Ch 7 Political Institutions II Institutional Arrangements Constitutions and Constitutional Regimes Constitutions a set of statements describing the fundamental rules of the political system 3 Crucial set of rules Allocates government activities within the domain of res republica and what structures will perform these functions Establishes formal power relationships between the major political structures Limits power of the rulers and guarantees rights of the ruled Always subject to change amendments Constitutional Regimes Operates in the terms of the rule of law and ensures effective restraints on the power holders Main goal is to fulfill the previsions of the constitution Arguments over interpretations can always be made Nonconstitutional Regime The structural arrangements of the constitution are not generally upheld and there are few restraints on those with political power Persistent nonenforcement of constitutional provisions especially when related to the 3 crucial rule lack of limits on power and fewer rights of the ruled Democracies and Nondemocracies Defining Democracy Direct Participatory Democracy All citizens are active direct participants in making public policy decisions Representative Democracy Citizens periodically elect people who represent them in the political process and make policy decisions on their behalf Must include universal adult suffrage Alternative choices Electoral Democracy a political system in which virtually all citizens periodically select political leaders from among alternative contenders Limited Mandate Elected officials are only in power for a short limited amount of time Liberal Democracy Citizens enjoy not only electoral democracy but also substantial political rights and civil liberties are significantly limited Participation personal freedoms and opposition Illiberal Democracy If it is electoral but rights and civil liberties are limited Democracy Governance by leaders whose authority is based on a limited mandate from a universal electorate that selects among genuine alternatives and has some rights to political participation and opposition Defining Nondemocracies Autocracy A single ruler exercises absolute power and authority Dictatorship Rulers who hold power in the absence of a limited mandate Dictator A single individual or small group that has nearly absolute control Authoritarian Regime the political actions and decisions o the ruler are not constrained while the political rights freedoms of the citizens are significantly limited Totalitarian Regime The political system s decisions and its control penetrate into almost every aspect of its people s lives A Democracy Nondemocracy Measure Freedom house measures levels of democracy Measures to what extent the country extends political rights and civil liberties Areal Distribution of Power the allocation power functions across levels of government Unitary State A central government holds all legitimate power Gov t has indivisible sovereignty Clear authority no stalemates but hyper concentration of power and weak representation of diversity Federation A constitutional division of power and functions between a central government and the set of regional governments There are 5 rationales for this form of government Large Size distribute power where there is a huge area to be governed US Russia Nigeria etc Prior Existence of Strong States A strong compromise when a state already exists state gov t is in the US before revolution not willing to give up power Attempt to Create Unity or Accommodate Diversity Attempt to unify diverse nations while recognizing the diversity regionally Desire to Disperse Political Power To prevent overconcentration of power in the central government The Desire to Concentrate Power and Resources To combine several states into a stronger political system increase Arab unity Egypt Syria Yemen Iraq and Jordan created a federation Represents the minority and checks on power but overlap of power sluggish many trade offs Confederation association in which states delegate some power to a supranational central government but retain primary power Their survival is based on the participating state s compliance Such as the UN NATO EU and United Arab Emirates Facilitates cooperation power retained by subunits but conditional compliance and instable Forms of Executive Legislative Relations Presidential Governments Separation of executive and legislative functions Ensures checks and balances Policymaking left mainly to legislature Parliamentary Government Fusion of executive and legislative functions structures Cabinet and Legislature usually made up of legislative members only serve as long as the L has confidence They are mainly in charge of drafting and implementing policies Both can dissolve vote no confidence Legislature and Prime Minister member of legislature who is supportive as chief Can be removed at any time by a no confidence both PM directs the overall direction of action in the legislative process Cabinet and Prime Minister At once PM was first among equals primus inter but now there has been a shift of power to PM Hybrid Systems have a PM and legislature that can create policy but also an independent president Sometimes the PM is still the dominant power while the president has notable powers but not as many appointing governors Sometimes there is an even distribution Finland and other times the President dominates policy Council Systems A small group shares collective leadership and is responsible for both executive and legislative functions While a symbolic leader may be appointed everyone essentially has the same amount of power Assembly Systems collective leadership is exercised by a large group usually constituted as a legislature Political Party Systems The of political parties and their interactions Two Party Systems 2 major political parties that alternate gov t power Both can realistically form a majority Multiparty Systems Duh majority Working Multiparty Systems the parties tend to cooperate to form a governing Unstable Multiparty Systems No party is close to the majority and differences prevent temporary coalitions Often leads to resignation of the gov t or dissolution of the legislature New democracies are prone to this Dominant Party Systems One party captures enough votes and seats to form the gov t but other parties are free to compete One Party Systems A single party is controlled and protected by the government elite Often in authoritarian