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Democracy Quotes

On civic duty, accountability, and defending democratic ideals.

These quotes treat democracy as something requiring active maintenance, from elections as the basic tool for keeping leaders answerable to broader concern about democratic accountability eroding over time. Explore Democratic quotes for related ideas.

We shouldn't waste any more time in making sure that democracy is properly rooted in our political life and the supremacy of the law becomes an integral part of our state's structure.

Quotes by Ahmet Necdet Sezner

Egypt had the first constitution in the Middle East that allowed for liberty. And it had democracy.

Quotes by Ahmed Zewail

Egypt was the first democracy in the Middle East. Women were unveiled in the 1920s. Egypt is a country of civilization, of culture. It shouldn't be suffering.

Quotes by Ahmed Zewail

It is true that Egypt's attempt at democracy after the 2011 revolution encountered many obstacles in governance and infrastructure.

Quotes by Ahmed Zewail

Democrat Quotes

The view that we hold in Iraq now is this - that democracy is associated with elections. I believe that elections are possible.

Quotes by Ahmed Chalabi

Democracy forever teases us with the contrast between its ideals and its realities, between its heroic possibilities and its sorry achievements.

Quotes by Agnes Repplier

Be assured, fellow citizens, that in a democracy it is the laws that guard the person of the citizen and the constitution of the state, whereas the despot and the oligarch find their protection in suspicion and in armed guards.

Quotes by Aeschines

The democracy we are constructing must be able to show its usefulness and relevance.

Quotes by Adolfo Aguilar Zinser

As citizens of this democracy, you are the rulers and the ruled, the law-givers and the law-abiding, the beginning and the end.

Quotes by Adlai Stevenson I

Democratic Quotes

Growing up in this post-apartheid era, the first generation of teens in South Africa living in this new democracy, I often found myself feeling different. I was often the only person of color in an otherwise all-white school. And within...

Quotes by Adhir Kalyan

We will not let terrorists change our way of life; we will not live in fear; and we will not undermine the civil liberties that characterize our Democracy.

Quotes by Adam Schiff

Why am I such a Euro-enthusiast? Because I knew it was an anchor of democracy.

Quotes by Adam Michnik

Back in the 1950s, America set out to intervene in Syria, liberate the people from a corrupt elite, and bring about a new democracy. They did this with the best of intentions, but it led to disaster. And out of...

Quotes by Adam Curtis

Of course there are many factors that led to the Iranian revolution, but back in 1951, the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company - which would later become BP - and its principal owner, the British government, conspired to destroy democracy and install...

Quotes by Adam Curtis

Democratic Process Quotes

Tony Blair believed in a consumerist idea of democracy.

Quotes by Adam Curtis

Congress needs to toughen the laws protecting elections and make clear that anyone interfering with democracy will pay a stiff price.

Quotes by Adam Cohen

Supporters of tough voter ID laws are not afraid of vote fraud - they are afraid of democracy.

Quotes by Adam Cohen

I'm advocating that American citizens interested in democracy should stay out of chain stores.

Quotes by Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.

But the West is trying to weaken Islam from outside and inside. They attack our people and invade our countries from outside, and they weaken us from within with ideas like secularism, liberalism and democracy. This is all designed to...

Quotes by Abu Bakar Bashir

Democratic Society Quotes

We have shown that Islam can rule the world perfectly for 14 centuries, and during this time of Muslim power we did not borrow ideas like democracy from others, so why do we need to learn democracy from them now?

Quotes by Abu Bakar Bashir

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Frequently Asked Questions

What do these quotes say about our duty as citizens in a democracy?
One frames it plainly as a civic responsibility: "In our democracy, it is our duty to hold our elected leaders accountable. We do it at the ballot box." It's a reminder that voting is described here as the primary tool citizens have for accountability.
Is one of these quotes critical of a specific administration?
Yes — one speaker voices a strong personal opinion, saying, "I think we're at risk with our democracy. I think we're dealing with the most closed, imperialistic, nastiest administration in living memory. They even put Richard Nixon to shame." This reflects that individual's own stated view at the time, not a factual claim being made here.
How do these quotes connect democracy to economic issues?
One draws a direct link between inequality and the health of a democracy, warning, "Persistent inequality costs the U.S. hundreds of billions of dollars a year, undermining our global competitiveness, our democracy, and our ideals as a nation." It frames inequality as a threat to democratic strength, a theme our Democratic Process quotes explore further.
Do any of these quotes talk about threats to democracy from outside versus inside?
One does, framing it as a contrast: "The defense of our democracy against the forces that threaten it from without has made some of its failures to function at home glaringly apparent." In this speaker's own framing, focusing on outside threats revealed problems closer to home. For more on how democratic institutions are discussed elsewhere, see our Democratic quotes.
Where can I find more quotes related to democracy and civic life?
Our Democrat quotes offer another related angle, and if you want something shareable, check out our Slogans page.

Others connect democracy to economic fairness, arguing that persistent inequality undermines both a nation's ideals and its standing in the world. See Democrat and Slogans for more.