MIDTERM W 5-7 Flashcards
Regime
a particular government or a system or method of government
system of rule even though govs can come and go
- set of stable of rules for selecting gov
democracy
regime that Involves participation (widespread)
people vote directly against or in favor of decisions, policies, laws,
Canada - not everyone can put self forward for gov
○ Age
Status
toleration of opposition
Abilitiy to impose criticisim of government
Committees are groups of parliaments looking at bills in closer detail
Can stop a discussion if needed
accountability
Be accountable to actions at a reasonable standard
Make sure money is being spent on what was said
part of democracy
what constitutes a democratic regime
toleration of opposition and accountability are fundamentally necessary for a regime to be democratic
transparency and public participation and government responsiveness
1. Accountability 2. Participation 3. Pluralism 4. Rule of law 5. Transparency 6. toleration of opposition
is democratic regime good for country?
considered a positive system for countries because it provides mechanisms for representation, accountability, and individual freedoms
non-democratic regime
a system of government or a country in which the leaders are not elected by the people, or not elected in a way that is considered to be fair
Bulk of ppl have no practical say in who governs them, making the gov people impossible
Only in the former can citizens change their gov through a vote in a regularly scheduled election
pluralism
Exists where there are large # of organizatiosn that actively pursue political objectives free from gov control
- Ensures citts have many choices and a potential ability to influence gov decisions
Pluralism is a necessary feature of democratic gov
In non-dmeo, the state works to limit pluralism.
part of democracy
market view of democracy
decision-making as an aggregation of indv preferences
democracy as a forum
is viewed as a forum for discussion, where citizens participate in conversations involving their government.
encourages deliberation and discussion among citizens
delegate and trustee
Delegate
Those who elect - take preferences and turn them into real world outcomes
Trustee
Come up with common good and make decisions that you may not agree with or thought about
utilitarian
majority rule in results in “greatest happiness of the greatest number”
delibrative defence of majority rule
principle of collective reasoning and open discussion. In a deliberative democracy, majority rule is valued because it respects equal participation, encourages diverse perspectives, and aims to reach decisions that reflect the well-considered views of the most people.
Majority rules in practice are going to lead to deliberation
Process of getting to majority rules or expressing it leads to deliberation
Come through without having to engineer it
authoritarian
feature limited public participation and a lack of pluralism, and corrupted accountability mechanisms
Must have appearance of accountability but don’t function as accountability checks on leader in any specific ways
North korea, china, Russia
hybrid
a growing field of political development where authoritarian leaders incorporate elements of democracy that stabilize their regimes.
Have democratic characteristics
Pluralism is not completely absent
Opposition parties are often silenced at key moments, etc
In betweener
Element of competition that is more than insignificant
Some form of pluralism and tolerism
Have accountability methods on paper but all is not what it seems
democratization
structural government transition from an authoritarian government to a more democratic political regime, including substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction
de-democratization
opposite of democratization
measuring regime types
Freedom house has yearly classifications since 1972
countries evaluated according to political rights (PR) and civil liberty (CL)
score of 0-4 for 10 indicators of PR (40) and CL (60)
Turkey’s de- democratization
in EU, First criteria is that your regime must be democratic
- turkey is not
leaders should conced power gracefull
exercise power according to spirit and rule of law
compromise part of everyday gov
multual toleration between poli foes
turkey is viewd as hybrig or competitive authoritarian regime
competitive authoritarian
hybrid form of government that combines elements of both authoritarianism and democracy. While these regimes maintain the appearance of democratic institutions, they use authoritarian tactics to limit genuine competition and retain power.
