8 ways that U.S.-style democracy stands out globally

The U.S. Constitution has been in effect for 237 years but has been formally amended just 27 times, a reflection of what researchers rank as the second-most onerous amendment process among 101 democratic constitutions, according to a Pew Research Center analysis [1]. Amendments must secure two-thirds votes in both the House and Senate and then win ratification from three-quarters of state legislatures — 38 of the 50 states [1]. The only democracy with a harder process is the Federated States of Micronesia, a former U.S. trust territory in the South Pacific, where constitutional change requires two separate two-thirds majority votes in the 14-person legislature, presidential approval, and subsequent approval by three-quarters of voters in at least three of the country's four states [1]. Other countries with similarly high barriers include Palau, Switzerland and Australia, all of which require ratification at both national and state levels [1]. The classification scheme used to score amendment difficulty was developed by the late political scientist Donald S. Lutz [1]. For constitutions containing more than one amendment procedure, researchers used the "least difficult" path [1]. At the opposite end of the spectrum, many countries with unicameral legislatures can amend their constitutions much like they pass regular laws, simply requiring a larger majority in favor [1]. The U.S. is one of only five democracies with a codified constitution, meaning its governance rules are written in a single document [1]. The other democracies operate under "uncodified" constitutions, where rules are distributed across multiple statutes, legal precedents, customs and unwritten norms [1]. Liberal democracies may take various forms — constitutional monarchies or republics, parliamentary or presidential systems — but they commonly draw upon a constitution, either codified or uncodified, to delineate the powers of government and enshrine the social contract [5]. Pew Research Center surveys have found that Americans overwhelmingly favor several proposed changes to the U.S. political system, including term and age limits for government officials and campaign finance limitations [1]. Many of those changes would require amending the Constitution [1]. The federal government operates as a representative democracy with a president and a constitution that creates a separation of powers among three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial [4]. While representative democracy is widely valued, Pew Research Center has found that dissatisfaction with democratic performance is common even in many established democracies [2]. The notion of democracy has evolved considerably over time, with the dominant modern form being representative democracy, where citizens elect government officials to govern on their behalf [2].