Parliamentary Government vs. Presidential Government - Report Example

Part Parliamentary government vs. Presidential government-which is more democratic? A democracy is a form of government in which the people,either directly or indirectly, take part in governing. The word democracy originates from Greek and means rule of the people. Parliamentary and presidential forms of government are two principal forms of democracy. A parliamentary system is distinguished by the executive branch of government being dependent on the direct or indirect support of the parliament.This is often expressed through a vote of confidence. Hence, there is no clear-cut separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches. Parliamentary systems usually have a clear differentiation between the prime minister,who is the head of the government and the head of state often being an elected president or hereditary monarch. Though in Parliamentary systems the prime minister and cabinet will exercise executive power on a day-to-day basis, actual authority will usually be bestowed in the head of state, giving them many codified or uncodified reserve powers, providing some balance to these systems. A presidential system, also called a congressional system, is a system of government where an executive branch exists and presides separately from the legislature, to which it is not accountable and which cannot in normal circumstances dismiss it. In a full-fledged presidential system, a president is chosen by the people to be the head of the executive branch.Presidential governments make no distinction between the positions of head of state and head of government, both of which are held by the president Presidents in presidential systems are always active participants in the political process, though the extent of their relative power may be influenced by the political makeup of the legislature and whether their supporters or opponents have the dominant position therein. . The executive branch in a parliamentary form, is dependent upon the direct or indirect support of the legislative branch and often includes members of the legislature. Thus, this would amount to the executive possessing more votes in order to pass legislation. In a presidential system, the executive is often chosen independently from the legislature. If the executive and legislature in such a system include members entirely or predominantly from different political parties, then stalemate can occur. The parliamentary form lies on a firm basis of democracy as it is a political system in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who can elect people to represent them. It can also be argued that power is more evenly spread out in the power structure of parliamentarianism. The head of government seldom tends to have as high importance as a ruling president, and there tends to be a higher focus on voting for a party and its political ideas than voting for an actual person. There is also a body of scholarship, associated with Juan Linz, Fred Riggs, Bruce Ackerman, and Robert Dahl that claims that parliamentarianism is less prone to authoritarian collapse. These scholars point out that since World War II, two-thirds of Third World countries establishing parliamentary governments successfully made the transition to democracy. By contrast, no Third World presidential system successfully made the transition to democracy without experiencing coups and other constitutional breakdowns. Some political scientists argue that presidential systems have difficulty sustaining democratic practices, noting that presidentialism has slipped into authoritarianism in many of the countries in which it has been implemented. Seymour Martin Lipset and others are careful to point out that this has taken place in political cultures unconducive to democracy, and that militaries have tended to play a prominent role in most of these countries. Nevertheless, certain aspects of the presidential system may have played a role in some situations. It should be noted that this alleged authoritarian tendency is often best seen in unitary states that have presidential systems. Federal states, with multiple state governments that are semi-sovereign, provide additional checks on authoritarian tendencies. This can be seen in the United States, where there are 50 states, each semi-sovereign, each having their own 3 branch elected government (governor, legislature, court system), police, emergency response system, and defense force (National Guard). If an extreme extraconstitutional excession (such as the President dissolving the Congress) occurred within the Federal government of the United States, it would not result in the President being able to rule dictatorially, as (s)he would have to deal with the 50 state governments, which have a tendency to act in a very prickly fashion when the Federal government infringes on their rights. Another alleged problem of presidentialism is that it is often difficult to remove a president from office early. Even if a president is "proved to be inefficient, even if he becomes unpopular, even if his policy is unacceptable to the majority of his countrymen, he and his methods must be endured until the moment comes for a new election." (Balfour, intro to the English Constitution). In parliamentary systems, unpopular leaders can be quickly removed by a vote of no confidence, a procedure which is reckoned to be a "pressure release valve" for political tension. Votes of no confidence are easier to achieve in minority government situations, but even if the unpopular leader heads a majority government, nonetheless he is often in a far less secure position than a president. Considering the above facts ,it is quite clear that the parliamentary system is more democratic in nature than the presidential one. Part 2 a Similarities and differences between interest groups and social movements Interest Groups and social movements are organized associations of individuals who share one or more common characteristics, interests, or demands that can be represented before government officials. Interest groups are more formal linkage institutions, insofar as they aggregate and articulate the shared views of their supporters before policymakers. Interest groups may also be referred to as special interests, private interests, pressure groups, organized interests, or lobbies. Interest groups can be found in any political system. While interest groups are focused on political issues, social movements are informal groupings carrying out, resisting or undoing