Lecture 7

Question 1

Constitution

Answer 1

A document or a set of documents that outlines the powers, institutions and structure of government, as well as expressing the rights of citizens and the limits on government

Question 2

Codified constitution

Answer 2

One that is set out in a single, self-contained document

Question 3

Uncodified constitution

Answer 3

One that is spread among several documents

Question 4

Bill of rights

Answer 4

A list of the rights of the citizens of a state or a political community, contained within a constitution and designed to restrict the abuse of power by government

Question 5

Entrenchement

Answer 5

The question of the legal procedures for amending a constitution

Question 6

Eternity clause

Answer 6

An element of a constitution that is considered inalienable and that cannot be amended or removed

Question 7

Judicial review

Answer 7

The power of courts to nullify any laws or actions proposed or taken by government officials that contravene the constitution. Also known as constitutional review

Question 8

Cassation

Answer 8

The power of the highest court in a state to review decisions by lower courts

Question 9

Institutionalism

Answer 9

An approach to the study of politics and government that focuses on the structure and dynamics of governing institutions

Question 10

New institutionalism

Answer 10

A revival of institutionalism that goes beyond formal rules and looks at how institutions shape decisions and define interests

Question 11

Institutionalization

Answer 11

The process by which organizations build history, memory, stability and permanence

Question 12

Concrete review

Answer 12

Judgements made on the constitutional validity of law, policy or government action in the context of a specific case

Question 13

Original jurisdiction

Answer 13

The power of a court to review cases that originate with the court itself

Question 14

Appellate

Answer 14

The power of a court to review decisions reached by lower courts

Question 15

Abstract review

Answer 15

Advice (not usually binding) given by a court on the constitutionality of a law, policy or action of government

Question 16

Judicial restraint

Answer 16

The view that judges out of deference to the elected branches of government, should not strike down laws unless they are obviously unconstitutional

Question 17

Judicial activism

Answer 17

The willingness of judges to venture beyond narrow legal reasoning and potentially to influence public policy

Question 17

Judicial activism

Answer 17

The willingness of judges to venture beyond narrow legal reasoning and potentially to influence public policy

Question 18

Judicial independence

Answer 18

The idea that courts should be free from political influence, whether from other parts of government or from actors outside government

Question 18

Judicial independence

Answer 18

The idea that courts should be free from political influence, whether from other parts of government or from actors outside government

Question 19

State of emergency

Answer 19

A situation in which a government gives itself additional powers to deal with a natural disaster, civil unrest or armed conflict

Question 20

Martial law

Answer 20

Law declared by a military government or an occupying military force, during a supposedly temporary suspension of civilian law

Question 21

Unitary systems

Answer 21

One in which sovereignty rests with the national government, and regional or local units have few independent powers

Question 22

Federal system

Answer 22

One in which sovereignty is shared between two or more levels of government, each with independent powers and responsibilities. Otherwise known as a federation

Question 23

Multi-level governance

Answer 23

An administrative system in which power is distributed and shared horizontally and vertically among different levels of government, from the supranational to the local, with considerable interaction among the parts

Question 24

Systems theory

Answer 24

The study of the arrangement of and the interaction among the elements of a unit (such as a government or a country) as they relate to the whole

Question 25

Deconcetration

Answer 25

The process by which central government tasks are shifted from offices in the capital to those in the regions or local districts

Question 26

Delegation

Answer 26

The process by which central government responsibilities are shifted to semi-autonomous bodies accountable to central government

Question 27

Devolution

Answer 27

The process by which central government transfers some decision-making authority to localized, autonomous structures of governance

Question 28

Regional government

Answer 28

Middle-level government in unitary states that takes place below the national level and above the local level

Question 29

Ethnic federalims

Answer 29

A federal system of government based on recognition of autonomy for different ethnic groups

Question 30

Dual federalism

Answer 30

National and local levels of government have clearly separate sets of responsibilities

Question 31

Cooperative federalism

Answer 31

The layers are intermingled and it is difficult to see who has ultimate responsibility

Question 32

Subsidiary

Answer 32

The principle that decisions should be taken at the lowest feasible level

Question 33

Quasi-federation

Answer 33

A system of administration that is formally unitary but has some of the features of a federation

Question 34

Local government

Answer 34

The lowest tier of government, taking place at a geographically contained local level, as in a county, town or city

Question 35

Traditional ruler

Answer 35

One whose office predates the introduction of modern systems of government, as in the case of rules whose powers were replaced by those of colonial administrations in Asia or sub-Saharan Africa