(16) Introduction to democratic institutions Flashcards
minimalist conceptualisation of democracy
free, fair, competitive elections
- easiest to measure without making normative judgements
- e.g. freedom of speech is harder to observe & also easily normative
→ electoral democracy
maximalist conceptualisation of democracy
other considerations
- rights, representation, policy outcomes etc (cf. V-Dem)
- harder to measure, easily normative
→ liberal democracy
Differences between liberal democracies
Institutions
- political institutions can lead to different results
- e.g. bicameral, federalist, parliamentary, presidential
- substantive representation
- reflect policy view of voters
- descriptive representation
- reflect demographic/socio-economic background of voters
output = (concerning institutions)
ability of institutions to represent citizens
R-C institutionalism definition of institutions
- rules (formal & informal) that structure the political game
- higher order institutions structure how lower order rules are made
- institutions are “sticky” (last for a long time, difficult to change)
- e.g. filibuster rule in US-Senate
Constitutions
define relationship between
- branches of government (executive, legislative, judiciary)
- citizens and government
- politicians and bureaucracy
- regions and central government (federalism)
constitutions vary substantially in terms of
- extent
- UK: virtually non-existing
- EU: complex series of integrated treaties
- more or less open to interpretation by political actors
- some are more easily changed than others
- US: almost impossible
- CH: all the time
Democratic Delegation =
constitutions set up “chain of delegation” from voters to politicians → principal-agent-problem
democratic delegation is necessary because
- insufficient time
- insufficient information
- insufficient ability
Principal-Agent-Problem
Agent
- might have different goals
- has an informational advantage
- may shirk (deviate from what had been agreed)
Principal
- has to monitor agent→ costly
shirking =
deviate from what had been agreed
presidentialism: chains of delegation
Two chains of representation
- citizens directly to president
- citizens directly to congress
- no direct link between the two
- can’t get rid of each other
- exception: impeachment → only if president has committed crimes, not for policy
- checks and balances
- rely on each other’s support to get policies through
presidentialism: Agenda-Setting-Power
- Congress proposes legislation to president
- president can only veto, not amend it(US-president is among the weakest in the world in terms of legislature)
parliamentarism: chains of delegation
One single chain
- citizens elect parliament
- parliament elects government
parliament and government interdependent
- government is responsible to parliament
- government can dissolve parliament & call for new elections
parliamentarism: Agenda-Setting-Power
- government proposes legislation to parliament
- acceptance is often only formality since government has majority
The Executive (who they are and what they do)
consist of
- single individual (presidential)
- collective cabinet with collective responsibility (parliamentary)
draft policy platform & set policy goals
- Can they directly propose legislation?
- Do they control parliamentary/legislative agenda?
oversee policy implementation through bureaucracy
(further chains of delegation)
- To whom is bureaucracy responsible
(government and/or parliament)?
Legislative Organisation: bicameral or unicameral
- represent states in federal system
- law making
- different electoral process
- different make-of
- oversight & expertise
- cf. House of Lords
Index of Legislative Policing Powers
→ some parliaments habe more ability to oversee and curtail executive than others
- high: Germany, Austria, Sweden, Denmark
- medium: Norway, Italy, Finland
- low: Ireland, UK, France
Judicial Organisation
Courts adjudicate disputes between
- branches of government
- citizens and government
- levels of government (if federal)
Courts determine constitutionality of laws
side note: US supreme court simply declared that they are able to declare laws to be (un-)constitutional
Definition federalism
- at least 2 levels of government rule the same people and land
- 2 “layers”
- each level is autonomous in some areas
- constitution guarantees autonomy of each level in its own area
- cf. US 10th amendment / CH constitution: powers not delegated to the confederation remain with the states/cantons
relationship between lower level governments and federal governments determined by
constitution
possible delegation procedures in federalism
- lower levels up to centre (CH, EU)
- centre down to lower levels (US)
Federalism: Pros & Cons
Pros
- subsidiarity (keeps government close to people)
- check on central government
- competition between states
Cons
- coordination problems (regulatory standards)
- race to the bottom
- powerful actors might exploit competition