a social change Social movements are different from interest groups in that, they galvanize the attention of widespread segments of society. Social movements are more informal linkage institutions that generate interest among otherwise unassociated citizens on broad-ranging topics of general concern. Notable among worldwide social movements have been those on behalf of labor, civil rights, the environment, and women. Although the distinction between interest groups and social movements is a fine one, interest groups are usually more narrowly focused and depend on organized supporters of otherwise loosely mobilized citizens within a larger social movement. b The separation of powers in the U.S. political system Separation of powers is a political concept under which the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government are kept well defined, to prevent abuse of power. This US form of separation of powers is widely known as "checks and balances." The Constitution Article I, Section 8 gives the Congress the sole power to legislate for the United States. Congress has the exclusive power to legislate, to make laws and in addition to the enumerated powers it has all other powers vested in the government by the Constitution. Executive power is vested in the President. The principal responsibility of the President is to "take care that the laws be faithfully executed." Judicial power is vested in the Supreme Court and inferior courts established by Congress. Separation of powers is not absolute; it is instead qualified by the doctrine of checks and balances. James Madison wrote that the three branches "should not be so far separated as to have no constitutional control over each other." The system of checks and balances is designed to allow each branch to restrain and limit the powers of the other branches. The compensation of executive officials and judges is determined by Congress.The President exercises a check over Congress through his power to veto bills, and courts check both the executive branch and the legislative branch through judicial review. c Realpolitik refers to politics or diplomacy based primarily on practical considerations, rather than ideological notions. The term realpolitik is often used in a derisive manner to imply politics that are autocratic or corrupt Legitimation is the act of providing legitimacy to a person the right to wield power by virtue of his organization position or status to exercise control over persons in subordinate position. Night watchman state is a minimal state where the government’s responsibilities are minimal and would just include the police, judicial systems, prisons and the military. POGG clause The phrase “peace, order and good government” was originally used in the Constitution Act, 1867, enacted by the United Kingdom, and defines the principles under which a Canadian Parliament should legislate. In section 91 of the act, the phrase describes the legal grounds upon which the federal government is constitutionally permitted to pass laws that intrude on the legislative purview of the provinces. Manufacturing consent This term was coined by Walter Lippmann in his 1922 book Public Opinion. ‘Manufacturing consent’is controlling people’s thoughts and behaviour via propaganda, thereby reducing them to passivity is ‘manufacturing consent’. NAFTA North American Free Trade Agreement eliminated the majority of tariffs on products traded among the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Under United States law, it is classed as a congressional-executive agreement rather than a treaty. Keynesian compromise is based on the fiscal principles set out by the economist Keynes who advocated a central role for the state in spending - with deficits if necessary - during hard times, then building up surpluses during good times. NRA The National Rifle Association is the single most powerful non-profit organization in the United States that bases its political activity on the principle that gun ownership is a civil liberty protected by the Second Amendment of the Bill of Rights, and claims to be the oldest continuously operating civil liberties organization in the United States Legalization of politics is a form of institutionalization that imposes international legal constraints on governments. Digital divide is the gap between people who enjoy the benefits of technology and those whose lives could be significantly improved by it. Spending power Authority granted by a legislature to a government to spend public funds in accordance with an approved budget Responsible government In the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy, governments are responsible to Parliament rather than to the monarch. primus inter pares or First among equals is a phrase which indicates that a person is the most distinguished of a group of people sharing the same rank or office. Notwithstanding clause is the common phrase for Section Thirty-three of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms which allows Parliament or provincial legislatures to override certain portions of the Charter. Congressional override is the vote taken to pass a bill again, after it has been vetoed by the President Disintermediation in economics is the removal of intermediaries such as a distributor, wholesaler, broker, or agent, in a supply chain. One important factor is a drop in the cost of servicing customers directly. Electoralist party is an organization focused primarily on election campaigns and gaining votes and also characterized by weak and shifting linkages. Contentious politics is the use of disruptive techniques to make a political point, or to change government policy. Citizen journalism is participatory journalism where the citizens take an active role in collecting, reporting and distributing of news and information. Fusion of Powers is a feature of parliamentary democracies, wherein the executive and legislative branches are intermingled and its primary characteristic is that the executive serves simultaneously as a member of the legislature. Rights consciousness The general awareness of rights to be claimed or asserted against others, particularly the government, is what we mean by “rights consciousness.” Overload thesis states that excessive demands on the state and its economy result in a crisis of ungovernability. The system of checks and balances is an important part of the Constitution through which each of the three branches of the government, legislature, executive and judiciary can limit the powers of the others. Read More