Executive:
Prime minister is head of government, can call elections, sets foreign policy agenda, and serves as de facto commander in chief and chief executive over the civil service
no formal term limit
PM chosen by majority party in house of commons
removal: a vote of no confidence in house of commons
Monarch is head of state, ceremonial
formally appoints the prime minister who the majority party selects
Legislative:
bicameral
house of lords: upper house; reviews and amends bills from commons, effectively delaying implementation as a power check
either a lord, clerical member, or appointed (appointments approved by monarch with recommendations made by the PM and an independent commission)
800 members
house of commons: lower house; approves legislation
directly elected under SMD-FPTP
650 members
Judicial:
uses common law
major functions include serving as the final court of appeals, protecting human / civil rights and liberties, and ruling on devolution disputes
no judicial review
has judicial independence
Political system:
parliamentary system w/ a constitutional monarchy
unitary government (but more federal progress)
two party system
conservative and labour parties
minor parties with regional representation are able to win some legislative representation due to SMD-FPTP
political parties:
conservative party - center right
labour party - center left
liberal democrats - centrists
scottish national party - center left
democratic unionist party - right wing
Other:
NGO: amnesty international (advocates for human rights and social justice)
Civil society: strong tradition, brexit protests
cleavages:
ethnic and regional (scottish, english, welsh, irish) (resulted in devolution)
religious (protestants and catholics in northern ireland) (resulted in good friday agreement: power-sharing where majority party picks first minister and minority party picks deputy minister that allows minority party and majority party compromise with each other bc minority can block majority)
globalization: united nations member, EU
legitimacy: tradition
Executive:
president: head of state and government; serves as commander in chief and leader of the bureaucracy, can approve domestic legislation and lead foreign policy
needs plurality vote to win, not majority
serves one, six-year term
removal: impeachment via legislature with 2/3 vote in both houses
Legislative:
bicameral
chamber of deputies: lower house; approves legislation, levies taxes, and verified outcomes of elections
300 members directly elected via SMD, plurality
200 members directly elected via PR, party list system
3 year terms
senate: upper house; conforms presidential appointments to the supreme court, approves treaties, and approves federal intervention in state matters
96 members elected in three-seat constituencies and 32 by proportional representation (128 total) (mixed electoral system)
gender quotas in party list system have helped increase female representation in the legislature
6 year terms
Judicial:
supreme court
civil law
has judicial review
has judicial independence
magistrates are nominated by the president and approved by the senate
one 15-year term
Political system:
federal system
presidential representative democratic republic
constitutional democracy
multi-party system
national election institution (INE)
dominated by national action party (PAN), the party of the democratic revolution (PRD), and the institutional revolutionary party (PRI)
parties are allowed to form coalitions to nominate candidates for any particular election
political parties:
national action party (PAN) - center right
institutional revolutionary party (PRI) - center left
party of the democratic revolution (PRD) - left wing
MORENA - left wing (AMLO)
Other:
NGO: mexican commission for the defense and promotion of human rights (addressing violence and corruption)
civil society: corporatist under PRI, labor unions, catholic church, anti-femicide protests
cleavages:
ethnic (indigenous population, whites, and mestizos)
regional (north vs south) (zapatista uprising in 1994 in chiapas protesting nafta because they thought it would increase economic inequalities and the south is economically depressed)
globalization: NAFTA / USMCA, GATT (general agreement on tariffs and trade, joined in 1890’s)
legitimacy: constitution, revolution
Executive:
president: head of state and government
serves as chief executive, commander in chief, head of civil service, can approve domestic legislation and conduct foreign policy
must receive majority of general election with at least 25% of the vote in 2/3 of nigeria’s states
two 4-year term limits
removal: impeachment via legislative branch - requires 2/3 vote in both houses
Legislative:
bicameral; called national assembly together
senate: upper house; power to approve legislation, can impeach and can confirm
directly elected from each of nigeria’s 36 states
3 members per state + 1 from FTC (109 members)
house of representatives: lower house; can approve legislation
directly elected in SMD
representatives from each of nigeria’s states, # of reps from state is based on population
360 members
Judicial:
supreme court
common law
power of judicial review
no judicial independence; effort has been made to reestablish legitimacy and independence by reducing corruption
federalism has resulted in islamic sharia courts being established in the north
judges are recommended by a judicial council and are appointed by the president with confirmation by the senate
Political system:
federal system
constitutional democracy
presidential representative democratic republic
multiparty system
two strong parties: peoples democratic party and all progressives congress of nigeria
political parties:
all progressives congress (APC) - center right
peoples democratic party (PDP) - center left
Other:
NGO: center for democracy and development (promoting democracy and good governance)
civil society: #ENDSARS (protest against special anti-robbery squad), MEND (movement for emancipation of the niger delta, control of oil), MOSOP (movement for the survival of the ogoni people, anti-shell in delta)
cleavages:
ethnic (hausa-fulani, yoruba, igbo) → prebendalism
religious and regional (north muslim vs south christian) (federalism → sharia law in north) (boko haram)
globalization: economic community of west african states (ECOWAS), WTO,
legitimacy: constitution
Executive:
president: head of state; commander in chief; chair of military commission; general secretary of the CCP
president can serve indefinitely - changed under XI in 2018
premier: head of govt; oversees the civil service
nominated by the president
changes in top leadership are accomplished behind closed doors
removal: NPC can remove the president
Legislative:
unicameral
national peoples congress: elects the president, approves the premier, and legitimizes policies of the executive
elected indirectly through a series of local and regional elections
