North Korea versus South Africa: The Executive Systems - Essay Example

North Korea versus South Africa: The Executive Systems Name Institution North Korea versus South Africa: The Executive System Introduction The form of government (parliamentary or presidential) in a country plays a central role in the economic and political abilities of a country. However, sometime, what form of government a country adopts is not entirely a conscious choice. A number of internal (and even external) factors influence the types of government that a country adopts, including long-term goals, the dominant national culture based on Hofstede’s cultural dimensions (Hess, 2009), economic strengths, as well as pressure from external forces (such as democracy in many countries following pressure from the US), among others (Hayo & Voigt, 2010). Even countries that share certain similarities in governance system still differ in certain aspects. North Korea and South Africa are both the same and different in some aspects of governance. North Korea runs a centralized form of government based on a “rigid control of the communist Korean Workers’ Party (KWP), to which all government officials belong” (Scobell, 2005, p.246). South Arica, on the other hand, is a constitutional democracy. Both countries, however, have a three-tier government: the legislature, the executive and the judiciary. Even then, there are still certain differences in the details of these three branches. This paper compares the executive branches of these two countries. The Executive Systems in the Two Countries: Comparing and Contrasting i. North Korea Despite the formal structure outlined in the country’s constitution (that is, a proposed three-tier government), little is known of the actual power and authority balance in the country (CIA World Factbook, 2012). The president, in this case, Kim Jong Un (who took the leadership from his father Kim Jong Il) is the chief of state. The term ‘president’ was not adopted until a 1972 constitution. Until then, the position was held by the equivalent chairmanship of Supreme Committee Assembly’s (SPA) Standing Committee. The SPA is the highest state power organ and elects the president every four years. These elections largely seem like formalities as he country has been stuck with a family rule over the years. For example, Kim Jong Il took the leadership from his father, and he handed his succession to his son Kim Jong Un. The last elections were held in April 2012 when Kim Jong Un was elected unopposed. There are no constitutional provisions for the removal, recall or impeachment of the president. The SPA also elects the president of its Presidium, whose main responsibilities include representing the state in key events (domestically and internationally) and receives diplomatic credentials on behalf of the state (Federal Research Division, 2007). The presidential powers (that is, the chief of state) are described in generalities. He convenes and guides the Cabinet, formerly called the State Administration Council (SAC). He assents all laws, decisions, decrees and directives. His edicts command the force of law with more authority than other legislations. He also promulgates the laws, as well as ordinances of the SPA, the decisions of SPA’s Standing Committee, as well as the laws and decisions of the Central People’s Committee (CPC). The president also has the power to grant pardons, ratify and/or abrogate treaties, requests the recall of and receives foreign envoys. The president must recommend an individual to serve in a top government post. Even the procurators and the judiciary are accountable to the president. The president (Kim Jong Un), however, does not run the day-to-day government activities. This administrative role is left to the head of government. The president also has two vice presidents who are said to ‘assist’. The law does not elaborate the mode of succession and how the vice presidents come into play in this respect. The head of the government, which includes executive (the Cabinet) (formerly called the State Administration Council [SAC]) is the premier. This has been Pak Pong-ju since April 2013. He is supported by several vice-premiers (CIA World Factbook, 2012). The Cabinet (SAC) is headed by the Premier and is the country’s dominant executive and administrative branch of the government. The Cabinet consists of the premier and vice-premiers, Naegak ministers (excluding the Minister of People’s Armed Forces, who is appointed directly by the SPA), committee chairmen and other high-ranking advisers (such as cabinet-level members of the country’s central agencies) (Federal Research Division, 2007). It administers ministries and, perhaps more significantly, influence policy. In fact, it is KWP’s top policy-making body and influences the social structure in the country. It is also responsible for security (internal and external), that is, national defense (Federal Research Division, 2007). Other key roles and responsibilities of the cabinet cover: foreign affairs; public order and safety; general government operations; safeguarding the people’s rights, although some have argued the government champions its interests over those of the individual and therefore often trump on the rights of its citizens (Armstrong, 2003); economic and industrial affairs; and “conducting treaties with foreign countries and conducting external affairs” (CIA World Factbook, 2012, p.3). Also under the cabinet are: the formulation of national economic development goals and plans, preparation of national budget, as well as the handling of fiscal and monetary matters. ii. South Africa Unlike North Korea’s rigid centralized government, South Africa operates a constitutional democracy form of government. Moreover, while the two governments are based on the three key pillars (executive, legislature and judiciary), the balance of power and authority in South Africa is relatively more exposed than in North Korea. Generally, under the country’s interim constitution, South Africa’s executive authority is placed squarely in the hands of the president, his/her deputies and a cabinet consisting of the appointees of the president with the advisory help of party leaders (Rudman, 2008). Up to this stage, we see similarities in the structure of the executive branches of government in the two countries. The National Assembly, which is directly elected, elects the president from among its members. South Africa’s National assembly could be said to be equivalent to North Korea’s SPA. However, unlike the SPA, the constitution gives the National