"Freedom of the press is touted as a basic democratic principle, " he said.

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And for Mr Issing the implied transfer of money would violate the fundamental democratic principle that there should be "no taxation without representation".

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What teetered in the balance that week was not only the whole fabric of Russian-American relations since the cold war, but the principle of democratic control over Russia's army.

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In principle, most democratic nations have constitutions that bind the behavior of government officials.

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Mr el Mahdi wants talks with the government based on the principle of a democratic, secular state.

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In the 1960 Democratic primary, they adhered to liberal principle rather than support the more moderate and more electable John F.

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The Democratic Party has always stood up for the principle of counting every person's vote.

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And so long as Russia could be deemed democratic, the West had a point of principle to which it could cling.

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But at the end of the dialogue, if we will not reach an agreement, we must agree on the one most important principle -- that the majority will decide, a democratic majority, and everybody, everybody, will respect it.

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And, at last, proper credit is given to John Major, who showed the right mixture of steely determination and neat political footwork in pursuing a fundamental principle, a determination to bring Sinn Fein to accept democratic and constitutional means.

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Embrace America as a pluralistic, democratic society in which the separation of church and state is a founding principle.

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In principle, Mr Hastert might seek to pass a budget with the help of Democratic votes by agreeing to increase spending and dilute Republican demands for a big tax cut.

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In a democratic age populism appeals to political demagogues greedy to secure a majority of votes against elite rivals who on principle refuse to pander to mob passions.

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