Unit 6 Flashcards
Parliaments and political decision-making
What is representative democracy? Why is it regarded as the predominant paradigm inspiring the organisation of government? Is this predominance uncontested?
In representative democracies decisions of public affairs are assigned to Parliaments that are democratically elected. Elections are held at regular intervals with the view to align preferences of the society (electorate) to the policy agenda pursued by elected institutions. There is a circular relationship between institutions and electorate. That means that citizens should be active in the political life, be critical to policy management by institutions and accordingly formulate its preferences in the next elections.
Opposite to representative democracy is a direct democracy. In this scenario decisions are taken directly by the citizens. This model can successfully operate only in small polities, on a state-level it is unmanageable. Therefore nowadays it is only used un some circumstances on a local level. Element of direct democracy - referendum - is also used in some constitution-amending procedures, to make sure that there is broad societal consensus.
Representative democracy is contested. Factors such as declining trust in political parties, the rise of alternative participation models or shifts in power dynamics towards executive contribute to the contested model.
What is a legislative reserve? What is the added value of parliamentary decision-making?
Because parliament is central law-maker and acts of parliament are the most important source of law (under constitution) laws hold a legislative reserve. Certain constitutional provisions authorise exclusively legislature to intervene constitutional rights (in a sensible manner, respecting constitution).
Added values of parliament that contribute to it being the central law-maker (formulated by J. Waldron) are publicity and transparency both towards citizens and media. No other institution is publicly open. Second element is the capacity of parliaments to enhance social and political diversity. In Parliament the whole political spectrum of society is represented making it possible for every idea and comment to be heard and considered. On the other hand Cabinet is formed by officials from the same party or coalition, therefore sharing common ideas. Thirdly in parliament political impulses can be transformed into political judgements. Parliament is a place for discussion and dialogue, therefore political impulses can be refined through confrontation with opposing ideas.
What are the constitutional prerequisites of free and fair elections?
Elections are held to align political preferences between the society and political power expressed by the institutions. It also hold the members of parliament accountable.
Constitutional guarantees are that elections have to be general (meaning universal suffrage, limited only by age, citizenship or criminal convictions); direct (there has to be immediate relationship between elected officials and electorate, especially the lower houses of parliaments); free (voters should not be influenced while expressing there political preference, can also concern campaign, media, funding); secret (votes should be secret and no one should be forced to express publicly their political preferences); equal (all votes should have the same weight).
‘Proportional and majoritarian election systems accommodate in different ways the goals of governmental stability, representativeness and personal accountability.’ Discuss
Majoritarian systems prioritise governmental stability and accountability of MPs over representativeness. Majoritarian systems generally leads to a one party winning absolute majority creating a strong government. There is hardly some risk of gridlock or collapse due to coalition dynamics. Furthermore it promotes accountability because majoritarian systems use system of single-member constituencies where voters vote directly for their MP, they can therefore know directly whom to hold accountable. On the other hand it fall short in representativeness because it disadvantages small parties, voters will likely vote for a candidate they think might have a chance to win rather than to vote for candidate that better represents their point of view, but likely won’t be elected and their vote will be ‘wasted’. Further more parties with geographically concentrated support can win a large number of seats while receiving a relatively small share of the national vote. Conversely, parties with widespread but dispersed support might be under-represented in parliament.
Proportional systems prioritise representativeness over stability and accountability. Proportional systems ensure that parties receive parliamentary seats in proportion to their share of the vote, leading to a more accurate reflection of the electorate’s political preferences. This often translates into a more diverse parliament with representation for a wider range of parties and ideologies. The stability is lowers because proportional systems usually ends with coalitions governments, that are generally weaker than single-party governments. And with multiple parties sharing power, it can be more difficult for voters to hold individual representatives or parties accountable for specific government actions or policies.
Illustrate the main traits of election system in France.
French election system to National Assembly takes place in single-member constituencies with a run-off system. In the first round candidate can be elected if voted by an absolute majority which represents at least 1/4 registered voters. If no candidate fulfils that all candidates than achieved at least 12,5% in the first round are admitted to the second round. Usually between first and second round many some candidates with lower chance withdraw in exchange for corresponding withdrawal in other constituency. In the second round the candidate which receives the most votes wins.
Illustrate the main traits of election system in Germany.
German election system for Bundestag is mixed-member proportional system. Each voter can express 2 votes. First vote for a candidate in their constituency (first-past-the-post) and second for party lists (proportional system). First all the candidates that win their local constituency get a seat, the rest of the seats is allocated to the parties proportionally (they fill the seats from their party lists). If a party wins more local districts than get allocated seats, overhang mandates are created. To recreate original proportions on the basis of which the proportional seats were distributed balance seats are created. That is why Bundestag does not have specified number of members, because every time different number of overhang seats and corresponding balance seats must be created. In 2023 there was a reform in the election system (which was constitutionally challenged). This amendment set a fixed number of seats to 630, only political parties that exceed the 5% threshold can get their share of seats, overhang mandates and balance seats were cancelled, each political party gets only its share of votes.