rule of law
Having a gov of laws
- Demands gov must be bound by same laws as its citizens
- Applied impartially to all
Gov interference in jsutice system is not tolerated
responsible gov
government that is responsible to the people. In Canada, responsible government is an executive or Cabinet that depends on the support of an elected assembly
Prime Minister
head of gov in parla system
unicameral and bicameral legislature
the sovereign law-making institiution
unicameral legislature is distinguished by the presence of only one chamber in which all of a state’s legislative duties are exercised. A
bicameral legislature, on the other hand, is defined as a legislative arrangement in which law-making responsibilities are divided between two different houses or assemblies
head of government
the PM
cabinet ministers
It is the body of ministerial advisors that sets the federal government’s policies and priorities for the country.
executive
PM and cabinet together holding most power
head of state
separate from other gov
To make sure parliamentary system functions
Governor General in Canada
Plays role to make sure system to function. Caretaker of system
House of Commons
The elected chamber of Parliament, with each member representing a particular electoral district.
Representation is by population so each member approx represents the same # of people.
On surface, HoC controls the executive bc the PM and Cabinet have to maintain confidence (support) of the HoC.
PM and cab who control HoC, particularly in a majority gov situation
Lower House in parla
is sovereign
- Power invested in legislature
the HoC
elected to represent the people
holds gov accountable, especially when there is minority or coalition gov
can visible criticize gov
examines and suggests modifications to proposed legislation
- shares responsibility with Upper House (Senate)
veto power
legal power to unilaterally stop an official action
executive orders
Make moves without approval
Taking fund in gov and putting it towards smth like a hurricane or disaster relief
Using this beyond context its supposed to
basics of parliamentary systems
- developed as response to increasing demands for democracy
- to have a responsible gov
- (prime minister and Cabinet) is responsible to Parliament, particularly to the elected House of Commons whose support it needs to remain in office. If gov’s political party holds majority of seats in HoC, very unlikely HoC would withdraw support for the gov.
minority government
when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in the legislature
majority government
governing parties that hold an absolute majority of seats in a legislature.
core elements of parliamentary system
- a bicameral or unicameral legislature is the “soverign” law-making institution
- head of gov is PM
- PM leads largest part in lower house and chooses cab ministers from it
- has a head of state. (Governer General in Canada) right to dissolve and prorogue Parliament
upper house in parla
second legislative chamber in bicameral parla
“check democratic tendencies” of the LH
In Australia, UH is elected
regional representation
method by which different geographic areas are represented in political institutions, ensuring that the interests and needs of various regions are reflected in governance
LH is house of people
basics of presidential system
developed in US to create “checks and balances” and prevent concentration of power in a few hands
presi is head of gov for fixed term (and head of state)
presi is popularly elected by voters
concentrates executive power in one person
checks and balances of presi system
designed to prevent any one branch of government from gaining too much power. This system ensures that the executive, legislative, and judicial branches can monitor and limit each other’s actions.
key elements of presi system
bicameral or unicameral legislature that is elected independently from the presi with distinct constitutional powers
presi has veto power
presi has full executive power
american house of representative (lower) and senate (upper)
representatives is similar to HoC, it is the legislature of the people
sentate in US, represents the states within the federation and prevent “fickle sentiments of mass society” from dominating national agenda
congress
enacts laws that influence the daily lives of all Americans and is intended to serve as the voice of the people. Its responsibilities include funding government functions and programs, holding hearings to inform the legislative process, and oversight of the executive branch
executive power in both systems
Comparison
Parliamentary Systems: The concentration of power can be more fluid, depending on party control and coalition dynamics. The executive is generally more responsive to the legislature, which can limit excessive concentration of power.
Presidential Systems: Power can be more rigidly concentrated in the executive, especially if checks and balances are weakened or if the president has strong public backing. The fixed term of the presidency can also make it difficult to remove an executive who may be overstepping bounds.
