Los Angeles Mission College



Legislatures and ExecutivesI. Learning ObjectivesThe three overarching goals of this chapter are for students to:understand key concepts related to legislatures and executivesapply these concepts to the TIC cases to appreciate the meaning and significance of each concept, as well as to understand similarities and differences among these countriesemploy these concepts and examples from the TIC cases in (in-class) critical thinking exercises related to the issues at hand Related to the three goals above are several more specific objectives, which are grouped below according to their place in the chapter. Regarding the objectives in each group, students should be able to apply the concepts at hand to the TIC cases, as well as complete critical thinking exercises that require mastery of these concepts and illustrations from the TIC cases.Parliamentary, Presidential, and Semipresidential Systemsunderstand the main attributes of each of the political systemsunderstand the main advantages and disadvantages of each political systemLegislaturesunderstand the main tasks and attributes of legislaturesThe Executiveunderstand the main tasks and attributes of executivesII. Chapter Outline1. IntroductionChapter objectivesThe chapter opens with the story of India’s first female president and introduces some basic differences between parliamentary and presidential governments.2. Parliamentary, Presidential, and Semipresidential Systems-This section reviews the main attributes of the three major forms of arrangements for legislatures and executives in democratic regimes: parliamentary, presidential, and semipresidential. The TIC sections are organized differently than in previous chapters. In this section of the chapter, the TIC cases examined follow each section on the political system that they employ.Parliamentary Systems-This section explains the term ‘prime minister’ and introduces this political system’s four defining attributes.Selection of the Chief Executive and Formation of the Government-This section emphasizes the nature and significant of cabinets and the various types of coalition governments.Separation of Head of Government and Head of StateIrregular Intervals between Elections and Votes of Confidence -This section explains various types of confidence/censure votesThe “Opposition”-This defines the term ‘shadow government.’Advantages of Parliamentary SystemsAdvantage #1: Efficiency in passing legislationAdvantage #2: Clearer accountability for votersDisadvantages of Parliamentary SystemsDisadvantage #1: InstabilityDisadvantage #2: Concentration of power and hasty decisionsThe UK: Considered the model of parliamentary democracy; prime minister is head of government; the monarch is head of state but has little real powerGermany: German parliamentary system disperses central government power and limits executive authority; chancellor is head of government; weak president is head of state India: Parliamentary and federal, but strong central government; prime minister is head of government; the president is head of state but has limited powersPresidential Systems-This brief section points out that this political system is common in the Americas and Africa and introduces the political system’s five defining attributes. Each subsection is quite brief.Direct Election of the Chief ExecutiveFixed Terms for the Executive and LegislatureSeparation of Powers and Checks & Balances This focuses on both lawmaking, as well as the difficulty in removing a president via impeachment.Fusion of the Head of State and Head of GovernmentThe Potential for Divided Government Advantages of Presidential SystemsAdvantage #1: A check on the “majority rule” aspect of legislaturesAdvantage #2: A national mandateDisadvantages of Presidential SystemsDisadvantage #1: The difficulty of removing an unpopular presidentDisadvantage #2: The propensity for gridlockDisadvantage #3: Creeping authoritarianism-This is defined as the tendency of some presidential systems increasingly to concentrate power in the hands of the president over time. This concept is explored in more depth below in the comparative exercise on Peru.Mexico: Prior to liberalization, few real checks on president’s power; today, legislature functions as a significant check on the presidentBrazil: In theory, the president is powerful; in practice, the legislature is so divided that presidents struggle to pass legislation Nigeria: Presidential system since 1979; presidents must have multi-regional support to be electedIran: Is presidential because of directly elected president and the lack of a prime minister responsible to the Majles; but, Supreme Leader has the real authority These sections include boxes on two contending theories of presidential systems. The first of these explores Brazil and Juan Linz’s theory of parliamentary superiority. The second examines Nigeria and Donald Horowitz’s theory of presidential system design.Semipresidential Systems-These are political systems, such as the one in France, in which the president is directly elected and is more than just a figurehead. Semipresidential systems combine elements of the parliamentary and presidential systems.Advantages of the