Exam - Assignment Example

Political Science Exam How do the American and British political systems differ? Both the American and British political systems have democratic system of governance though they exhibit some differences. For instance, America has a written constitution while the British system has unwritten constitutional (Rogerdarlington 1). America has presidential system of governance with elected president at the zenith of power while British system is parliamentary headed by prime minister. Whereas the American Senate and House of Representatives are elected the UK’s House of Commons has a mixture of appointed and directly elected members. The American system has two levels of government with equal powers but separate roles (federal system) while in British system parliament is the sole legislative body (Unitary system) (Rogerdarlington 1).
2. Compare English (Jon Locke) and French (Rousseau) social contract theories.
Social contract theory is the concept that defines the existence of relationship between the government and the people as hinged on the agreement between the two whereby citizens obeys government rules in exchange for social protection and liberty (Dooley & Patten, 79). Both Jon Locke and Rousseau views the hardships of the state of nature as the main cause of people’s submission to the authority and that no one has power to rule another person unless by social agreement. According to Locke, the state of nature provides humans with absolute liberty from any government laws and punishments but cannot do anything they wish since they are subject the commandments of God hence should not cause any harm to others. However, Rousseau perceives that the human liberty was corrupted over time and the only way to regain it is by reuniting politically and upholding democratic principles.
3. Compare the French presidential system to the American presidential system
Though both the US and France have presidential system of government they have some similarities and differences (Joseph, Kesselman & Krieger 112). Both governments have executive, legislative and judicial branches. The US president is directly elected while the election France is by direct suffrage. The US is headed by president at the apex of power while in France the executive powers are shared between the president and Prime Minister (Joseph et al 112). Also, France president has special powers such as emergency powers, appointing civil and military officers without approval of legislature and powers to dissolve the national assembly while the US president has none of these powers.
4. What is the Russian concept of “The Third Rome,” and why is this important today?
The concept of “Third Rome” was promulgated by monk Philotheus postulating Moscow as the third Rome because of its supremacy, God’s choice of the city to fulfill His mission and unity of the people. It was the successor of the ancient Rome’s legacy (French 134). This was important to the Christians because it denoted continued theocracy and a driver of Christian unity.
5. What are the causes of Moderator or Institutional military coups d’ etat?
Coup d’etat refers political action involving forceful capture of the state government’s machinery. There are many cause of coup d’etat (Sharp 4). For instance, the contagion theory implies that it is motivated by similar occurrences in the neighboring countries or support from other countries having interest such as economic or political interests in a certain country. It can also be caused by a group of military officer’s willful decision in response to particular crises.
Works Cited
Dooley, Kevin & Patten, Joseph. “Why Politics Matters: An Introduction to Political Science.” Cengage Learning; USA, (2012): 79.
French, R.M. “The Russian Idea, Lindisfarne Press; London, 1992): 134.
Joseph, William; Kesselman, Mark; & Krieger, Joel. “Introduction to Comparative Politics, Brief Edition.” Cengage Learning; USA, (2012): 112.
Rogerdarlington, “CONTRASTS BETWEEN THE AMERICAN AND BRITISH POLITICAL SYSTEMS” Accessd on 29th June 2015 from http://www.rogerdarlington.me.uk/USvsUK.html
Sharp, Gene. “From Dictatorship to Democracy: A Conceptual Framework for Liberation.” Albert Einstein Institution, 2010): 4. Read More