politburo standing committee: center of power in chinese state
NPC standing committee: responsible for carrying out NPC’s decisions and supervising the work of the govt and judiciary
interpret laws, issue decisions and direction, supervise work of govt and judiciary
chairman, vice-chairman, secretary general, and members elected by NPC
China’s standing committee of the national peoples congress: assumes legislative duties most of the year when NPC if not in session, sets NPC legislative agenda, supervises NPC member elections, interprets the constitution and laws
Judicial:
civil law
subservient to the decisions of the CCP, which controls most judicial appointments
rule by law instead of rule of law
no judicial independence
no judicial review
CCP:
Structure, top (elite) to bottom.Â
General Secretary - head of CCP. Currently Xi. Chosen from Standing Committee
Standing Committee - currently 7 members. Chosen by Politburo. Membership mirrors faction influence
Politburo - currently 24 members. Chosen by Central Committee
Central Committee - around 340 members
National Party Congress (NPC) - around 3,000 delegates. Meets every 5 years
Political system:
socialist republic
authoritarian
unitary
one-party system
communist party of china is the controlling party
allows the existence of 8 democratic parties, all state-sanctioned and hold no power
parties that aren’t state sanctioned aren’t allowed to exist
political parties:
chinese communist party (CCP)
eight minor democratic parties (all subordinate to CCP)
Other:
NGO: beijin LGBT center (human rights)
civil society: suppressed; umbrella movement (democracy for hong kong), zero covid protests (world cup),
cleavages:
ethnic (han chinese and ethnic minorities such as uighurs in NW and tibetans in the SW) (re-education camps in xinjang province for political socialization)
regional (different ethnicities in different regions but also different rates of development)
globalization: WTO, open door trade policy under deng, SEZ’s (special economic zones) to promote foreign investment, one belt one road under xi, heavy investments in africa
legitimacy: economic growth, revolution
Executive:
president: head of state; commander in chief, appoints top ministers, conducts foreign policy, presides over the duma under certain conditions
must win absolute majority in national election
if no presidential candidate wins majority, runoff with top two
two 6-year term limits
constitutional amendment in 2020 reset putin’s term limits
prime minister: head of government; oversees the civil service
removal: legislature can remove pres, starts in duma and then federation council then constitutional court
Legislative:
bicameral
duma: passes legislation, approves budget, and confirms the prime minister
elected, half of the representatives are directly elected from single-member districts and the other half are chosen through elections that use proportional representation with a threshold
450 members each serving 5 years
federation council: approves budget legislation, treaties, judicial nominees, and troop deployment
appointed by regional governors (who are nominated by president and confirmed by regional legislature) and the regional legislature
170 members
Judicial:
civil law
judicial system used to target opposition
judges are nominated by the president and approved by the federation council
has judicial review (but has not been used to limit the authority of the governing branches)
no judicial independence
Political system:
semi-presidential system
asymmetrical federalism
constitutional
authoritarian
dominant party system
diminished representation of smaller parties because of changing threshold rules, reinstating SMD
political parties:
united russia - center right
communist party of the russian federation - left wing
liberal democratic party of russia - right wing
a just russia - center left
Other:
NGO: Memorial (preserving historical memory)
civil society: suppressed under putin (registration etc), pussy riot (anti-putin, feminism), nashi (youth group)
cleavages:
ethnicity and religious (ethnic russians tend to be orthodox and minority non-russian populations including muslims) (war in chechnya in 1990s to prevent separatist movements)
globalization: WTO, yetsin shock therapy, glastnos (political openness)
legitimacy: nationalism, tradition
Executive:
president: head of govt; oversees the civil service and conducts foreign policy
elected for up to two 4-year term
must win majority of general election vote
supreme leader: head of state; sets the political agenda, serves as commander in chief, appoints top ministers, the expediency council, half the guardian council, and head of judiciary
removal: SL can be removed by the assembly of experts (but they never have); president can be removed by SL
Legislative:
unicameral
majles: power to approve legislation, oversee the budget, and confirm presidential nominees to the Cabinet
directly elected in single-member and multimember districts, which sometimes requires a second round of voting
candidates are vetted by the Guardian Council
acts under the supervision of the guardian council to ensure compatibility with islam and sharia law
lacks formal political party structures
a small number of the 290 seats in the Majles are reserved for non-Muslim minorities, such as Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians (5 each(?))
guardian council: vets candidates and oversees the Majles to make sure laws comply with Islamic law
half are selected by supreme leader, half nominated from the judiciary with the majles approval
12 members total
assembly of experts: can elect, monitor, and remove the supreme leader;
all clerics
elected for 8 year terms
review bills
directly elected by the people
expediency council: advisory committee to resolve disputes between the Majles and the Guardian Council
selected by the supreme leader
Judicial:
sharia law
main function is to ensure that the legal system is based on religious law
head of judiciary is appointed by the SL
can nominate half of the guardian council with approved by the majles
no judicial independence
Political system:
islamic republic, authoritarian theocracy
unitary system
lacks formal political party structures
parties operate as loosely formed political alliances
conservatives vs reformers
political parties:
islamic republic party - right wing
reformist party - center left
moderation and development party - center right
Other:
NGO: center for supporters of human rights
civil society: 2009 green movement (election fraud), woman life freedom movement,
cleavages:
religious (shi’a, sunni, christian, jewish, zoroastrian) (baha’is have been executed, tortured, etc)
ethnic (persians, azerbaijanis and kurds) (clashes between kurds and the iranian military)
globalization: nuclear deal, rouhani encouraging foreign investments, neoliberalism under rouhani
legitimacy: religion, revolution