Democracies fall into two basic categories, direct and representative. In a direct democracy, all citizens, without the intermediary of elected or appointed officials, can participate in making public decisions. Such a system is clearly only practical with relatively small numbers of people – in a community organisation or tribal council, for example, or the local unit of a trade union, where members can meet in a single room to discuss issues and arrive at decisions by consensus or majority vote.

Participatory Democracy, on the other hand, involves citizens actively participating in decision-making processes but may still involve intermediaries. It emphasizes broad participation, deliberation, and collaboration between the government and citizens. While it encourages active involvement, it might not involve direct voting on every decision. Panchayati Raj is an example of such democracy.