Semipresidential SystemAdvantage #1: Providing cover for the presidentAdvantage #2: The ability to remove unpopular prime ministers with the stability of fixed termsAdvantage #3: Additional checks and balancesDisadvantages of the Semipresidential SystemDisadvantage #1: Confusion about accountabilityDisadvantage #2: Confusion and inefficiency in the legislative process.France: Designed by Gen. de Gaulle, system is semipresidential but with a strong presidentRussia: From 1993 to 2008, president much more powerful than prime minister. Since 2008, the office of the president has total power under Putin. China: As official government positions took on greater importance after Deng Xiaoping, positions of premier and, especially, president became central to the governing of China-The section on China includes the caution that the formal governmental system and its offices are not as important as the nature of political power within the Chinese Communist Party.3. Legislatures-This section highlights the fundamentally different roles of legislatures in democracies and non-democracies. In the latter, legislatures typically just rubber-stamp the policies of the executive. Each sub-section below devotes some attention to the topic of democracies and non-democracies. Tasks of Legislatures-This section introduces the five main tasks of legislatures.Legislating Authorizing Government SpendingConstituency Service/Omsbuds Activities-This section includes a box on what it means to be a ‘representative.’Selection, Approval, and Removal of Government OfficialsOversight of the ExecutiveOther Aspects of Legislatures-This section reviews four key ways in which legislatures differ across countries.How Many Members?How Long Do Members Serve?Is the Legislature Unicameral or Bicameral? How Powerful Are Legislative Committees?TIC Sections: The UK: House of Commons is center of legislative power; parliamentary supremacy concept; prime minister usually has a sizeable majority in Commons Germany: Bicameral; the make-up of the Bundestag (lower house) determines the chancellor; Bundesrat (the upper house) has a great deal of powerIndia: Bicameral; Lok Sabha (lower house) is somewhat more important than the Rajya Sabha (upper house), but protests in the Lok Sabha that delay legislation are common The section on the UK introduces the concept of ‘parliamentary supremacy,’ according to which no other political institution can block an act of parliament. A box in this section explores the ‘party government theory’ of Gary Cox and Matthew McCubbins.Mexico: The Congress is bicameral (Chamber of Deputies and Senate); most bills must pass both houses Brazil: Bicameral; uses its power to oversee the executive and judiciary Nigeria: Bicameral (House of Representatives and Senate); president’s party controls both houses so potential to check presidential power goes unrealizedIran: Unicameral (Majles); candidates must be approved by Council of Guardians; many pro-reform candidates prevented from running France: Bicameral (National Assembly and Senate); for a democratic system, a comparatively weak legislatureRussia: Bicameral; the Duma (lower house) is the more powerful; controlled by Putin’s party, United Russia.China: Unicameral (National People’s Congress); traditionally, it simply rubber-stamped executive policies; officially selects the president and confirms the premier4. The ExecutiveDomestic Politics Tasks of ExecutivesImplementing Policies and Supervising the Bureaucracy-This focuses on the role of cabinets, leaving an examination of bureaucracies to chapter 8.Coordinating Policy Development and BudgetsForeign Policy Tasks of ExecutivesTIC Sections:The UK: Prime minister is the chief executive and most important political figure Germany: Chancellor has the real power; president is seen as generally ceremonial and “above politics” India: Prime minister is the head of the government and, as in the other cases, the president is much less powerful in practiceMexico: President used to dominate the system; today, bargaining and compromise are needed Brazil: The president has broad executive powers but also can issue “provisional measures” with the force of law; unlike in Mexico, the president can be reelectedNigeria: Powerful president; electoral rules for the president and rules for the make-up of the cabinet produce a national, rather than regional executiveIran: Dual executive, with the Supreme Leader being much more important than the president Theory of “Going Public”Proposed by Sam KernellHighlight’s the president’s use of media to push certain policiesCan It Apply to a Nondemocratic Case Like Iran?Iran’s president more constrained than in a democracyBut former President Khatami took his message to the peopleIt helped him push forward, somewhat, with reformsFrance: President appoints the prime minister; the dual executive is collectively more powerful than bicameral legislatureRussia: Prime minister position had been unstable, serving at the pleasure of the president. China: President formulates foreign policy; premier is seen as having more say over domestic policy; President Xi seen as China’s paramount leader ................
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