::May I refer you to the article on Liberal democracy (I do not know in what state it is now). Typical for a liberal democracy is the balance between individual rights and majorities taking decisions. It is allways a representative democracy, but can also have direct democratic features (like referenda). A Liberal democracy can be a republic, but monarchies like Sweden are also liberal democracies. The former GDR labeled itself as a democracy: the people had the power (they said).