Modern democracies Flashcards
define the term democracy
The term democracy has ancient Greek origins “Rule [kratos] by People [demos]”. It is 2500 years old concept with altering meaning. Nowadays we differentiate btw procedural democracy in which the people or citizens of the state have less influence than in traditional liberal democracies and where voters choose to elect representatives in free elections. And substantive democracy which is manifested by equal participation of all groups in society in the political process.
What Dahl says about democracy, what are its basic attitudes?
- Democracy: complex procedures with special characteristics and conditions
- Method of managing public affairs
- Social control differs from the ancient ways
- Is based on equality
● access to information
● influencing decision makers
● suffrage (right to vote)→ Poliarchy (where there’s a pluralism in society (IGs, values, interest) and permanent competition among them and no monolith powerful actor) - Prerequisite: consensus on norms
- ‘Social training’: how ppl acquire tastes (family, Church, school etc): reinforcing, neutral, negative
What are the elements of democracy?
- public realm: encompasses the making of collective norms and choices that are binding on the society and backed by state coercion
- citizens: regimes can have rules and a public realm, but a regime is only democratic when it has citizens
- competition
- regular, fair elections: insecurity, as it occurs with intervals and only allows to choose between the highly aggregated alternatives offered by parties
- majority rule
- cooperation: collective decisions binding on the whole polity are necessary
- representative institutions: most of the real work in modern democracies
- what democracy is NOT: efficient economy, efficient administration, political stability, closed society and economy -> democracies may not immediately produce all the goods mentioned above, but they stand a better chance of eventually doing so than do autocracies
When democracy = represenatiton - procedural
- Joseph A. Schumpeter: Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy (1942)
⮚ Democracy isn’t a question of values, but a decision-making system
● “a certain type of institutional arrangement for arriving at political decisions”
● Main features: competition for leadership
● The citizens only duty is to choose btw the competitive elites - Giovanni Sartori:
● distinction is btw what is and what should be happening?
● Democracy = ruling of political elites
● invincible contrast btw idea and reality —» danger of eradicating democracy - social apathy and inactivity are inherent elements (and necessary support for) representative democracy
Democracy = participation - substantive
a. CAROLE PATEMAN: Participation and democratic theory
- the need for actual participation appears in the 1960s
- post-war generations’ critics to representative democracy, and claim for participation
- Models: feminist movements, workers’ self-management in Yugoslavia (60s, 70s), student movements
b. J.J. ROUSSEAU: Discourse on Inequality (1754), The Social Contract (1762)
- economic inequality leads to political inequality
- greater participation leads to more complete equality
- 3 important functions (outcomes) of participation: education. Legitimation, integration
c. G. D. H. COLE (The world of labour, 1913… 1920)
- social organization theories, self-management of different social groups
- universal suffrage is not sufficient
- the actual (pivotal) area of participation: the workplace
What are the main features of poliarchy by Dahl and the essence of procedural/ representative democracy?
- Control over governmental decisions about policy is constitutionally vested in elected officials
- Frequent, fair and free elections
- Universal suffrage: practically all adults have the right to vote in the election officials
- Electability (universal suffrage II. – people can run for elective offices in the government)
- Fundamental rights and liberties (right to express themselves)
- They also have access to alternative sources of information that are not monopolized by the government or any other single group
- Competition for political power: citizens can form relatively independent organizations (independent political parties, interest groups)
What Philippe C. Schmitter – Terry Karl “What Democracy is… and is not” add to the afore mentioned points?
1) Popularly elected officials must be able to exercise their constitutional powers without being subjected to overriding (albeit informal) opposition from unelected officials.
2) The polity must be self-governing; it must be able to act independently of constraints imposed by some other overarching political system
⮚ Modern political democracy is a system of governance in which rulers are held accountable for their actions in the public realm by citizens, acting indirectly through the competition and cooperation of their elected representatives
What are the four types of democratic governments?
- Constitutional Monarchy (GB)
- Presidential Republic (USA)
- Semi-presidential republic (FR)
- Parliament Republic (HUN, IT)
Describe Great Britain’s Constitutional Monarchy!
⮚ Prime Minister: Rishi Sunak, Monarch: King Charles III.
- The executive has formally two bodies: the Cabinet (senior members appointed by PM) and the King (who is the head of it, but has no political and legal rights) who is the head of state.
- Parliamentary accountability
● no written constitution (uncodified)
● the Parliament has the final word
● confidence vote: the PM renounces if there is a lack of majority, a new P. is formed
● new rules from 2011: general elections should be held in every 5 years
- The Parliament is the main legislative body. It has a bicameral structure:
1) House of Lords (upper house) with members from the nobility. It’s not an elective body, they inherit the seats. They are able to delay legislations but cannot veto it.
2) House of Commons (lower house), fixed 650 members, elected. They make the laws, oversee and influence implementation.
- Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority since 2009 (before: House of Lords), but the Parliament remains the supreme authority
- Special terms: PM Question Time , Her Majesty’s Government/Opposition , backbencher , frontbencher , Role of the WHIPs
Describe the French Semi-Presidential System!
