(16) Introduction to democratic institutions

Question 1

minimalist conceptualisation of democracy

Answer 1

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

Question 2

maximalist conceptualisation of democracy

Answer 2

other considerations

• rights, representation, policy outcomes etc (cf. V-Dem)
  
  • harder to measure, easily normative

→ liberal democracy

Question 3

Differences between liberal democracies

Answer 3

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

Question 4

output = (concerning institutions)

Answer 4

ability of institutions to represent citizens

Question 5

R-C institutionalism definition of institutions

Answer 5

• 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

Question 6

Constitutions

define relationship between

Answer 6

• branches of government (executive, legislative, judiciary)
• citizens and government
• politicians and bureaucracy
• regions and central government (federalism)

Question 7

constitutions vary substantially in terms of

Answer 7

• 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

Question 8

Democratic Delegation =

Answer 8

constitutions set up “chain of delegation” from voters to politicians → principal-agent-problem

Question 9

democratic delegation is necessary because

Answer 9

• insufficient time
• insufficient information
• insufficient ability

Question 10

Principal-Agent-Problem

Answer 10

Agent

• might have different goals
• has an informational advantage
• may shirk (deviate from what had been agreed)

Principal

• has to monitor agent→ costly

Question 11

shirking =

Answer 11

deviate from what had been agreed

Question 12

presidentialism: chains of delegation

Answer 12

Two chains of representation

1. citizens directly to president
2. 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

Question 13

presidentialism: Agenda-Setting-Power

Answer 13

• 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)

Question 14

parliamentarism: chains of delegation

Answer 14

One single chain

1. citizens elect parliament
   
   1. parliament elects government

parliament and government interdependent

• government is responsible to parliament
• government can dissolve parliament & call for new elections

Question 15

parliamentarism: Agenda-Setting-Power

Answer 15

• government proposes legislation to parliament
• acceptance is often only formality since government has majority

Question 16

The Executive (who they are and what they do)

Answer 16

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)?

Question 17

Legislative Organisation: bicameral or unicameral

Answer 17

• represent states in federal system
• law making
  
  • different electoral process
  • different make-of
• oversight & expertise
  
  • cf. House of Lords

Question 18

Index of Legislative Policing Powers

Answer 18

→ 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

Question 19

Judicial Organisation

Answer 19

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

Question 20

Definition federalism

Answer 20

• 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

Question 21

relationship between lower level governments and federal governments determined by

Answer 21

constitution

Question 22

possible delegation procedures in federalism

Answer 22

• lower levels up to centre (CH, EU)
• centre down to lower levels (US)

Question 23

Federalism: Pros & Cons

Answer 23

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