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
