constitution is anti democratic

Question 1

imperial judiciary

Answer 1

-due to deadlock in the legislature, public policy issues e.g. abortion and gay marriage have been decided by the judiciary
-the judiciary is the least checked branch of government, an undemocratic, unelected institution decides public policy that should be the concern of democratically elected politicians

Question 2

imperial judiciary evaluation

Answer 2

Although it is beyond doubt that the Supreme Court is an undemocratic institution, that is deliberate. Judges do not face elections to free them from political pressure. As a result, the judiciary Is able to preserve liberal democracy and civil liberties, even if their decisions prove unpopular or are criticised by politicians. To illustrate, Obergefell could be viewed as the preservation of the democratic rights of the LGBT
community even though the banning of gay marriage was supported by majorities in conservative states.

Question 3

article 5: constitutional amendment process

Answer 3

-there is too high a barrier for constitutional change
-2/3 consent in both houses in the proposition stage and 3/4 state approval in the ratification stage
-equal rights amendment fell short, despite having majority support
-only 27 amendments since its inception

Question 4

amendment process evaluation

Answer 4

Flexible constitutions can lead to the erosion of democratic rights. Liberal pressure groups like Liberty in the UK regularly complain about the erosion of civil liberties since 2001 in the era of terrorism. Although it can be difficult to expand rights in the US, existing civil
liberties are strongly protected by entrenchment.

Question 5

electoral college

Answer 5

-winner of national popular vote has lost on five occasions, e.g. clinton to trump despite having 2.9 million more votes
-the allocation is disproportionately weighted to smaller states, in WY 1 vote is for every 150,000 compared to 600,000 in CA
-campaigners disproportionately focus on swing states under this system
-the system creates widespread apathy

Question 6

electoral college evaluation

Answer 6

The protection of states’ influence over the executive branch is one of the central principles of federalism. Without it, the executive branch would be determined by more populous states. For example, in the UK, the English largely determine who the Prime Minister is –
leading to resentment and nationalism in the other states within the Union.

Question 7

federalism

Answer 7

-dual sovereignty and powers reserved at state level (10th amendment) keeps US democratic
-at state level there tends to be much less gridlock and a level of experimentation e.g. assisted suicide in oregon and 0% state income tax in texas
-this system is representative and responsive

Question 8

federalism evaluation

Answer 8

Experiments do not always have positive outcomes. For feminists living in Texas, the Heartbeat Act strips them off abortion rights. For the LGBT community in Ohio before Obergefell, gay marriage was banned, and LGBT rights limited. Thus, the decentralisation of power
is not necessarily a positive for democracy.