DOCSLIB.ORG

7972-1 Comparative Political Institutions (Clark)

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
7972-1 Comparative Political Institutions (Clark) COMPARATIVE POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS Political Science 7972 Prof Wm A Clark Thursdays 9:00-12:00 213 Stubbs Hall 210 Stubbs Hall [email protected] Fall 2013 COURSE DESCRIPTION This course is dedicated to the comparative analysis of political institutions, which in comparative politics are viewed as either formal rules or organizations. The primary orientation of the course material lies in state governmental institutions, although some social institutions will also be examined. The course focuses on what has come to be called the "new institutionalism," which adopts a more decidedly structural or state-centric approach to politics. It emphasizes the relative autonomy of political institutions, and thus seeks to present a counterweight to the predominant view of politics as merely a reflection of the aggregation of individual preferences and behaviors. If it can be argued that individuals and institutions impact each other, the new institutionalism focuses primary attention on how relatively autonomous political institutions (i.e., rules and organizations) affect individual political behavior. COURSE REQUIREMENTS Each student’s semester grade will be determined on the basis of four tasks, detailed below. [1] Research paper: weighted at 35% of the course grade. This paper is to be modeled on a typical conference paper. The paper should focus on the downstream consequence(s) of a national or sub-national institutional variable; that is, it should adopt an institutional factor (or factors) as the independent variable(s). It should focus on any country other than the USA, and may adopt any traditional form of institutional analysis. It must be fully cited and written to professional standards. Topics must be cleared by the instructor. This paper is due no later than Friday, December 6. [2] Weekly reaction papers: weighted at a combined 35% of the course grade. In a maximum of three double-spaced typed pages each, these weekly papers should focus on issues of interest (problems, debates, inconsistencies, consequences, etc) that emerge from the week’s readings. Papers should be fully cited. Papers are due the morning of each seminar. [3] Discussion leadership: weighted at 10% of the course grade. Each student will lead the class discussion on a particular week’s readings during the first half of the relevant weekly seminar. Students will be permitted to express their preferences for a topic to lead; the mechanism for matching student preferences with topic allocations will be explained during the first session. [4] In-class performance: weighted at 20% of the course grade. Everyone is expected to come to class well prepared, and to have that preparation reflected in their contribution to seminar discussions. Attendance at each seminar is mandatory. TEXTS The following books are required for the course, and are available at the bookstore. Jan-Erik Lane & Svante Ersson (2000). The New Institutional Politics: Performance and Outcomes (London: Routledge). Arend Lijphart (2012). Patterns of Democracy: Government Forms and Performance in Thirty- Six Countries, 2nd edition (New Haven: Yale University Press). Giovanni Sartori (1996). Comparative Constitutional Engineering: An Inquiry into Structures, Incentives and Outcomes , second edition (New York: New York University Press). Jose Antonio Cheibub (2006). Presidentialism, Parliamentarism, and Democracy (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press). David M. Farrell (2011). Electoral Systems: A Comparative Analysis, 2nd edition (New York: Palgrave Macmillan) Jennifer Gandhi (2008). Political Institutions Under Dictatorship (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press). TOPICS AND SYLLABUS OF READINGS (1) Aug 29 INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE (2) Sept 5 THE NEW INSTITUTIONALISM: AN INTRODUCTION Jan-Erik Lane and Svante Ersson (2000). The New Institutional Politics: Performance and Outcomes (London: Routledge): chapters 1 (“What is an Institution?”) and 2 (“Institutions and Interests”). Terry M. Moe (1990). "Political Institutions: The Neglected Side of the Story," Journal of Law, Economics and Organization, vol. 6 (special issue): 213-253. Peter A. Hall and Rosemary C. R. Taylor (1996). “Political Science and the Three New Institutionalisms,” Political Studies, vol. 64, no. 4: 936-957. Junko Kato (1996). “Institutions and Rationality in Politics: Three Varieties of