The United States as the Constitutional Republic - Admission/Application Essay Example

Public Administration al Affiliation: Public Administration Lesson A true democratic form of government is a government in which the people decide through voting or consensus concerning specific policy initiatives. This form of governance entails giving the citizens an opportunity to make laws and decide on the critical decisions that impact on their lives. A true democracy may be either participatory or deliberative. For instance, in some countries, this form of governance allows three forms of actions which involve the members of the public. These are referendum, initiative, and recall. Referendum entails voting to decide whether a particular law should be accepted or rejected. Through these actions, the powers of passing a law are embedded on the citizens. As a result, the work of their representatives is to enact the law. However, they must consult the members of the public before the law can be gazetted (Cox, 2009). Initiatives are mainly put forward by the members of the public without even the consent of their representatives. On the other hand, recalls gives the members of the public powers to remove their representatives from their offices before the expiry of their terms. Although it’s a rare occurrence especially in the modern democracies, it gives the people an opportunity to take home non-performing officials. As a result, the representatives must work towards the interests of the people. In addition, they must consult the members of the public in order not to work against their will. However, this form of governance has been criticized because it’s slow especially when critical decisions that will affect the state are being made. This is because even illiterate people are given an opportunity to choose on the laws. As a result, it may take time before they understand the contents in the law. A constitutional republic is a state whereby the president and other elected leaders are representatives of the people. However, their actions and every activity they undertake is governed by the constitution. In this form of government, the constitution has divided the executive, judiciary, and legislature as three distinct branches. In addition, each branch is independent but expected to work with the rest in order to govern the people accordingly. In this republic, the head of state and other officials are either elected or chosen rather than inheriting their positions. As a result, they must safeguard the interests of the people failure to which, the constitution outlines ways of removing them from the office. This is unlike in true democracy where a person can just initiate a recall without any legal hurdle. In such a case, official even become corrupt in order to retain their positions. For instance, they can bribe vocal people in the society in order to silence them (Innes & Philp, 2013). However, in a constitutional republic well outlined procedures must be followed before an elected or chosen official is removed from office. This gives both parties an opportunity to be heard. As a result, the decision that is made by the court is free, fair, and with no any form of manipulation. In a constitutional republic, the constitution limits the powers of the government. Unlike in true democratic state where people act as watchdogs, the constitution puts the checks and balances to ensure that all leaders abide to the laws that were set and approved by the citizens. United States is a constitutional republic. People elected by citizens or chosen by the representatives of the people must abide with the constitutions. The US constitution gives details on how they can undertake various activities with the interests of the citizens at hand. In addition, it gives the people the power to vote in their representatives of choice. However, once elected, the representatives are protected by the constitution from malicious removal from office. This is through outlining the necessary procedures that must be followed in order to recall them. US constitution is supreme. It acts as guidance to all arms of the government. In case of any conflicts, it acts as a reference. As a result, people’s interests and rights are safeguarded by this document. Therefore, there is no need for frequent referendum when passing the laws. Instead, people’s representatives ensure that all laws and decisions that are passed abide to the constitution. Terms democracy and constitutional republic are confused in day-to-day conversations in our society because in both types of governance people’s interests must take the centre stage. In addition, people are involved in day-to-day making of the decisions. However, in a republic, representatives of the people make the decisions on behalf of the citizens. This is unlike in a true democracy where the voice of people is heard directly through referendum, recall, or initiatives. Lesson 2 Public administration entails the implementation of government policies. It is mainly concerned with organizing the government policies and programs with the aim of achieving positive results. Furthermore, it ensures that the public servants behave formally and in a responsible manner. In the past one century, the world has experienced an upsurge in the number of population across the world. High number of conflicts emanating from administration issues increased a need for a formal structure of administration. In addition, the number of government agencies and political parties created a need for a formal way of implementing the policies that have been developed by the government officials. On the other hand, government has become more dynamic. The number of departments has increased tremendously. However, all of them are supposed to work as a single unit (Peters & Pierre, 2013). Moreover, various agencies and non-governmental organizations must be integrated in operations of the government. Moreover, the internal policies of the government are currently affected by economic, social and political aspects of other countries across the world. Therefore, public administration involves ensuring that all these elements are taken into consideration while implementing crucial government policies. Human resource management has become an important aspect towards the success of any government. Public servants need to remain motivated in order to provide the members of the public with high quality services that will satisfy their interests. However, this cannot be achieved when the implementation of policies is slow and does not consider the interests of all subordinates that have been employed by the government (Riccucci, 2010). Therefore, public administration involves ensuring that the public servants have a good working environment. In addition, it ensures that they behave and act according to the constitution of the country. Public administration has never existed. Instead, it is just a theoretical construction that mainly asserts that there exists a normative relationship between different political and public