Poli 203 - chapter 3 - democratic political rights.

Question 1

What is democracy?

Answer 1

political system in which the rules are accountable to the ruled.

Question 2

what is accountability

Answer 2

political mechanisms that offers citizens regular and realistic opportunities to remove rulers through peaceful, legal means.

• also includes impeachement.

Question 3

How do you guarantee accountability from participation?

Answer 3

1. institutionalized – clear and consistent rules that define electorate (group eligible to participate in the election of governmental leaders
2. suffrage must be universal – everyone must have the right to participate in the process that selects and removes government leaders.
3. participation must be unforced – government cannot require citizens to participate in politics

Question 4

How do you guarantee accountability through contestation?

Answer 4

1. elections - voters have the opportunity to contest the performance and choose alternative candidates.
2. must be real competition for power: requires that the number of competitors for power greater than one and there must be an alternative group of potential rulers.

Question 5

what are the requirements for democracy?

Answer 5

1. Elected government – all government official must either be elected by the entire adult population or in one sense or another be accountable to an elected official who is in turn accountable to all citizens.
2. Civil liberties:

• freedom of expression: the gov cannot prohibit anyone from criticizing the gov or impede anyone’s attempt to influence other’s opinions about the gov.
• freedom of assembly: right to join and/or form organization that are independent of state control: membership allows people to meet and talk with other who shares their opinions, acquire information, encounter different viewpoints and publicly express their political preferences – no limitations on joining any group.
• freedom of the press: the gov cannot control the info conveyed to member of society – citizens must be able to access competing viewpoints and diff sources of info – requires that mass media should be free from state control

3. Fair and frequent elections

• fair: gov should not favor certain candidate and discriminate against others
• length must be a balance between limited and effective government.

4. Accessing the “quality” of democracy

Assessed by the freedom house based on answers to question about political rights and civil liberties – they gather evidence from a variety of sources to capture the essence of real-world politics (extent to which each country guarantees political equality, enforces civil liberties and offers the possibility of accountability by respecting the fairness of political participation and contestation

Question 6

unitarism vs fedaralism

Answer 6

Unitarism – one in which the constitution grants the central government exclusive and final authority over policymaking across the entire national territory

Concentrate power at the national level – hands of whatever politician or party controls the national go

Promotes effective gov

Federalism – constitution grants two or more gov overlapping political authority over the same group of people and same piece of territory.

Question 7

what is parliamentarism?

Answer 7

the executive branch (governemnt) is drawn from the legislative branch (parliament)

No separation of origin because one branch of gov originates from within the other

No separation of survival because they don’t enjoy a fixed terms – depend on each other until the next elections

Can call a non confidence vote – if vote is sucessful then it terminates the pm’s appointemmnt

Question 8

what is presidentialism

Answer 8

system of government where the executive branch (the president) is separate from the legislative branch (the parliament or congress).

where the executive and legislative branches enjoy the seperation of origin and survival

Question 9

what is separation of origin?

Answer 9

voters directly elect the members of the legislative and cast a separate ballot directly electing the chief executive

Question 10

what is separation of survival?

Answer 10

members of both the executive and legislative branches serve for fixed terms of office

Both branches survive until the end of the term because they cant fire each other before the next elections.

Question 11

how is power seen under presidentalism

Answer 11

• divided government: when the president comes from one party but a diff party controls the legislative branch.
• disperses political power
• checks and balances are in place.

Question 12

how is power seen under parliamentalism

Answer 12

Has no checks and balances – give members of parliament the authority to form the executive branch of gov.

Lack the separation of origin and separation of survival.

Question 13

judicial review vs parliamentary supremacy

Answer 13

judicial review: ability to invalidate an enacted law and make it unconstitutional - disperses power

parliamentary supremacy - parliament is the supreme legal authority

concentrates power.

Question 14

majoritarian vs proportional electoral system

Answer 14

Electoral system: political rules that translate citizen’s vote into legislative seats and / or control of a directly elected executive.

Plurality rule: candidate who receives the largest share of the votes in the electorate district wins the seats, even if that share is less than a majority

**Majority rule * – candidates obtain a majority of 50 percent +1 of the votes in the electoral district to win.

Proportional representation – distrbiutes seats proportional to the vote each party receives

Mixed electoral rules – combines a plurality or majority electoral rule to elect some members of the national legislature