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Introduction to Political Science Ideal and Impossible Image of a Political Institution

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Introduction to Political Science Ideal and Impossible Image of a Political Institution Institutions • The U.S. presidency provides a perfect example of how we have built up an Introduction to Political Science ideal and impossible image of a political institution. POLS 2000 • Since the New Deal and World War II, the nation has expected a great deal out of its presidents, far more than is realistically possible. The University of Georgia • Although officeholders are bound to disappoint, the institution of the Prof. Anthony Madonna presidency as an executive structure remains. [email protected] Institutions Hello, Mr. Smith • Americans have tremendous respect for the office of the presidency and, consequently, • Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is a film that presidents begin their terms with a great deal portrays an idealistic, but naïve, senator of public support. who gets caught up in real-world politics. • The reality of everyday politics eventually takes its inevitable toll. • That senator engages in a one-man – partisan decisions filibuster of a graft-laden public-works – state of the economy legislation. – world events • The filibuster is a tactic used by a senator or • Even as individual presidents disappoint , a group of senators who, by indefinitely Americans keep faith in the institution of the talking about a bill, intend to frustrate the presidency. proponents of the bill. • Institutions, in part, become institutions by lasting over time. • Ultimately the senator is victorious as he • They are larger than the people who occupy sheds his naiveté to embrace a political an office at a particular time. tactic. • The institution of the presidency, like all • Even idealists must sometimes use political governmental institutions, includes all formal and informal powers, the offices, the staffs, methods to achieve their goals (boycotts, and the historical precedents that define the civil disobedience, interest group pressure, institution. etc.) Hello, Mr. Smith Comparing Parliamentary and Presidential Systems • Ideal institutions must be adapted to the reality of the challenges that people face. • Even the perfect institutions we imagine for a country bend our loftier ideals along the way. • The ideal of democracy in our conceptualization of a legislature is a perfect example. • Legislative institutions in non- democratic countries do not represent the public’s interests the same way as democracies. They still serve valuable • Do you prefer a presidential system or a parliamentary system? political functions. • This is tantamount to a waiter asking if you want your eggs scrambled or • For example, debates in the Chinese sunny-side up. parliament, even if scripted, offer explanations to the public for why laws • The fundamental difference has to do with to whom that executive is are being enacted. “The white people of the South are the immediately responsible. greatest minority in this nation. They • Even across most democracies people • In a presidential system, there is a separation of legislative and executive are ambivalent in their feelings toward deserve consideration and understanding their legislative institutions. instead of the persecution of twisted institutions (the yolk is separated from the whites). propaganda.” – Sen. Strom Thurmond (R- • In a parliamentary system there is a fusion of legislative and executive • Is the filibuster a democratic technique? SC) (scrambled eggs). 1 Comparing Parliamentary and Presidential Systems Sí, El Presidente • In presidential systems the executive is • Presidential systems can make the executive stronger in relation to the separately elected and need not answer to legislature. the legislature; there is an independent base of democratic support. • With no need to worry about being voted out on a moment’s notice, the executive can afford to stand independently. • In parliamentary systems the executive is part of the parliament. • Independence from the legislature makes presidential systems more stable. • Prime ministers get the position by first winning election to a seat in the legislature • The primary purpose behind the design of a presidential system is the and then being elected by fellow members of prevention of tyranny either by the masses or by a popular individual. parliament (MPs) . • Into separation of powers , the framers of the U .S . constitution added the • In presidential systems the executive is notion of checks and balances. elected independently of the legislature. • This basically means that everybody is always minding everybody else’s • The executive leaves office only after a business, e.g., the president’s veto, the congress’ approval of the budget, fixed term or through a special removal etc. process called impeachment. • Checks and balances can also make it very hard to get anything done, particularly if it means challenging entrenched interests. “A fanatic is one who can't change • In parliamentary systems prime ministers serve until the next scheduled election or • There are so many ways to obstruct things that even a small minority can his mind and won't change the usually find some way to prevent changes to the status quo. subject.” – Winston Churchill until a simple majority of MPs votes them out. Yes, Minister Legislatures • Prime ministers are members of parliament and the leaders of the winning party in the parliament. • This makes their job shepherding legislation through the system far easier. • Parliamentary political parties are far more likely to vote cohesively. • Parties have a great deal of control over who gets placed in a seat after an election. • In some parliamentary systems any failure of a piifliliece of legislation automati illdilhcally dissolves the government. • Perhaps the most impressive fact about legislatures as institutions is that • The votes of party members in presidential they remain viable institutions. systems are far less predictable and far more difficult to control. • The value of legislatures is often debated. • American presidents cannot necessarily count • Legislatures serve many functions; among the most important are: on all the members of their political party for support. •lawmaking • representing • Many a presidential proposal has been defeated by a margin afforded by the members of the • checking president's party. • legitimating • educating Lawmaking Lawmaking • The root of the word legislature, is • Bills can come from the minds of legislators, "legislate," and we expect our but they can come from, among other places, parliaments to make laws. constituents, interest groups, the executive branch, or the legislature’s political leadership. • It is often not done the way that one would expect. • In most legislatures, the real law-making work goes on in committees. • Many think that members spend the majority of their time debating. • Committees and sometimes subcommittees are used to do research on, hold hearings on, • The reality is quite different; relatively debate, write, and amend bills. little time is spent on floor debate. • Committees are also used to whittle down • There are a number of other activities the number of bills that get introduced in the that consume representatives’ time, parliament or congress during any given e.g., giving speeches, helping session, to write the precise, legally- constituents, meeting with leaders, effective wording of the laws, and to allow going to committee meetings, members to specialize in specific areas of fundraising, etc. policy. 2 Representing Districts or Proportional Representation • There are two major methods for how seats are divided in a legislature: – geographic representation – proportional representation • With geographic representation, the legislature is divided according to districts with each legislator representing a particular region. • A legislature with two houses is called a bicameral legislature, while a • People can specifically identify their legislature with one house is referred to as a unicameral legislature. representative and they know who to contact with their opinions. • Bicameral legislatures can make it more difficult to get things done. • Bicameral legislatures can provide representation for different segments of society. Districts or Proportional Representation Districts or Proportional Representation • Under proportional representation (PR), people do not vote for a person. • They vote for the political party with which they most agree. • Each political party submits a list of names prior to the election. • A party will get roughly the same proportion of seats in parliament as the proportion of the votes it received in the • With geographic representation, representatives must maintain contact with election. the voters who will decide whether they return to the legislature. • Proportional representation promotes • Only the candidate who garners a plurality can win in the most frequently ideological representation. used first-past-the-post system. • Rather than represent an area, legislators represent people's beliefs. • This system favors moderate political parties that can create coalitions to • Because people have diverse ideas, gain sizeable amounts of voters. proportional representation tends to produce • The result is usually a two-party system. multi-party systems. • Two-party systems tend to provide greater stability to governments. • Some countries try to combine the benefits of both systems. Delegate or Trustee Checking • Individual representatives have different views of their relationship with their constituents. • A delegate is a representative who attempts to do exactly what her constituents want.
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