officials in a democratic society. Since the formation of a formal government, people have been talking of public administration. However, there are different ways of implementing the government policies depending on a country’s constitution or the society being governed. Many people have tried to come up with a well defined ways of administrating the public resources. However, majority of them are yet to find a distinct line that defines the relationship that exists between the administrators and elected official (Riccucci, 2010). This is an indication that this is a theoretical aspect that has been drafted to ensure that there is a normal working relationship between the two parties. In the modern society, there is a need for different agencies and individuals to work together towards the achievement of a common goal. Over the years, the governments have become dynamic with various changes being implemented in order to ensure that the interests of the people that keep on changing are implemented fully. This aspect requires a holistic approach which involves various stakeholders and other independent partners. Public administration is a theoretical framework that brings all people, agencies, and other bodies together towards one common goal of serving the people (Riccucci, 2010). It ensures that all elements associated with service to the people are included in order to close all gaps that might affect the working relations of different parties that have different interests. The concept of public administration was created to interlink different agencies, personnel, department, and other stakeholders in order to work as a single unit. Initially, there were gaps in the governance of the people. This led to conflicts of the interests. This concept created accountability and made every stakeholder responsible for the governance of the people. This reduced conflicts, corruption, and other personal interests that could have affected the service delivery by people who were given the mandate by the members of the public. Lesson 3 Currently, the world is crumpling with the increasing levels of Terrorism. Groups such as ISIS, Al Qaeda, and Alshabab have emerged, an aspect that has created a tough test for the American government. Since 9/11, the government has been improving its surveillance system with the aim of safeguarding the American territory from internal and external aggressors. Many of these groups have become so strong to an extent that the government security agencies need to keep on upgrading its systems in order to keep up with their pace. On the other hand, drug trade and cyber crime cases are posing a major threat to the American people. In order to protect the people, the government has a policy of warrant-less wiretapping. This aims at detecting and deterring a crime or crime-related activity from happening. According to Alexander Hamilton, the power to protect the nation should not have limit. The federalist argues that the terrorists do not have any limits and they rarely segregate people when making an attack (Landau, 2010). Their leaders have a role of infringing pain to the public in order to gain attention. They state that it’s impossible to foresee or even define the extent of national exigencies. As a result, limiting the president’s constitutional power is the same as giving the enemy an upper hand and weakening the nation’s ability to fight crime and terrorists activities. He retaliated that government should be given the full mandate to offer protection to the public. In addition, he argues that the only people who should worry about this policy are those who conduct illegal activities. Similarly, Thomas Jefferson agrees with the fact that the US government needs to do more in order to safeguard the American people. This is through deterring any criminal act before it can happen. In addition, they state that the government needs to stop concentrating too much on foreign security and shift the attention to the country’s boundaries. This would be significant in ensuring that people feel safe as they undertake their activities. However, he differs with Hamilton argument that warrant-less wiretapping should be implemented. According to him, this will be a violation of privacy rights which have been safeguarded in the constitution. According to him, the government cannot go against the constitution which guides its operations. In addition, the power is still embedded on the people. Therefore, few political leaders cannot conspire on how to regulate the freedom of the people and even go ahead and violate the constitution which is supreme than any other government agency, individual, or even non-governmental organization. Anti-federalists argued that giving the president all powers will take away the democracy of the people. They argued that one person cannot be trusted with all powers. This is because they can easily manipulate the information obtained to remain in power or against their personal enemies (Etheredge, 2011). This can be dangerous for a sovereign country. As a result, limiting this power and safeguarding the rights given in the constitution is the only way to achieve a secure nation while still not infringing on the rights of other people. Previously, ideas by both groups were fixed to democracy. However, in the modern society, the policy is affecting the right to privacy. In addition, it is having a major impact on the government’s foreign relationship with other states. For instance, the tapping of phone conversations of the German Chancellor and Brazilian president almost strained the relationship between United States and its allies. The policy has therefore, sparked a debate on whether it’s being used by powerful people in the government in order to get information on their competitors. In addition, the confidentiality of the information obtained is not yet ascertained. Therefore, even as the policy is being effected, more regulations need to be put in place in order to prevent malicious people from using the information against innocent people in an excuse of fighting crime or terrorism (Hertzberg, 2004). References Cox, R. W. (2009). Ethics and integrity in public administration: Concepts and cases. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe. Etheredge, R. (2011). The American Challenge: Preserving the Greatness of America in the 21st Century. Chicago: MiraVista Press. Hertzberg, H. (2004). Politics: Observations and arguments, 1966-2004. New York: Penguin Press. Peters, B. G., & In Pierre, J. (2013). The SAGE handbook of public administration. Innes, J., & Philp, M. (2013). Re-imagining democracy in the age of revolutions: America, France, Britain, Ireland, 1750-1850. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Landau, S. E. (2010). Surveillance or security?: The risks posed by new wiretapping technologies. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Riccucci, N. (2010). Public administration: Traditions of inquiry and philosophies of knowledge. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press. Read More