Neo-Institutionalists,” British Journal of Political Science, vol. 26, no. 4: 553-582. E. M. Immergut (1998). “The Theoretical Core of the New Institutionalism,” Politics & Society, vol. 26, no. 1: 5-34. Daniel Diermeier & Keith Krehbiel (2003). “Institutionalism as a Methodology,” Journal of Theoretical Politics, vol. 15, no. 2: 123-144. (3) Sept 12 STATES & DEMOCRACIES I Charles Tilly (1985). “War Making and State Making as Organized Crime,” pp. 169-191 in Peter Evans, Dietrich Rueschemeyer, and Theda Skocpol, eds., Bringing the State Back In (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press). Charles Tilly (1992). "European Cities and States," pp. 38-66 in Charles Tilly, Coercion, Capital, and European States, AD 990-1992 (London: Blackwell). J. P. Nettl (1968). “The State as a Conceptual Variable,” World Politics, vol. 20, no. 4: 559-592. Joseph A. Schumpeter (1950). “Another Theory of Democracy,” pp. 269-283 in Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy (New York: Harper & Brothers). Hans Keman (2002). “Comparing Democracies: Theories and Evidence,” pp. 32-61 in Hans Keman, ed., Comparative Democratic Politics (London: Sage Publications). Terry M. Moe and Michael Caldwell (1994). “The Institutional Foundation of Democratic Government: A Comparison of Presidential and Parliamentary Systems,” Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics, vol. 150, no. 1: 171-195. (4) Sept 19 STATES & DEMOCRACIES II Arend Lijphart (2012). Patterns of Democracy: Government Forms and Performance in Thirty-Six Countries, 2nd edition (New Haven: Yale University Press). (5) Sept 26 CONSTITUTIONAL DESIGN Giovanni Sartori (1996). Comparative Constitutional Engineering: An Inquiry into Structures, Incentives and Outcomes , second edition (New York: New York University Press). (6) Oct 3 PRESIDENTIAL SYSTEMS: CRITIQUES Lane and Ersson, Op. cit., chapter 6 (“Presidential or Parliamentary Executives: Linz”). Juan J. Linz (1994). “Presidential or Parliamentary Democracy: Does It Make a Difference?,” pp. 3-87 in Juan J. Linz and Arturo Valenzuela, eds., The Failure of Presidential Democracy: Comparative Perspectives (Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press). Scott Mainwaring & Matthew S. Shugart (1997). “Juan Linz, Presidentialism, and Democracy,” Comparative Politics, vol. 29, no. 4: 449-471. Matthew Soberg Shugart and John M. Carey (1992). “Criticisms of Presidentialism and Responses,” pp. 28-54 in Shugart and Carey (1992). Presidents and Assemblies: Constitutional Design and Electoral Dynamics (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press). (7) Oct 10 PRESIDENTIAL SYSTEMS: RESPONSES Jose Antonio Cheibub (2006). Presidentialism, Parliamentarism, and Democracy (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press). (8) Oct 17 PARLIAMENTARY SYSTEMS: BASICS Douglas Verney (1959). “Parliamentary Government,” pp. 17-38 in Douglas Verney, The Analysis of Political Systems (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul). Klaus von Beyme (2000). “The Parliamentarisation of Representative Government,” pp. 16-37 in Klaus von Beyme, Parliamentary Government (London: Macmillan). Alan Siaroff (2003). “Varieties of Parliamentarianism in Advanced Industrial Democracies,” International Journal of Political Science, vol 24, no. 4: 445-464. Guy-Erik Isaksson (2001). “Parliamentary Government in Different Shapes,” West European Politics, vol. 24, no. 4: 40-54. Alastair Smith (2003). “Election Timing in Majoritarian Parliaments,” British Journal of Political Science, vol . 33, no 3: 397-418. John Gerring, Strom C. Thacker and Carola Moreno (2009). "Are Parliamentary Systems Better?," Comparative Political Studies, vol. 42, no. 3: 327-359. (9) Oct 24 PARLIAMENTARY SYSTEMS: EXECUTIVES AND CABINETS Wolfgang C. Muller & Kaare Strom (2000). “Coalition Governance in Western Europe: An Introduction, pp. 1-31 in Muller & Strom, eds., Coalition Governments in Western Europe (Oxford: Oxford University Press). Klaus von Beyme (2000). “The Role of the Head of State in Relation to Parliament and Government,” pp. 108-148 in Klaus von Beyme, Parliamentary Government (London: Macmillan). Bernard Grofman & Peter van Roozendaal (1997). “Modelling Cabinet Durability and Termination,” British Journal of Political Science, vol. 27, no. 3: 419-451. Kaare Strom, et al. (1994). “Constraints on Cabinet Formation in Parliamentary Democracies,” American Journal of Political Science, vol. 38, no. 2: 303-335. Arthur Lupia and Kaare Strom (1995). “Coalition Termination and the Strategic Timing of Parliamentary Elections,” American Political Science Review, vol. 