⮚ Prime Minister: Jean Castex, President: Emmanuel Macron
- combination of Parliamentary and Presidential system (est. by de Gaulle) to avoid extreme situs
- executive power is divided btw President and PM
- limited constitutional (judicial) review
- referendum 1962 → President directly elected by the people
● Mostly foreign policy and basic strategic management
● initiating public referendums
● can dissolve the Parliament (National Assembly) (1962, 1968, 1997)
● can invoke emergency powers (1961, 2005, 2015)
● President names the PM→ NA has the right to resign the PM
- cohabitation: the President and the PM can come from different parties
- has a bicameral parliament
1) Assemblée Nationale: 557 representatives (deputes) elected by direct universal suffrage with a two-round system by constituency (absolute majority system), they have 5-years mandates. A majority is needed for an explicit motion of censure then the president may dissolve it.
2) Sénat: 348 members elected indirectly from department constituencies, selected by an electoral college, for a 6 years-term (half are elected every 3 years). They have a right to initiate electoral actions + must consider all bills
- party pluralism, personalistic elements are present, secularism of the state (Laïcité)
- civic distrust towards politics and politicians (low institutional trust)
Describe the Parliamentary Republic (Hungary, Italy, Portugal, Greece)!
- the govt is the head of the executive which must have the confidence of the parliament
- the president is only formally the head and has no political responsibility
- the president appoints the prime minister
Describe the American Presidential Republic!
⮚ President: Joe Biden (Democrat), Vice-President: Kamala Harris
- Important political foundations (based on Enlightenment): Declaration of Independence (1776), The Federalist Papers (1787-88, 89), Constitution & Bill of Rights (1791)
- Pillars of US politics:
● Federalism: all states have 2 representatives, so are equal in the Senate
● Checks and balances: controlled and limited power, full separation of the legislative, judiciary and the executive, the branches keep each other in check
● Judicial review: the Supreme Court has the final world on legal disputes -> Marbury vs. Madison 1803: law contrary to the Constitution is null and void
- The Congress has two chambers (struggle and competition btw them)
1) House of Representatives: elected for 2 years, 435 reps (chair: Speaker of the House)
2) Senate: elected for 6 years, 100 senates (chair: Vice-President). The principle of seniority dictates that the more years you spend in the Senate, the more influence you have.
- The President is the govt, the executive itself, chosen by semi-direct elections, the Senate can remove him from office. He is the head of the army, is entitled to sign int’l agreements, appoints the members of the Supreme Court, can initiate laws and has a veto right.
Describe German Chancellor Democracy!
⮚ Chancellor: Olaf Scholz, Federal President: Frank Walter Steinmeier
- federal structure (16 “Lander”)
- bicameral legislation:
1) Bundestag (federal parliament): the main legislative power, with 598 representatives, elected for a 4-year term.
2) Bundesrat (Federal Council): with 69 members, the state (Lander) governments. Initiatives must be presented here as it first evaluates implementation in the state
⮚ both can initiate legislations and most bills must be approved by both chambers (as well as the executive branch) before it becomes law
- responsible government of parliamentary accountability:
● constructive vote of no confidence and Parliament’s vote of confidence
● responsibility of the chancellor (Bundeskanzler/Bundeskanzlerin)
● dissolution of the Bundestag: by the President of Germany (Bundesprazident)
- mixed but proportional electoral system + extremist political forces are constitutionally banned
- Federal Constitutional Court: eternal clauses that protect basic human rights cannot be changed
- well-organized advocacy organisations, effective (tripartite) reconciliation of interest, organized civil society, multilevel, extremely plural media, strong commitment to European integration, active int’l involvement (NATO, UN)
Define political culture!
the system of empirical beliefs, expressive symbols and values, which defines the situation in which political action takes place.’ (Almond & Verba).
What are the elements of political culture?
- Political orientation: is an integrated set of beliefs, values and attitudes towards politics, and about the role of self in the system. It fulfils cognitive (knowledge and belief about the political system), affective (emotions and feelings about the pol. system), evaluative (judgments, decisions and opinions about political objects) functions.
- Legitimacy: ab ovo refusal, policy-based conflict, refusal of the current political situ
- Decision-making (from Almond & Verba’s Civic Culture)
● Participatory (US, GB): ppl understand that they are citizens and pay attention to politics. They are proud of their political system and willing to discuss it, they are active in their community which is ideal to sustain democracy. They have a high degree of political competence and efficacy.
● Subject (W Ger, Italy): ppl understand that they are citizens, but they pay attention more passively. There is a feeling among citizens that they should obey the authority but not participate much in politics. They are not proud of their political system so have little emotional commitment to it and they also feel uncomfortable about speaking about politics and don’t organise themselves into groups. They are less likely to trust people.
● Parochial (Mexico): they don’t care that they are citizens. They have little or no interest in national politics and identify only with the immediate locality. They don’t have pride in their political system and expect little. They don’t pay attention to politics and have no desire to participate. In societies like this it is very difficult to grow democracy.
