Pub law overview

Captive Parties

Parties that ideologically must support the government and have no real choice but to do so to prevent the "other side" from winning.

Contract Parties

Parties that choose to support a government to gain policy concessions while avoiding responsibility for unpopular decisions.

Portfolio Allocation (PA)

The process of dividing ministerial posts among parties in a coalition, typically occurring in stages of haggling and internal selection.

District Magnitude

The number of representatives elected in a specific electoral district.

Effective Number of Parties (ENPP)

A weighted measurement used by political scientists to calculate the true number of significant parties in a country's system.

Devolution

The process of transferring and assigning decision-making authority from a central government to lower levels of hierarchy.

Home Rule

Autonomy granted to local governments by a state constitution or statute, allowing them to choose their form of government and taxing powers.

Dillon’s Rule

A legal principle stating local governments only possess powers expressly granted to them by the state or necessary for their existence.

Parliamentary Supremacy

The doctrine (primarily UK) that Parliament has the right to make or unmake any law, and no body can override its legislation.

Partial Preemption

A system where the federal government devolves program responsibility to states but retains authority to judge the adequacy of state actions.

Schengen Zone

An area in Europe allowing for free travel and open borders between member states.

Sin Taxes

Taxes on "undesirable behaviors" (e.g., tobacco, alcohol) intended to generate revenue or discourage the behavior.

Captive Parties:

Parties that share ideological beliefs with the current government but are not members of it; they support the government on confidence motions because they would never support the opposition.

Contract Parties:

Parties that want to limit their relationship with the government but still help it stay in power to gain policy concessions or avoid responsibility for unpopular decisions.

Constructive Vote of Confidence:

A rule requiring that a new government be in place before the current one can be removed (used in Germany, Spain, and Poland).

Minimal Winning Coalition: .

A government composed of parties that control just enough seats (near to just over half) to win confidence votes while sharing ministerial posts among as few partners as possible

Minority Government:

A government formed by parties that do not hold a majority of seats but can win or avoid losing confidence votes.

Oversized Coalition:

A government containing more parties than necessary to control the legislature, often formed for national unity or to prevent opposition from attacking the government ("Glass House Argument").

Portfolio Allocation (PA):

The process of deciding which parties get which ministerial posts (cabinet positions), typically occurring in two stages: haggling over ministries and then selecting specific individuals.

Sausage Machines:

A term for governments that take executive bills and "crank the handle," pushing them through the legislature with little regard for opposition.

District Magnitude:

The number of representatives elected in a specific district.

Electoral Formula:

The mechanism that determines how votes are translated into seats (e.g., Majoritarian, Proportional, Mixed).

List PR Systems:

A proportional representation system where parties provide lists of candidates, and seats are awarded in proportion to the party's vote share.

Open Party Lists:

voters influence which specific candidates from the list are elected.

Closed Party Lists

Parties determine the candidate rank

Single Member District Plurality (SMDP)

A system where individuals cast one vote for a candidate in a single-member district; the candidate with the most votes wins.

Threshold:

A minimum percentage of the vote a party must achieve to be awarded seats in parliament, used to limit fragmentation.

Administrative Law:

The area of law governing public bodies and their operations.

Legislative Intent:

The intended purpose or goal of a statute as envisioned by the legislators, often debated because a collective body like Congress may not have a single "mind."

Legislative Language:

The actual written words of a statute.

Public Law:

The legal field governing "public" bodies, including national, state, and local governments.

Session Law:

A chronological collection of bills passed by a legislature during a session, including those with no general application.

Statutes:

Laws that start as bills and become formal legislation after passing through the full legislative process.

Statutory Codes:

Collections of currently enacted legislation organized by subject matter.

Devolution:

The process of transferring and assigning decision-making authority to lower levels of an organizational hierarchy, common in the UK/European context.

Decentralization

The transfer of power from a central authority to lower levels, including Deconcentration and Delegation.

Dillon’s Rule:

A legal principle stating that local governments can only exercise powers expressly given to them or necessary for their existence.

Home Rule:

Autonomy granted to local governments by a state constitution or statute, allowing them to choose their form of government and exercise independent taxing/spending powers.

Special Districts:

Local government units designed to provide a single service, such as water, fire protection, or transit.