89, no. 3: 648-669. Christopher Kam and Indridi Indridason (2005). "The Timing of Cabinet Reshuffles in Five Westminster Parliamentary Systems," Legislative Studies Quarterly, vol. 30, no. 3: 327-364. (10) Oct 31 SEMI-PRESIDENTIALISM Robert Elgie (2004). “Semi-Presidentialism: Concepts, Consequences and Contesting Explanations,” Political Studies Review, vol. 2, no. 3: 314-330. Robert Elgie (1999). “The Politics of Semi-Presidentialism,” pp. 1-21 in Robert Elgie, ed., Semi- Presidentialism in Europe (Oxford: Oxford University Press). Steven D. Roper (2002). “Are All Semi-Presidential Regimes the Same?: A Comparison of Premier- Presidential Regimes,” Comparative Politics, vol. 34, no. 3: 253-272. Oleh
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Managing Meritocracy in Clientelistic Democracies∗
    Managing Meritocracy in Clientelistic Democracies∗ Sarah Brierleyy Washington University in St Louis May 8, 2018 Abstract Competitive recruitment for certain public-sector positions can co-exist with partisan hiring for others. Menial positions are valuable for sustaining party machines. Manipulating profes- sional positions, on the other hand, can undermine the functioning of the state. Accordingly, politicians will interfere in hiring partisans to menial position but select professional bureau- crats on meritocratic criteria. I test my argument using novel bureaucrat-level data from Ghana (N=18,778) and leverage an exogenous change in the governing party to investigate hiring pat- terns. The results suggest that partisan bias is confined to menial jobs. The findings shed light on the mixed findings regarding the effect of electoral competition on patronage; competition may dissuade politicians from interfering in hiring to top-rank positions while encouraging them to recruit partisans to lower-ranked positions [123 words]. ∗I thank Brian Crisp, Stefano Fiorin, Barbara Geddes, Mai Hassan, George Ofosu, Dan Posner, Margit Tavits, Mike Thies and Daniel Triesman, as well as participants at the African Studies Association Annual Conference (2017) for their comments. I also thank Gangyi Sun for excellent research assistance. yAssistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Washington University in St. Louis. Email: [email protected]. 1 Whether civil servants are hired by merit or on partisan criteria has broad implications for state capacity and the overall health of democracy (O’Dwyer, 2006; Grzymala-Busse, 2007; Geddes, 1994). When politicians exchange jobs with partisans, then these jobs may not be essential to the running of the state.
    [Show full text]
  • Political Science 2 Introduction to Comparative Politics 3 Units; 3
    Political Science 2 Introduction to Comparative Politics 3 units; 3 hours lecture Recommended Preparation: Political Science 1 and eligibility for English 1A Credit, degree applicable Transfer CSU, UC In this course students will analyze political systems of different countries in a comparative context. Emphasis will be placed on studying the differences and similarities of governmental systems found in developed democratic nation-states. Developing countries, regional systems, and new democracies will also be analyzed to illustrate the complex nature of creating and maintaining a functioning nation-state system. Course Objectives: 1. Identify and assess the basic theory of comparative political analysis and the commonly applied methodology. 2. Identify and evaluate the structures and functions common to all political systems. 3. Analyze the geopolitical, cultural, and historical antecedents of nation-states for comparative analysis. 4. Evaluate cultural-political systems in developing non-democratic nation-states. 5. Assess procedures used in democratic political systems in the determination of policy and legislation. 6. Evaluate and examine the major institutions that contribute to the political process. 7. Describe and analyze the European Union as a model of regional integration. 8. Identify and evaluate current government systems. 9. Assess the ways in which political parties, interest groups, and public opinion effect the political process. Student Learning Outcomes: SLO#1 Political Systems- In a written essay, the students will discuss and critically analyze both differences and similarities found among different political systems as they pertain to the functions that their institutions perform. SLO#2 Institutional Choices- In a written essay, students will demonstrate knowledge and analyze the difference between presidential and parliamentary system and the impact they have one the policymaking process.
