sign in sign up
<<
Home , Head of government, Legislator

Institutions

• The U.S. provides a perfect example of how we have built up an Introduction to 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 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 . • 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 . – 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 , 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 in our conceptualization of a is a perfect example. • Legislative institutions in non- democratic countries do not represent the public’s interests the same way as . They still serve valuable • Do you prefer a or a ? 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. , even if scripted, offer explanations to the public for why • 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 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 , 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 ’ 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.” – until a simple majority of MPs votes them out.

Yes, • 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 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, 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 -making work goes on in . • 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 meetings, members to specialize in specific areas of fundraising, etc. .

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 . • 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.

• Delegates believe that they should vote the way that their constituents want them to on • The checking function involves the degree to which different every piece of legislation. institutions in a government have a responsibility to watch over the rest of government to make sure it is performing correctly. • In reality, most legislators are politicos. • This function is also called oversight. • Legislatures use many means to carry out this function, including: • Depending on the situation, they sometimes – investigative hearings act like delegates and they sometimes act like – shadow governments trustees. – Question Hour

3 Legitimating Educating • Legislatures and their members also • The more people believe that parliaments educate the general citizenry. answer to them and that their parliament is truly representative, the more easily they can perform a legitimating function. • This process is often facilitated by the media. • People are more likely to feel that there has been some consideration of their view. • Legislatures use committee hearings, open debate, and television • Even if they disagree with the ultimate appearances to educate the public. decision, they can still believe that the policy was put into place after their perspective was heard. • Members with geographic constituencies often keep their districts • People are more apt to believe that they informed of important events and should follow the law, that is that the law important pieces of legislation. is legitimate, if the legislature supports it. • Legislatures can also initiate important national discussions on issues.

Executives

• The role as head of state involves serving as the national symbol, the personification of the country and its people. • Heads of state can take different forms in different countries. • The head of state can be a , an elected president, or the person with the most troops . • In some countries the head of state will be a king or queen or even the king or queen of another country altogether. • In a presidential system it is very easy to identify the chief executive. • In parliamentary systems that lack a • The U.S. president plays two roles, head of state and head of government, a monarch, there is usually an elected ceremonial and a functional role. president. • In many, if not most, other democracies, however, these two fundamental • These presidents can be either elected roles of the executive are split up and spread around. directly or they might be chosen by the parliament for the position.

Head of State Head of Government

• If the head of state is the public face we see on advertisements, the head of government is the manager that actually handles the day-to-day work.

• In parliamentary democracies the head of government is usually the prime minister.

• The prime minister is responsible for, among other • Not all heads of state are created equal. things: • Dictators and strong monarchs may be heads of state with weak or powerless legislatures. – getting bills passed through the parliament • Less powerful monarchs (like those in Western Europe) are mere – overseeing the running of the working within constitutional , where the parliament has all of the real political power. – dealing with disasters • Among presidents in parliamentary systems, there is a great deal of variety in – commanding the military the amount of power wielded depending on the nation’s political structure. – Holding adorable kittens (Canadian PM only)

4 Head of Government Head of Government

• It is technically true that the prime minister is • Prime ministers can only stay prime nothing more than the . ministers as long as they maintains the support of a majority in the parliament. • Parliamentary governments are actually made up of many ministers that form the . • One becomes the prime minister by being the head of the party that wins a • Other ministers may include the foreign majority of seats in parliamentary minister, treasury minister, defense minister, . etc. • If no party wins a clear majority, the •In an effort to form a government a potent ial head of state usually asks the head of minister may offer other parties a chance to the party that that won the most seats to have one of their members serve as a minister try to form a a coalition with one or in exchange for joining and supporting the more of the other parties that won seats. overall coalition. • A potential prime minister must try and • Once a majority coalition is constructed, make some deals to bring a coalition however, the new prime minister also has a together that includes more than half of governing coalition, which is expected to pass the members of parliament. laws.