Assembly the mandate or power to remove the president through a vote of no confidence or impeachment (Polity IV Country Report, 2010). The roles and responsibilities of the president include: to uphold, defend and respect the country’s national constitutions; appoint the members of the cabinet (although with the advice of party leaders); convene cabinet meetings; summon the National Assembly to discuss urgent matters of national significance; assents to bill into laws, which also involves sending bills back to the constitutional court and/or legislators for further considerations before assenting to it; appoints commissions of inquiry; receives diplomats; and appoints ambassadors, among others (Polity IV Country Report, 2010). According to this list, the president of South Africa is to some extent directly involved in day-to-day administrative running of the government. On the other hand, although the North Korea’s Supreme leader (president) does not take part in administrative day-to-day running of the government, he is actually involved indirectly, behind the scene. Another key component of the executive is the cabinet. This shares the executive authority with the country’s president and his/her deputies. The members of the cabinet, as already stated above, are appointed by the president following the advice of other party leaders. Because of the involvement of party leaders, the cabinet appointments tend to reflect the relative political powers of the various parties involved. The cabinet consists of ministers and their deputies, who manage various cabinet portfolios. These portfolios are consistent with the many roles and responsibilities of the cabinet, which various areas of government interests: foreign affairs; internal and external national defense; safety and security; agriculture; land affairs; justice; home affairs; and provincial affairs, among others (Polity IV Country Report, 2010). In many ministries, “a department staffed by government employees assists the ministry in the implementation of national policy” (Polity IV Country Report, 2010, p.4). Within the Ministry of the Education, for example, is the Department of Education which assists the ministry in the process of the implementation of national educational policy. The departments are headed by director generals, who are career government employees. Various government clusters that fall the ministries, with the main task of ensuring the alignment of government-wide priorities, the facilitation and monitoring of the implementation of priority national programs, as well as the provision of consultative platform on matters taken to the cabinet. These clusters cover various areas: infrastructure development; employment and economic sector; governance and administration; human development; community development and social protection; trade, security and international cooperation; justice and crime prevention. Conclusion Indeed, as stated in the introductory part of this paper, the contextual (both internal and external) elements associated with a country influence the form of government it adopts. North Korea runs a rigid centralized government, while South Africa runs a constitutional democracy. These differences in governance have to do with the differences in national culture (Springer, 2007), which have also influenced how the two countries react and respond to the international community. It can be said that South Africa is more responsive to the international community and, therefore, international concepts of governance. Democracy has been a major government concept globally over the past decades (Acemoglu & Robinson, 2006). So it makes sense that South Africa has adopted a constitutional democracy. North Korea, on the other hand, has not been as responsive to the international community. The leadership pretty much what it wants and has not budged under pressure from the US (Demick, 2005). It, therefore, makes sense that the country runs a centralized government. Most importantly, national culture has a lot to do with the type of government in a country. This is more evident in the North Korea. Based on Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, and like the rest of Asia, North Korea’s culture exhibits collectivism (over individualism), high uncertainty avoidance index and masculinity (Khilji, 2003). It explains why the government likes to keep track of everything. Hence, the authoritative rule. Although the two countries both run a three-tiers government, there are differences in the distribution of power and authority. In North Korea, the cabinet has lesser or less significant powers, with the president (Kim Jung Un) running everything by iron-fist. Also, the focus of North Korea’s executive is largely political. In South Africa, however, the president does not have as much sweeping powers and authority as in North Korea and a large part of the executive’s focus lies in the social and economic elements of governance. References Acemoglu, D. & Robinson, J.A. (2006). Economic Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Armstrong, C.K. (2003). The North Korean Revolution, 1945-1950, Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2003. Print. CIA World Factbook (2012). North Korea: Government, U.S. Department of State Demick, B. (2005). North Koreans Attend Ideology 101: Lectures Smuggled Out Show the Regime’s Efforts to Combat Outside Influences Seeping in and Illustrate the Extent of Anti-Americanism, Los Angeles Times, Dec. 24, 2005. Federal Research Division (2007). Country Profile: North Korea, Library of Congress Hayo, B. & Voigt, S. (2010). Determinants of Constitutional Change: Why Do Countries Change their Forms of Government? Joint Discussion Paper Series in Economics, No.06-2010 Hess, M. (2009). Culture and Governance, Intercultural Management Congress Proceedings, Lodz: Clark University Khilji, S.E. (2003). To Adapt or Not to Adapt’ Exploring the Role of National Culture in HRM. International Journal of Cross Cultural Management, 3(1), 109-132. Polity IV Country Report: South Africa (2010). Retrieved from 27 May 2014, http://www.systemicpeace.org/polity/SouthAfrica2010.pdf Rudman, D. (2008). Delegation by Parliament of Its Legislative Powers: a South African Perspective. Journal of the Commonwealth Association of Legislative Counsel, 1, 45-57 Scobell, A. (2005). Making Sense of North Korea: Pyongyang and Comparative Communism. Asian Security, 1(3), 245-266. Springer (2007). Cultural Differences Influence Government Policy on Electric Vehicle Innovation, ScienceDaily, May 15. Read More