POLISCI2000 - 9/30/26

Comparative Politics

• Central-Regional Power Distribution

  • Unitary - oldest and most common type

    • powerful central gov’t, weaker regional gov’t

    • most important policy decisions made at central level

  • Federal - U.S. model

    • Central and regional gov’ts share some powers and responsibilities

    • policy decisions are made at both central and regional levels

• National Regional Power Distribution

  • Confederal - not very strong or lasting in modern times

    • powerful regional gov’t, weaker central gov’t

    • Most important policy decisions made at regional level

• Executive-Legislative Relations

  • Three Major Types:

    • Parliamentary - oldest type

    • presidential - U.S. is prototype

    • Semi-presidential - hybrid form

  • Differences in:

    • separation of powers

    • executive selection

    • executive roles

  • Parliamentary - most common type

    • Legislatures select executive leadership

    • Executives can be removed by votes of no confidence

    • executives and legislative powers are combined

    • executive called prime minister - selects cabinet ministers

    • prime minister head of government

    • someone else head of state

  • Presidential - newer, less common

    • executive and legislature elected in separate elections for fixed terms of office

    • executives cannot be removed by vote of no confidence

    • executive and legislative power separate

    • executive called president

    • president head of government and head of state

  • Semi-Presidential - past 50 years

    • executive and legislature elected separately

    • presidents have fixed terms, prime minister subject to vote confidence

    • president holds power independent of legislature, yet also shares powers with prime minister

    • president head of state and takes on ceremonial and international roles prime ministers head of government

  • Benefits

    • Parliamentary systems seen as more efficient, more accountable to voters

      • vote of no confidence can call for early elections

    • Presidential systems allow more input for national leader selection - national mandate

      • can create national support for policy initiatives

  • Weakness

    • Parliamentary

      • Policy more top down form PM and Cabinet - less representation for minority parties

    • Presidential

      • Can create divided gov’t → gridlock → no policy action getting done

  • Executives

    • Executive branch carries out the laws of the state

    • Head of state - symbolic representation og state and nation - may be elected or hereditary monarch

    • Head of government - in charge of everyday running of the stae

    • cabinet - advisors, department overseers

      • collegial (parliamentary says)

      • advisory (presidential says)

    • unicameral - one chamber - usually small country and unitary system

    • bicameral - two chambers - usually larger country and federal system

      • upper house - frequently seen as “check” on lower house - longer terms - reps regions or classes

      • lower house - frequently seen as more changing and unpredictable - shorter terms - reps population

    • pros

      • unicameral

        • swifter action to address problems or concerns

        • “better” representation - represent population

      • bicameral

        • more deliberative action → more stability of policy

        • more varied type of representation

    • cons

      • Unicameralism

        • policy may shift dramatically over a short period of time

          • difficult to administer

      • bicameralism

        • policy may shift too slowly - cannot address problems of society

        • may not be truly representative of population

  • Judiciaries

    • democratic systems have rule of law - courts rule on how law is administered and interpreted

    • constitutional courts - top of judicial hierarchies

      • judicial review = authority to determine laws’ compatibility with state constitution

      • concrete review = only when triggered by court case

      • abstract review = at anytime w or w/o case

  • Bureaucracies

    • Administrative arm of the state - help execute policy

      • an inevitable product og complex society and government

    • modern bureaucracies tend to feature:

    • division of labor - break down complex tasks into simpler jobs

    • Hierarchy of authority - chain of command

    • framework of rules - rules dictate action and decision

    • impersonality - merit-based selection, civil service, technical qualifications