week 2 inter Flashcards
!describe judicial functions
interpretation of laws;
- judicial review: binding power of courts to interpretation of laws and power to overturn executive or legislative actions that violate constitution. This principle can be rejected in some countries because of difficulty to guarantee political independence of judges and the democratically elected legislature should have responsibility for interpreting constitution
- judicial activism (quasi-legislative role): courts take broad and active view of their role as interpreters of the constitution and reviewers of executive and legislative action. examples: Roe vs. Wade 1973 (about abortion; health mother vs life of baby) and Obergefell vs Hodges 2015 (gay marriage)
!describe the three systems of the relationship between legislative and executive
- Parliamentary:
- executive is PM, not directly elected
- PM appoints cabinet
- government needs support from parliament
- parliament can accept, amend or reject legislation
- separation of head of state and and head of government
- legislative body is directly elected
- executive and legislative bodies are fused - presidential
- executive is directly elected
- head of state and head of government
- execution of policy
- dependence on legislative body
- fixed tenure - semi-presidential
- directly elected president
- PM appointed by president
- shared powers, where president appoints PM from elected assembly, dismisses PM (dissolve parliament and call a referendum) and declares state of emergency
- PM appoints cabinet from assembly
examples of checks and balances
veto power, power of purse, ratification of treaties, impeachment, judicial review, salary independence, vote of constructive confidence, power fragmentation
what are the four main features of constitutional laws?
fundamental laws: laws on political procedures
entrenched status: they have special legal status
codified document
allocation of powers
!three systems of Courts
- constitutional courts as independent
- power to overturn executive or legislative actions that violate constitution
- Germany, Colombia, Korea - Supreme court model
- both judicial review and highest court in judicial system
- US, India, Japan - Parliament and Supreme Court
- former exercises constitutional review, latter is highest court
- The Netherlands
!what is the ‘three-legged race’
the downside of the presidential system is called the ‘three-legged race’ which concerns the relationship between president, congress and senate, where with cooperation they all win, but without cooperation they become stuck (deadlock)
Juan Linz on presidential system
presidential system entails a paradox: the president is directly chosen by the people which gives the president power, but power is limited by the separation of powers. Power of president is solely executive, legislative powers are somewhere else which thus limits president.
!unicameralism vs bicameralism
pro-unicameralism:
- power mainly located in one assembly; no confusion of rules, responsibilities or accountability
- two assemblies can lead to deadlock or rivalry
- room for only one elected, representative body
- adoption of unicameralism has recently had success in Africa and Middle East
- seems to work best in small countries
pro-bicameralism:
- two chambers provide another set of checks and balances with powers to delay, criticize, amend or veto
- second chamber can reduce workload
- many democracies have bicameral legislatures
- suited for federal states, where territorial units can be represented at national level
!arguments for decentralization
- democracy: smaller communities get larger/ more influential say in political situations
- efficiency; decisions made by people who endure them
- adaption to local circumstances
- local minorities
-training ground for democracy - recruiting ground for national politics
-experimentation and development
!arguments for centralizations
- efficiency: economies of scale
- indivisible services
- integrated services; services of transportation (for example)
- specialization and cost
- redistribution
- minority protection
- local elites
- disintegration of state
explain the concept of confederation
organization whose members lend some powers to a body that manages affairs and common interests, while retaining their own independence
!what two types of national organizations are there?
unitary: government at central place, but sub-central units of government are/ can be created by central government which could have some quasi-federal features
federal: decentralized government
- cooperative federalism: state and government work closely together and share power
- dual federalism: powers more separated
what types of subnational organizations are there?
subnational organizations: decentralization into local governments, where high politics usually are still central. in unitary states it can be three categories:
- fused systems: central officials directly supervise work of local government
- dual systems: local authorities have more independence but within central authority.
- local self-government: freedom of taxation within limits (typical in Nordic countries)
what two types of problems do local self-government create?
- central-local political conflicts: which level of authority has final say in decision making?
- democracy and efficiency: arguments of central vs decentralized governments
what are three forms of local government
- general-purpose authority: deliver wide range of services, directly elected
- joint bodies
- special-purpose authorities: particular services
