy are:
| Bureaucracy | Democracy |
| In bureaucracy, the bureaucrats are elected through established procedures | In democracy, the leaders are elected by the people of the country or state through free and fair elections. |
| In bureaucracy, the bureaucrats are not considered as public representatives. | In democracy, leaders are public representatives. |
| In bureaucracy, the bureaucrats have a fixed tenure, i.e their tenure is fixed till the age of retirement, although their roles and responsibilities could vary depending on the posting etc. | In democracy, the elected leaders or representatives have a fixed tenure of up to 5 years in India, after this period, they have to contest elections again to get the necessary votes to regain and continue in power. |
| Bureaucracy does not give too much importance to, or focus much on public opinions. | In democracy, the elected representatives give a lot of importance to public opinions as they are elected by the public through elections. |
| Bureaucracy does not grant freedom of expression. | Democracy grants freedom of expression |
| The mandate of Bureaucracy is to implement the laws. | Democracy gives the powers to make the laws. |
| Bureaucracy is responsible for implementing the policies. | Democracy gives the right to elected representatives to make or formulate the policies. |
| Bureaucracy gives more accountability. | Democracy does not necessarily give great accountability. If there was perfect accountability, then corruption would not exist. |
| Since inputs from electorates are not paid heed to by the Bureaucracy, Directive approach is prevalent. | In democracy, consultative approach is used before framing new laws, policies etc. Elected representatives takes inputs from their electorates |
| In bureaucracy, hierarchy is extremely important, a top-down approach is followed for smooth functioning of any department. Bureaucracy also focuses on Centralisation. | Democracy is based on the values of Equality, Republicanism, Federalism etc. |
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Difference between Bureaucracy and Democracy – UPSC Notes:- Download PDF Here
Frequently Asked Questions about Bureaucracy and Democracy
What does bureaucracy mean in government?
What is the relation between democracy and bureaucracy?
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