Political, Electoral, and Party Systems

what are the features of majoritarian democracies?

power is concentrated in a single place and office, there is a single-party executive, executive dominance over legislature, there is a single legislative branch, and the constitution is easily amendable

what are the features of consensus democracies?

there are multiparty executives, executive and legislative balance, two legislative branches, and the constitution is NOT easily amendable

where do majoritarian democracies stand on effectiveness and accountability?

they are MORE effective with more vertical accountability

where do consensus democracies stand on effectiveness and accountability?

they are LESS effective with more horizontal accountability

what are the two roles of executives?

head of state and head of government

what does the head of state do?

the representative and face of a country 

what does the head of government do?

enforces laws and policies

what are the 3 models of democratic government?

parliamentarism, presidentialism, and semipresidentialism

what are the features of parliamentarism?

power is concentrated in one place, executive and legislative branches are FUSED, the majority in the parliament names the PRIME MINISTER, PM appoints ministers to cabinet

what happens if there is no majority in the parliament?

a coalition government is formed

What does parliamentary rule in India look like?

increasing veto players, is equally majoritarian compared to UK, the BJP party is emerging

what does parliamentary rule in the UK look like?

only has two strong parties, high vertical accountability and limited horizontal accountability, few veto players

where does executive power stand in the UK and India?

greater executive power in the UK, increasing in India

where does legislative power stand in the UK and India?

both are strong

where does accountability stand in the UK and India?

both have strong vertical accountability

where do veto players stand in the UK and India?

weak in the UK and weakening in India

where does policymaking stand in the UK and India?

strong for both

what is party discipline?

whether or not members of parliament that are in the same party as their exec. vote in accordance with them

what does party discipline look like in the US, UK, and India?

US has low PD, UK has declining PD, India has high PD

what are the features of presidentialism?

head of state and government are the same person, there is separation of powers, presidents serve a fixed term, presidents are free to appoint their own cabinet, presidents often have to form a coalition of parties to pass laws 

what does presidentialism look like in the US?

a two-party system with inherent veto players and the president is more powerful but is checked when Congress is controlled by opposing party

what does presidentialism look like in Brazlil?

has a coational president, inherent veto players, and legislature has weak parties that can limit accountability and contribute to corruption

where fo the US and Brazil stand on executive power?

both are weak but growing

where do the US and Brazil stand on legislative power?

both are strong

where do the US and Brazil stand on accountability?

horizontal is stronger than vertical

where do the US and Brazil stand on veto players?

both have built in veto players

where do the US and Brazil stand on policymaking?

there is a gridlock in the US, and Brazil has a coalitional president

what are the features of semipresidentialism?

executive power is split between a president and prime minister, president is elected by citizens and is the HEAD OF STATE, prime minister is put in by president and is HEAD OF GOVERNMENT

what does accountability look like in a semipresidential system?

it is minimal

what does policymaking look like in a semipresidential system?

it is strong

what is the collective action problem?

when individuals are unwilling to engage in activities because of the belief that their own actions will have little or no effect

what are electoral systems?

formal, legal mechanisms that translate votes into control over political offices and shares of political power

what is a single-member district or SMD?

a system that uses either plurality or majority rules to determine the winner of an election

what are the cons of single-member districts?

wasted votes, lower voter turnout, and less representation

what is a proportional representation system?

a system where representatives are chosen nationally or in electoral districts with multiple representatives for each district

what are characteristics of PR?

they are often consensus democracies, multiple voices/parties are represented, and coalition governments are common

what are the two types of proportional systems?

open list and closed list

what is a closed list proportional system?

each party has a ranked list of candidates for seats in the legislature and voters vote for a PARTY

what is an open list proportional system?

also a ranked list of candidates, voters vote for a CANDIDATE

what are the pros of a proportional system?

few wasted votes, more representation, higher voter turnout, more likely to elect women and other minorities, and FASTER POLICY CHANGES

how do mixed/semiproportional systems work?

voters cast two ballots instead of one