Copenhagen Conditions:

The formal requirements for EU membership, including democracy, a free market economy, and the ability to adapt to EU laws.

European Commission (EuCo):

The executive, bureaucratic organization of the EU that proposes laws and manages the budget.

European Council (EC):

The "board of directors" for the EU, composed of heads of state, which sets the policy agenda.

European Parliament (EP):

The only directly elected EU body, which oversees the Commission and approves the budget but cannot propose legislation.

Which mechanism requires a new gov to be ready before a current one can be removed

Constructive Vote of confidence

In which electoral system is a party that wins 10% of the vote most likely to receive 10% of the seats?

Proportional representation (PR)

Which rule grants local govs the autonomy to choose their own form of gov and taxing powers

Home Rule

The “sausage machine” metaphor refers to which type of gov style?

Majoritarian

which EU institution is responsible for proposing laws and managing the budget

European Commission

Why might a political party choose to be a contract party rather than joining a coalition gov?

To claim they are supporting stability while avoiding voter backlash for government failures

Which argument supports the formation of an “oversized Coalition” in modern politics

The “glass house argument” where being in government prevents a party from attacking it

In Portfolio Allocation, what does “bargaining strength” refer to

A party’s ability to demand more ministries because they are essential to the coalition’s survival

What is a primary disadvantage of Single Member District Plurality?

They often produce unrepresentative outcomes and force strategic voting

Which feature is essential to all Proportional Representation (PR)

Multi-member districts and quota/divisor rules

What is the difference between open and closed party lists in PR systems

Closed lists ensure greater party discipline; open lists allow popular candidates to “jump” into parliament

Why do political scientists and public law scholars generally ignore “session laws”

They contain many acts with no general application, such as private or appropriation acts

What is the central challenge to determining “legislative intent”

a legislature is a many headed body without a single body without a single mind or consistent motive

In the case of King v Burwell (2015), what was the “strict textualist” argument regarding the ACA?

That words no longer have meaning if an exchange not established by a state is treated as such

How does “Devolution” differ from other forms of decentralization?

It specifically refers to the transfer of decision-making authority to lower levels of hierarchy

The Scotland Act 2016 was significant because it:

Declared that Scottish Parliament and Gov cannot be abolished without a referendum in Scotland

In the context of US state and local gov what is a “mandate”

a “stick” consisting of enforceable state requirements imposed on local governments

Which EU institution is described as the “board of Directors” that sets the broad policy agenda?

the European Council

What makes the European Parliament unique among international legislatures

it is the only directly elected international legislature in the world

what was the significance of the 1964 ECJ ruling regarding the Treaty of Rome

It declared the treaty a “constitutional instrument” with supremacy over national law in relevant areas

the “freezing hypothesis” by Lipset and Rokkan suggests that:

modern party cleavages are still reflected in the social/historical conflicts of the 19th and 20th centuries

Which party family is historically associated with “capitalism with a conscience” and “social Harmony”

Christian Democratic Parties

What is the California effect in environmental policy

the tendency of producers to meet California’s high standards for all products because it is more efficient than making multiple versions

Which justification for an oversized coalition suggests that including a party in the government prevents them from criticizing it from the outside?

The Glass House Argument

In the context of Portfolio Allocation (PA), what is the typical outcome regarding the distribution of cabinet posts?

The fair share principle

What electoral system characteristic is more likely to reduce the proportionality of a Proportional Representation (PR) system?

High Electoral thresholds

Regarding the legal debate over statutory interpretation, what was the central tension in King v Burwell case?

Textualism v legislative intent

What is the primary difference between Home Rule and Dillon’s Rule in the context of US local gov

Home Rule grants autonomy while Dillon’s Rule limits local power to express grants

According to the “freezing hypothesis” where do the modern cleavages reflected in European political parties originate?

The time period when democracy was first introduced

Which institution of the EU is the only one that is directly elected by the citizens of member states

The European Parliament

What does the “CA Effect” describe in the context of state-level environmental policy

A “race to the top” where one state’s high standards become the de facto national standard

Why did David Cameron decide to hold referendums on Scottish Independence and Brexit, according to the class notes?

To remove the issues from Parliament and avoid blame for outcomes

Under the “Separation of Powers” doctrine in the UK, how is the relationship between the Executive and Legislative branches described?

A nearly complete fusion of powers