Breaking down the question
The question has two parts, and both must be answered. The first asks you to explain democracy "as an order of society" — that is, not merely as a form of government or a method of choosing rulers, but as a social order, a set of values and relationships pervading the whole fabric of a community. The second asks for the factors that prevent people from participating in politics.
The key interpretive move in the first part is to resist the narrow, procedural definition of democracy as periodic elections. The phrase "order of society" signals the sociological understanding, in the tradition of Tocqueville and John Dewey, of democracy as a way of life resting on equality, participation, tolerance and an active civil society. The second part then follows naturally: if democracy as a social order requires participation, what obstructs it?
At 10 marks the answer must be compact and well organised. Spend the first half defining and explaining democracy as a social order, and the second half listing and briefly explaining the barriers to participation. The relationship between the state, the citizen and associational life is developed further in the note on the nation, state and civil society.
How to approach it
Open by distinguishing democracy as government from democracy as a social order, and develop the latter as the intended sense. Bring in Tocqueville's insight that democracy is sustained less by institutions than by the habits, associations and equality of condition of a people.
Then turn to the second part. Organise the barriers into a few clear clusters — socio-economic, structural, and psychological or cultural — rather than an undifferentiated list. Give each factor a sentence of explanation so the answer analyses rather than merely enumerates. Close with a brief linking remark that ties the two halves together: these barriers matter precisely because a democratic social order depends on participation.
Model answer
Democracy is commonly understood as a form of government in which rulers are chosen by the ruled through free and periodic elections. But to speak of democracy as an order of society is to insist on something deeper. In this sociological sense, associated with Alexis de Tocqueville and later John Dewey, democracy is not merely a mechanism for selecting governments but a way of life — a social order founded on the equality of persons, the diffusion of participation through every sphere of life, tolerance of difference, and a vigorous associational life in civil society.
As an order of society, democracy rests on several interlocking conditions. It presupposes a broad equality of condition and status, so that citizens meet one another as equals rather than as superiors and inferiors. It requires the active involvement of ordinary people in the collective affairs of their community, not only at the ballot box but in the everyday associations — voluntary bodies, unions, local government, civic groups — that Tocqueville regarded as the true schools of democracy. It depends on a political culture of tolerance, trust and willingness to compromise, and on the recognition of rights that protect the individual and the minority. Democracy in this sense permeates the family, the workplace and the neighbourhood, wherever relationships are conducted through discussion and consent rather than command. Robert Dahl's account of a responsive political order, in which citizens can formulate and signify their preferences and have them weighed, captures the participatory heart of this ideal.
If participation is the lifeblood of a democratic social order, then the factors that suppress it are of central concern. They may be grouped into three clusters.
The first cluster is socio-economic. Poverty, illiteracy and economic insecurity absorb people's energies in the struggle for survival and leave little room for public engagement; the poor also often lack the information and confidence to act politically. Deep inequality breeds a sense that politics belongs to the powerful, discouraging the marginalised from taking part.
The second cluster is structural and institutional. Where political parties are dominated by elites, where corruption and money power capture the process, and where the ordinary citizen sees no channel through which her voice can reach decision-making, participation withers. The centralisation of power, weak local institutions and the absence of genuine avenues for deliberation all deter involvement. Social hierarchies of caste, class and gender further exclude subordinated groups, and the intimidation or coercion of vulnerable voters silences them outright.
The third cluster is psychological and cultural. Political apathy — a settled indifference born of the belief that participation makes no difference — is a powerful deterrent. So is political alienation, the feeling of estrangement from a system experienced as remote and unresponsive. A pervasive distrust of politicians and institutions, a sense of powerlessness, and a culture of dependence rather than active citizenship all corrode the willingness to engage.
These barriers matter because they strike at democracy understood as an order of society rather than a mere procedure. Elections may continue while genuine participation hollows out. A society becomes democratic in the fuller sense only as these socio-economic, structural and psychological impediments are reduced, and its citizens are drawn into the active, everyday self-government that Tocqueville saw as democracy's living core.
Examiner's perspective
The most common error on this question is to answer only the second half, listing reasons for low turnout while neglecting the conceptual first half. The examiner has deliberately asked candidates to "explain democracy as an order of society", and marks are reserved for those who move beyond the electoral definition to the Tocquevillean idea of democracy as equality, participation and associational life. Naming Tocqueville or Dewey signals this understanding economically.
In the second half, the difference between an average and a strong answer is organisation. A flat list of obstacles reads thinly; clustering them into socio-economic, structural and psychological categories, each with a line of explanation, shows analytical control within the tight word budget of a 10-mark answer.
A first-class script closes by connecting the two parts — noting that the barriers to participation threaten democracy precisely because a democratic social order lives or dies by participation. This synthesis, brief as it must be, demonstrates that the candidate has grasped the question as a single argument rather than two disconnected tasks.