    [Show full text]
  • SIS 802 Comparative Politics
    Ph.D. Seminar in Comparative Politics SIS 802, Fall 2016 School of International Service American University COURSE INFORMATION Professor: Matthew M. Taylor Email: [email protected] Classes will be held on Tuesdays, 2:35-5:15pm Office hours: Wednesdays (11:30pm-3:30pm) and by appointment. In the case of appointments, please email me at least two days in advance to schedule. Office: SIS 350 COURSE DESCRIPTION Comparative political science is one of the four traditional subfields of political science. It differs from international relations in its focus on individual countries and regions, and its comparison across units – national, subnational, actors, and substantive themes. Yet it is vital to scholars of international relations, not least because of its ability to explain differences in the basic postures of national and subnational actors, as well as in its focus on key variables of interest to international relations, such as democratization, the organization of state decision-making, and state capacity. Both subfields have benefited historically from considerable methodological and theoretical cross-fertilization which has shaped the study of international affairs significantly. The first section of the course focuses on the epistemology of comparative political science, seeking to understand how we know what we know, the accumulation of knowledge, and the objectivity of the social sciences. The remainder of the course addresses substantive debates in the field, although students are encouraged to critically address the theoretical and methodological approaches that are used to explore these substantive issues. COURSE OBJECTIVES This course will introduce students to the field, analyzing many of the essential components of comparative political science: themes, debates, and concepts, as well as different theoretical and methodological approaches.
    [Show full text]
  • Elector System Design and Ethnic Separatism: a Rationalist Approach to Ethnic Politics in Eastern Europe
    Illinois Wesleyan University Digital Commons @ IWU Honors Projects Political Science Department Spring 2000 Elector System Design and Ethnic Separatism: A Rationalist Approach to Ethnic Politics in Eastern Europe Eric Wesselkamper '00 Illinois Wesleyan University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/polisci_honproj Part of the Political Science Commons Recommended Citation Wesselkamper '00, Eric, "Elector System Design and Ethnic Separatism: A Rationalist Approach to Ethnic Politics in Eastern Europe" (2000). Honors Projects. 7. https://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/polisci_honproj/7 This Article is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by Digital Commons @ IWU with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this material in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/ or on the work itself. This material has been accepted for inclusion by faculty at Illinois Wesleyan University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ©Copyright is owned by the author of this document. • Electoral System Design and Ethnic Separatism A Rationalist Approach to Ethnic Politics in Eastern Europe Eric Wesselkamper Spring 2000 The resurgence ofnationalism taking place throughout Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union raises important questions with respect to ethnic political mobilization, particularly with respect to the potentialfor ethnic separatism. Moreover, the region provides scholars an excellent setting in which to study the political effects ofconstitutional choices.