Conclusion
In summary, power can concentrate in the executive in both parliamentary and presidential systems, but the mechanisms of accountability and checks differ. Parliamentary systems may allow for more responsive and accountable governance, while presidential systems can lead to stronger executive power but with established checks in place. The actual concentration of power often depends on the political context, party dynamics, and institutional checks within each system.
advantages of presi system
greater choice for voters
identifiability is stronger
better management of regional tensions
policy stability
which system performs better
subjective question
table on phone!
single member district
elect 1 representative to legislatue
single member plurality
system crowns candidate with the most voted as the only winner
runoff or two-round variant
provides for a second round of voting in absence of majority in round 1
in france
alternate vote (preferential ballot)
voters rank candidates in order of preference
first candidate to reach majority (50%) wins
results in winner takes all
proportional representation
proportion of seats a part earns relative to its vote share should be reasonably proportionate
requires multi-member districts
multi-member districts
elect more than one representative to a legislative body. Unlike single-member districts (SMDs), where each district elects one representative, MMDs can enhance proportionality and representation in electoral systems.
district magnitude
determinant of an electoral system’s ability to translate votes cast into seats won proportionally is the district magnitude
number of representatives elected from a specific electoral district. It is a crucial concept in electoral systems, particularly in determining how representatives are allocated in multi-member districts (MMDs). The district magnitude can significantly impact the electoral outcomes, representation, and party systems
threshold
minimum percentage of votes that a political party or candidate must receive to gain representation in a legislative body. Thresholds are often implemented in proportional representation systems to prevent fragmentation of the legislature by smaller parties and to ensure that only parties with a significant level of support can gain seats
why are electoral systems fundamental to democratic regimes
holding free & fair elections
universal suffrage and access to political offices
civil liberties
votes are chanelled through electoral system
what should we look for in electoral systems
- fair translation of seats to votes
- results provide representation to all principal groups
- works to increase the representation of groups historically marginazlied from formal politics
- disperses power according to societal viewpointst
3 types of electoral systems
- plurality/majoritarian
- SMP (Canada
-run-off (france)
- preferential (australia) - proportional
- list-PR (south africa)
- single transferable vote (ireland) - mixed member proportional
- compensatory (germany)
- parallel (japan)
universal suffrage
right of all adult cits to vote regardless of gender, ethnicity, wealth
close list PR
parties choose each candidates ranking
Indv legislators are selected based on order of their placement on a list of candidates drawn up by each party.
candidates are elected according to their pre-stated position on this list
open list PR
Allows voter to indicate which candi they prefer from the party they voted for
Popular candis who receive a sufficient proportion of votes can be elected even if low on their partys list
strengths/weaknesses of plurality/majority family
pros: simple, accountable, stable, prevents extremism
cons: incentivizes strategic voting, territoral cleavages, wasted votes, underrepresents small parties and minorities
pros and cons of mult-member districts
pros: representation of disadvantages groups, fewer wasted votes. more accurate vote-to-seat translation, encourages broad party appeals
cons: can protect unpopular candidates, undermines individual accountability, significant power for smaller parties, incentivized party centralization
pros and cons of proportional representation
Pros:
Fair Representation: Seats reflect vote percentages, leading to diverse representation.
Multi-Party Systems: Encourages more parties, providing voters with greater choices.
Higher Voter Turnout: Voters feel their votes matter more, increasing participation.
Coalition Governance: Promotes cooperation and compromise among parties.
Reduced Wasted Votes: Most votes contribute to seat allocation, enhancing electoral satisfaction.
Cons:
Complexity: Voting and results can be confusing for voters.
Fragmentation: Many parties can lead to unstable governments and difficulty forming coalitions.
Accountability Issues: Harder to hold parties responsible for policies in coalition settings.
Risk of Extremism: Smaller parties, including extremists, may gain representation.
Voter Disconnect: Less personal connection between voters and representatives.
main variants within each family
- plurality/majority
- SMP
- Run off
- preferential - proportional
- list PR
- single transferable vote - MMP
- compensatory
- parallelwh
universal suffrage
right for all citizens to vote despite certain characteristics such as race and ethnicity
single transferable vote
In an STV election, voters rank candidates in order of preference, rather than simply choosing one candidate
