Separation of Powers - W2
Learning Outcomes:
→ Define and Describe the separation of powers
→ Elaborate on the theories and definitions proposed by Montesquieu and Madison
→ Explain how the separation of powers is applied in practice
Separation of Powers
The Idea of Separation
Within the State, having a separation of powers insures that the State itself cannot assume complete control and authority over the processes and institutions within parliamentary government, and that all power is kept in check. and is balanced. It is a core principle to ensure that political systems are based off of liberal democratic ideologies. The State’s more modern interpretation and formulation can be linked back to the theories and ideas of Montesquieu, who saw the government and divided the power into three different, yet linked, sectors being the executive, judicial, and legislative.
Montesquieu
Montesquieu saw that the State (aka, the government) had three different types of powers that affect society differently. He split them into a branches of legislative power, executive power to do with state law, and executive power to do with civil law, the latter which we know as the judicial branch. This was to prevent despotism from arising and individual / collective liberty being lost. His ideologies spread to the creation of the American government and constitution.
→ See Montesquieu 1748
Madison
Madison shares Montesquieu’s belief that the State should have a separation of powers policy, especially to deter from it being all-controlled by the head of State. Although the U.S.A does seperate its government into three powers, it utilises the overlapping of its powers as well to “strengthen checks and balances”
→ If you wish to know more about the US government system, look at module lecture from this part
Influences of the Idea
The idea of the separation of powers within State is influenced by two political powers:
→ France: Sees the executive branch as having higher control over authority and power and believes that the judicial branch is not have authority to maintain order and assess the implementations of the legislative branch
→ United Kingdom: Views the executive branch as being a by-product of the legislative branch, however a separation of roles are still in place.
Australia follows a similar model to the United Kingdom, in which the executive branch and the legislative branch have overlap, but also there is a division of powers: Federal, State, and Local, and a bicameral system containing the division of Parliament into two Houses: Representatives (lower house) and Senate (upper house)
Challenges and Futures
The current separation of powers within State are not without challenges, and the possibility of future reconstruction. Currently, some administrative sectors within government are known to have overlapping functions similar to those of the three different branches, posing the question whether they should or should not have this power, or even exist.
Also, community dissatisfaction with the current state of democracy is arising due to the tight scheme and lock on the constitution, with people having to go with a lengthy process if they wish to change it (a referendum.)
There have been talk of adding a fourth branch to the separation of powers where institutions exist for the premise of protecting the democracy’s current constitution from political corruption.