    [Show full text]
  • Global Best Practices: a Model Annual State of the Parliament Report*
    GLOBAL BEST PRACTICES: A MODEL ANNUAL STATE OF THE PARLIAMENT REPORT* A Strategic Monitoring and Reporting Tool for Promoting Democratic Parliaments Worldwide (2005) • Contact: Professor Keith Henderson, [email protected]; [email protected] or [email protected] A number of experts from other regions made significant contributions to developing this framework, including Sandra Elena from Argentina, Violaine Autheman from France and Rosie Zigormo from Zimbabwe, as well as the Canadian Parliamentary Centre. IFES Parliamentary Tool Kit Model State of Parliament Report: Framework TABLE OF CONTENTS IFES Parliamentary Toolkit: Multiple Uses of the Annual State of Parliament Report 3 IFES Parliamentary Toolkit: Parliamentary Transparency and Accountability Standards 4 Abstract 5 1. Overview: Country Context and Methodology 6 a. The Functions of Parliament in the Country Context 6 b. Scope of the State of Parliament Report: the IFES Parliamentary Transparency and Accountability Standards, PTAS 8 c. Multifaceted Methodology 9 2. Relevant International and Domestic Legal and Institutional Framework 11 a. International and Regional Obligations 11 b. Constitutional Standards 12 c. Country Legal Framework 12 d. Country Institutional Framework 12 3. Assessment of the Level of Compliance with the PTAS 13 PTAS.1: Independence of Parliament 13 PTAS.2: Free and Fair Parliamentary Elections 14 PTAS.3: Transparent, Adequate Political Financing and Compensation 14 PTAS.4: Representative Parliament 16 PTAS.5: Security of Tenure 16 PTAS.6:
    [Show full text]
  • Downloads of Previous Issue Since Publication (25Th of January 2011–10Th of August 2011): 946
    Volume 4, Number 2, July 2011 CompaJ O U R N A Lr Oa F tive Politics ISSN 1338-1385 GG NON-DETERMINANTSGOFGCORRUPTION:G AGSCEPTICALGVIEWGFROMGEASTERNGEUROPE Anris ZIMELIS GG COSMOPOLITISMGASGTHEGENDGOFGPATRIOTISMG AMONGGSLOVENIANGYOUTH Lea NAHTIGAL and Vladimir PREBILIČ GG THEGEUROPEANGFUTURESGANDGCOHESIVEGEUROPE:GG EU2020GSTRATEGYGANDGCOHESIONGPOLICYGWITHGFLEXIBLEG INTEGRATION Attila ÁGH GG BOSNIAGANDGHERZEGOVINAGBETWEENGDAYTONGANDG BRUSSELS Rudi KOCJANČIČ GG DELIBERATIONGANDGONLINEGPARTICIPATION:G THEGCASEGOFGTHEGSLOVENIANGPORTALG“IGPROPOSEGTOGTHEG GOVERNMENT” Tanja OBLAK-ČRNIČ, Jernej PRODNIK and Nika TRBIŽAN GG NETWORKEDGCITIES’GRESPONSESGTOGGLOBALG PROBLEMS:GG AGTYPOLOGY Nikita CHIU Journal of Comparative Politics 2 Editorial Team General Editor General Editor Miro Haček Peter Csányi Department of Political Science Pan European University Faculty of Social Sciences Institute of Political Science University of Ljubljana Tomášikova 20, 821 02 Kardeljeva ploščad 5, Ljubljana, Slovenia Bratislava, Slovakia [email protected] [email protected] Assistant Editor Irena Bačlija Department of Political Science Faculty of Social Sciences University of Ljubljana Kardeljeva ploščad 5, Ljubljana, Slovenia [email protected] JCP uses two-sided peer review process before publication. Those wishing to sub- mit papers should send their e-version to either of the General Editors at one of the addresses above in compliance with the Submission Guidelines. The views ex- pressed are neither those of either of co-publishers. Authors
    [Show full text]
  • Altered States: a Comparison of Separation of Powers in the United States and in the United Kingdom
    Cleveland State University EngagedScholarship@CSU Law Faculty Articles and Essays Faculty Scholarship 1990 Altered States: A Comparison of Separation of Powers in the United States and in the United Kingdom James G. Wilson Cleveland State University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/fac_articles Part of the Comparative and Foreign Law Commons, and the Comparative Politics Commons How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! Original Citation James G. Wilson, Altered States: A Comparison of Separation of Powers in the United States and in the United Kingdom, 18 Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly 125 (1990) This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Faculty Scholarship at EngagedScholarship@CSU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Law Faculty Articles and Essays by an authorized administrator of EngagedScholarship@CSU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. +(,121/,1( Citation: 18 Hastings Const. L.Q. 125 1990-1991 Content downloaded/printed from HeinOnline (http://heinonline.org) Wed Sep 12 11:33:36 2012 -- Your use of this HeinOnline PDF indicates your acceptance of HeinOnline's Terms and Conditions of the license agreement available at http://heinonline.org/HOL/License -- The search text of this PDF is generated from uncorrected OCR text. -- To obtain permission to use this article beyond the scope of your HeinOnline license, please use: https://www.copyright.com/ccc/basicSearch.do? &operation=go&searchType=0 &lastSearch=simple&all=on&titleOrStdNo=0094-5617 Altered States: A Comparison of Separation of Powers in the United States and in the United Kingdom By JAMES G.
