Majoritarian vs consensual democracy Flashcards
Describe the constitution in a majoritarian democracy
Flexible and easily amended
Describe the constitution in a consensual democracy
Rigid and can only be amended through special procedures
Describe the executive-legislature relations in a majoritarian democracy
Executive is dominant and controls the legislature
Describe the executive-legislature relations in a consensual democracy
There is a balance of power between the two
Describe the judiciary in a majoritarian democracy
Courts cannot challenge the constitutionality of legislation
Describe the judiciary in a consensual democracy
Constitutional court can strike down legislation
Describe territorial politics in a majoritarian democracy
Unitary state with power concentrated centrally
Describe territorial politics in a consensual democracy
Federal system with power divided between tiers of government
Describe the electroral system in a majoritarian democracy
Majoritarian syste produces a single party government
Describe the electoral system in a consensual democracy
Proportional representation produces a coalition government
Describe the party system in a majoritarian democracy
Adversarial, two party system
Describe the party system in a consensual democracy
cooperative, multi party system
What did Dutch political scientist Arend Lijphart say about all liberal democracies?
They could be placed on a spectrum between majoritarian and consensual democracy
What is the archetypal majoritarian system?
The Westminster model
Which country leads the way in consensual democracy?
Switzerland
What did the Blair governments’ reforms do?
Introduced elements of consensual democracy