Head of Government Head of Government • Heads of government oversee much of the government’s bureaucracy, make sure that • One advantage of executives in most government services are provided, and presidential systems is that they are both the implement and enforce laws. head of government and the head of state. • The chief executive is also expected to make • That puts a lot of political power in the certain that laws get passed through the hands of one individual. legislature. • The executives in presidential systems are • Prime ministers formulate a legislative agenda usually selected directly by the people, and attempt to shepherd that agenda through the although there can be variations. parliament. • In most democracies, the chief executive is • Presidents have a more difficult time because of the civilian head of the military. the separation of powers. • These executives are also usually • In most democracies, people expect the chief responsible for foreign relations. executive to effectively manage the nation's economy. • Chief executives are also the heads of their parties; they have purely political roles.

The Bureaucracy Do We Really Want ?

• The word bureaucracy is derived from the French word for desk. • Its adoption as a political term reflects the idea that it is the position within the administrative political structure, not the person behind it, that defines the role or function to be performed. • In other words, the role was defined separate from the person performing it. • Bureaucracies serve many functions; they regulate, license, procure, distribute, observe, preserve, encourage, police, study, and manage. •No. • In the United States, the Postal Service (USPS) delivers the mail, the Internal • But, bureaucracies are indispensable. Revenue Service (IRS) gathers revenue, the National Science Foundation (NSF) funds research proposals, the Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) • Bureaucracies take on functions that would waste the time and effort of police the borders, etc.. elected and unelected leaders. • The simple truth is that the vast majority of what governments do is done by • Bureaucracies do pretty much everything that actually gets done by bureaucracies. This is true regardless of the form government takes (democracy, government. , , or whatever).

5 The Ideals of Bureaucratic Governance The Ideals of Bureaucratic Governance

• The German sociologist Max Weber (1864– 1920) recognized that modern nation-states – Hierarchy: bureaucracies are needed professional bureaucracies. strictly hierarchical, each • He argued that the ideal bureaucracy should be person should have only one efficient and rational. immediate supervisor, and • It should function like a machine, with each of each supervisor should have its parts playing a well-defined role. only a limited number of • Weber argued that there were a few critical subordinates. elements for achieving this ideal: – Clear assignment of roles: In order to fit – Professionals: Most Peter: And here's something else, Bob I have eight together and function in unison, each of the importantly, the selection of different bosses right now. parts in the bureaucratic machine must know Bob: I beg your pardon? both what it is supposed to do and how it fits persons to fill roles within the Peter: Eight bosses. within the larger organization. bureaucracy, must be done on Bob: Eight? “Only he has the calling for – Rules, Rules, Rules, and More Rules: For the basis of merit. Peter: Eight, Bob. So that means that when I make a politics who is sure that he will not mistake, I have eight different people coming by to tell crumble when the world from his both efficiency and fairness, decisions and me about it. That's my only real motivation is not to be point of view is too stupid or base choices made by bureaucrats need to be hassled, that and the fear of losing my job. But you know, for what he wants to offer.” – Max impersonal and consistent. Bob, that will only make someone work just hard enough Weber not to get fired.

Policymaking versus Administration Policymaking versus Administration

• Woodrow Wilson wrote an essay • As bureaucracies grew in size and declaring that there should be a strict number, there has been constant concern dichotomy between politics and that they might assume the roles meant administration. for elected officials. • Frank Goodnow picked up this theme and •Peoppyle feared that they would move from argued that there should be a sharp implementing laws to actually making the distinction between the political branches laws. making the laws and the bureaucracy implementing them. • This would be particularly disturbing because they were not designed to be “I bet I can eat that entire • In reality completely severing politics responsive to the people. burrito.” – President from administration would be a disaster The only thing that saves us from the Woodrow Wilson bureaucracy is inefficiency. – Sen. Eugene for democracy. McCarthy (D-MN)

Bureaucratic Roles Conclusion • Bureaucracies are involved in service, regulation, implementation, and policymaking. • Governments provide many services; they run hospitals, carry out welfare programs, run public schools, operate parks, etc. • Administrative agencies also regulate; The FBI regulates personal behavior, the Food and Drug Administration regulates medic ine, the Secur ities and E xch ange Commission tries to regulate Wall Street, etc. • Agencies are also primarily responsible for implementation; they make sure that Questions? Concerns? Angry Rants? the laws that legislatures pass get put into place. • The bureaucracy is also responsible for making ; legislatures often pass laws that are general, and they will leave the specifics to the expertise of bureaucracies.

6