    [Show full text]
  • Comparative Legislatures Thursdays: 2:00 – 4:50Pm Location: 210 Stubbs
    POLI 7971: Comparative Legislatures Thursdays: 2:00 – 4:50pm Location: 210 Stubbs Professor: Dr. Yann Kerevel Office Hours: Wednesdays 1-3pm or by appt. Office: 230 Stubbs Email: [email protected] Overview The study of legislative institutions has been dominated by research on the U.S. Congress. Despite this singular focus, the design of legislatures, their organization, their relations with other branches of government, the methods by which legislative representatives reach office, and the way in which representatives serve their constituents vary widely across countries. This course is designed to introduce students to research on legislatures across the globe. Required Readings Most readings are peer-reviewed journal articles easily found through the LSU library system or Google Scholar. Any book chapters will be provided in PDF format on Moodle. Evaluation Weekly writing assignments and discussion questions: 20% Each week in which there are assigned readings, I expect students to write a 2- 3 page critical review of the week’s readings. In your review, you should address at least some of the questions listed below. In addition to writing the 2-page review, I also expect students to submit at least 3 questions related to the readings for discussion. The writing assignment and the 3 questions are due by 12pm on the day of class and should be submitted electronically by email. To receive full credit for these assignments, they must all be turned in on time, they must meet the basic requirements, and it must be clear to me you have read all of the week’s material. I will not be providing weekly, individual feedback on these assignments but I will reach out to individual students early in the semester with comments.
    [Show full text]
  • The Historical Development of Comparative Federal Studies
    THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF • in the allocation of taxing powers and COMPARATIVE FEDERAL STUDIES resources; in the character of federal government representative institutions and Professor Ronald L. Watts in the degree of regional input to federal policy-making; in the procedures for INTRODUCTION resolving internal conflicts between Political events in various parts of the world governments; during the past two decades have attracted • in the processes established to facilitate increasing attention to comparative federal collaboration between interdependent studies. But the comparative scholarly literature governments; attempting to assess the nature of federalism and to understand such issues as the theory and • and in the procedures for formal and practice of federalism, the strengths and informal adaptation and change. weaknesses of federal political solutions, the Clearly then, there is no single pure model design and operation of various federal systems of federation that is applicable everywhere. and the processes of political integration and Even where similar institutions are adopted, disintegration has a long history. This paper will different circumstances have often made them trace that history and the development of the operate differently. A classic illustration of this comparative study of federalism, federal is the operation of the similar formal constitution political systems and federations as a amendment procedures in Switzerland and background for the following chapters which Australia requiring ratification by double examine federal theories and the methodologies majorities in a referendum. In a century this that have been employed in these studies. procedure produced over 110 constitutional Much of the scholarly study of federalism amendments in Switzerland and only eight in has taken the form of examining individual Australia (Watts, 1999: 2).