Illustrate the main traits of election system in Italy.
Current electoral law in Italy, known as the “Rosatellum,” was approved in 2017. It establishes a mixed system for both Houses of Parliament where 61% of seats are allocated proportionally with blocked party lists in multi-member constituencies and 37% of seats are allocated with first-past-the-post system in single-member constituencies, 2% of seats are for Italians residing abroad. There are 2 different threshold for being able to get share of votes, 3% for a political party and 10% for a coalition.
Illustrate the main traits of election system in the UK.
Elections in the UK to the House of Commons are based on single-member constituencies with first-past-the-post system. That means that the candidate with a plurality of votes wins the seat.
Illustrate the main traits of election system in the USA.
In the USA first-past-the-post system is employed for elections both to the House of Representatives and to the Senate. This system is characterised by single-member constituencies and the principle of plurality wins. In the USA each State can draw the borders of the electoral districts. Typical for US is concept called ‘gerrymandering’. Gerrymandering refers to the manipulation of electoral district boundaries to favour a particular political party or candidate. Gerrymandering can be challenged in front of court only on 2 grounds: disproportionate sizes of district and when race is taken into consideration while drawing the districts.
How are legislative procedures typically structured?
Sources of regulation of legislative procedures are constitution (which states general coordination) and parliamentary standing orders (rules of procedure of parliament). Each house has its own standing order.
First step in legislative procedure is the introduction of the bill. Legislative initiative is always vested in Government and their proposals are also the most likely to be approved. But there are also other institutions that can have legislative initiative, for example groups of MP’s, citizens, regions.
Legislative initiative is then announced in the plenary session and some systems require a vote for it to be able to continue to more in-depth discussion.
Proposal is then article-by-article examined, discussed and amended in parliamentary standing committees.
Final text is presented in plenary session, there’s a general discussion and minor amendments can be approved.
Plenary session than votes on the proposal.
If approved it is then referred either to the Head of state (in mono-cameral system) or to the other house of Parliament (in bi-cameral systems). In the other house of parliament the same procedure is employed, therefore text can be amended. However for the proposal to be approved both houses need to vote on the same text. Therefore text can be either ‘ping-ponged’ back and forth until that is achieved or a conciliation committee consisting of members of both houses can be established in order to unite views of both houses.
Approved text is referred to the Head of State which has to sign it in order to be promulgated. In some systems Head of State can refer the proposal back to the parliament or constitutional challenge can be triggered.
After the signature act is published in an official journal and after some short period of time it can take effect.
What are the reasons for bicameralism?
There are two main reasons for establishing an upper house of parliament. It can be either complementing democratic representation of the people with the representation of relevant groups or entities in society (particularly relevant for federal systems). Or securing limited government (upper house can serve as a check on the potential excesses of popular will and promote more considered legislative decisions). Furthermore bicameralism can improve legislative quality proving an additional lawyer of scrutiny and consideration; having two chambers consider a bill independently can lead to more thorough debate, the identification of potential flaws or unintended consequences, and the crafting of more effective and refined laws. The last rationale can be promoting consensus-building and compromises, because the bill needs to pass through both chambers it can encourage compromise between different political factions or regional interests.
Illustrate the role, composition and tasks of upper chambers in federal and non-federal bicameral systems.
In federal systems the upper chamber often serves as a platform for representing the interests of sub-national units, such as states or provinces. Upper chambers play a crucial role in ensuring that the concerns and perspectives of states are taken into account in the national legislative process, they are represented both in constitution amending procedure and in ordinary legislation making. Federal upper chambers are elected either directly (USA, Mexico); indirectly (Austria, India); are appointed by prime minister (Canada); sub-national units decide on the membership (Germany, Switzerland).
In non-federal bicameral systems upper chambers serve as a check on the lower house providing a further consideration of bills. Usually upper houses are considered to be made out of older, wiser individuals. The members can be wither appointed by prime minster (UK) or elected directly (Czech Republic).
What is executive rule-making? What are its main manifestations?
Executive rule-making refers to the process by which the executive branch of government develops and implements rules and regulations, often in response to complex policy issues that require specialised expertise or rapid action.
Lately the regulative power of the executive has gradually expanded because of the fast paced social and technological changes and developments. Legislative process within parliament is a long and complicated procedure, therefore some measures need to be implemented quicker by executive. However executive can regulate only in the interstices between legislation.
