POLI SCI 106 1st Edition Lecture 12 Outline of Last Lecture 1. SMPS: Implications2. List PR: Implications3. Germany: Parliamentary Elections4. MMP Electoral System Example5. MMP Example: Calculating Seat Distribution6. MMP Example: Overhang MandatesOutline of Current Lecture 1. Executive2. Executive Cabinet3. Federal President4. Judicial System5. Separation and Dispersion of Power6. Party System7. To Win An Election8. "Duverger's Law"9. Number of Parties in GermanyCurrent Lecture - Germany IIIExecutive:- Federal chancellor and cabinet- Chancellor = most powerful politician, chief executive- Chancellor-head of government-member of and elected by Bundestag-responsible for governing at federal level-usually head of own party, directs party strategy, leads party in electionsExecutive Cabinet:- Members - chancellor (Angela Merkel) and ministers responsible for different policy areasFederal President:- head of state- mostly ceremonial- "above" partisan policiesThese notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.- currently Joachim Gauck- selected by Federal Convention - Bundestag deputies and equal number of representatives chosen by state legislatures- limited policy-making role - -appoints government and military officials-signs treaties and laws-power of pardon-can dissolve parliament if it withdraws confidence from governmentJudicial System:- most importantly: constitutional court- Judicial review- protects democratic constitutional order- 16 members selected by Bundestag and Bundesrat (8 each)Separation and Dispersion of Power:- "Basic Law" - -avoids concentration of power in hands of one actor or institution-power dispersed to prevent extremists and antidemocrats to undermine system-democracy set up as a consensus-building process- For example - -unlike other parliamentary systems, chancellor cannot dissolve legislature-parliament can only remove chancellor via a "constructive vote of confidence"-Bundestag has to appoint successor-Constitutional court checks legislative and executive actionParty System:- Post WWII: competitive party system part of new democratic system in West Germany- Western Allies license diverse set of parties that were free of Nazi ties and committed to democracy- 2 largest parties - -Social Democratic Party (SPD) (center-left)-Christian Democratic Union (CDU) (center-right)-coalition between 2 right now in Germany-control of government shifts between CDU and SPD-currently: Grand Coalition between CDU and SPD-Small Free Democratic Party (FDP) has historically held the balance between the two (centrist party)- Additional Parties - -Green Party - new party in 1980s developed from fringe party into federal government party (1998-2005)-Left Party - consists of successor party of ruling party in GDR plus disgruntled former Social Democrats-Alternative for Germany (AFD) - anti-Euro, anti-EU, far right conservative party-Otherwise: small and politically inconsequential; don't pass 5% hurdleTo Win An Election:- parties may join together- coalitions may be unstable- 3 parties down to 2 parties"Duverger's Law""- plurality and majority electoral systems lead to 2-party systems for 2 reasons:1) mechanical - only 2 strongest parties have a chance of winning2) psychological - given the mechanical factor, voters do not want to "waste" their votes on small parties that have no chance of winning a plurality of votes- Therefore: 2 factors work together - the psychological effect is driven by actors' understanding of the mechanical effect- "Duverger's Hypothesis" - PR encourages multiparty systemsNumber of Parties in Germany - - 5 parliamentary parties in Germany today- Reason 1: Electoral System -MMP- Reason 2: Society Cleavages-people don't just care about left vs. right issues, but other "issues dimensions" also matter-religion, foreign policy, social policy, regional, regime support, urban-rural, ethnicity- Implication: 2 party systems cannot easily accommodate as many issue dimensions as multiparty systems- the more issue dimensions, the larger the number of parties- in sum: the number of parties is determined by the number of issue dimensions prevalent in a society and by the "permissiveness" of the electoral system - at least 3 in the UK - 3 parties because D. Law applies at the district level- as long as there's a 3rd party that's geographically competitive, may end up with more than 2