    [Show full text]
  • Comparative Politics of Federalism
    Political Science Entry ID: 9780199756223-xxxx Version Date: uploaddate Citation Style: Humanities Comparative Politics of Federalism Jenna Bednar University of Michigan Srinivas Parinandi University of Michigan Introduction General Overviews Datasets Country Reports and Qualitative Data Journals Definitions of Federalism Federalism’s Purpose and Performance Economic Growth Economic Efficiency Deficit Reduction Corruption Redistribution and Unified Policy-Making Policy Innovation & Diffusion Peace-Preserving Federalism Secession Participation Effect on the Party System Understanding Variation in Federal Performance Why Safeguards are Necessary Institutional Safeguards of Federalism Dynamics in Federal-State Power INTRODUCTION Federalism is a system of government that sits uneasily between a unitary government with administrative decentralization and a confederacy comprised of independent states that choose to coordinate their activity in some realms, such as defense or trade. The comparative study of federations is broad, ranging from internal fiscal arrangements to economic performance to political representation and identity. Uniting these diverse fields is a common interest in federalism as a system of government, adopted for a purpose, and failing or meeting aspirations. Federal systems vary widely in construction, in purpose, and in practice. The system effects are complex and often unexpected. Hence adopting the federal form is an important constitutional decision with significant---and sometimes surprising---consequences. In this overview, we concentrate on two aspects of the comparative federalism literature: the postulated benefits of federalism and theories to explain its inconsistent performance. GENERAL OVERVIEWS As a field, political science has been working on (and arguing about) an understanding of what federalism might achieve and under what conditions it might be successful since Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and especially James Madison wrote as **Publius** (1787).
    [Show full text]
  • Party Politics and Presidentialism
    From Perils to Pearls? Presidentialism as an Answer to the Challenge to Party Government Dennis-Jonathan Mann Draft version—please do not cite Introduction This paper seeks to link recent arguments about a decline of—or, at least, a challenge to—party government to another body of literature that distinguishes two systems of government, a presi- dential from a parliamentary one. The point of departure is that, especially with regard to presi- dentialism, the nature of the party system is regarded as crucial factor in explaining the success or failure of presidential democracy. While the academic debate about the presidential system of government has been shaped by Juan Linz’s (1990a) influential essay “The Perils of Presidentialism” and, accordingly, has been focusing on the Spanish and Latin American cases of developing democracies, here, I am trying to relate this debate to the literature on political parties in Western Europe. Therefore, some of the specific arguments made in the presidentialism literature—especially how to sustain de- mocracy in a process of transition from an autocracy—will not be applicable. Here, the puzzle is rather how to adapt to a changing role of political parties in consolidated democracies. The paper is divided into three parts; the first part will summarize the main arguments cur- rently advanced in the party government literature. The second part of the paper with then re- visit the main findings of the system of government literature with regard to the role of political parties and/or the party system. Building upon this discussion, the last part of the paper then seeks to establish a theoretical relationship between recent changes in party government and the logics of a presidential system of government.
    [Show full text]
  • Federalism and the Subnational Separation of Powers, a Host of Empirical Questions and Research Problems Arise
    Federalism and the Subnational Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/publius/article-abstract/35/2/245/1875220 by University of Pennsylvania Libraries user on 18 September 2018 Separation of Powers Maxwell A. Cameron University of British Columbia Tulia G. Falleti University of Pennsylvania Most of the literature on federalism has emphasized the relationship between national and subnational governments but overlooked the organization of subnational powers. Likewise, the debate on the separation of powers in presidential and parliamentary systems has neglected the role of federalism in bolstering the separation of powers. We argue that a federal polity is a constitutional arrangement that creates executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government in its constituent units. This definition is applied to all countries that are classified as federations, federacies, or unions to show that it yields a more homogeneous set of cases for comparison. Finally, we review the implications of our definition through an analysis of Latin American federations and highlight the institutional mechanisms that either promote or hinder the separation of powers and democracy. ‘‘ The twentieth century will open the age of federations, or else humanity will undergo another purgatory of a thousand years.’’1 This prediction by Pierre-Joseph Proudhon appears to have come true: 40 percent of the world’s population lives in countries that can be considered or claim to be federal.2 As Edward Gibson says, ‘‘We live in an increasingly federalized world.’’3 In the mid-nineteenth century, Proudhon defined federalism as a social doctrine, a philosophy, and a global view of society, that is, an ism like liberalism or socialism.
    [Show full text]