Democratic Political Systems

1. Democratic Political Systems

2. Separation of powers • Mentioned briefly in Lecture One • Central concept in most democracies, especially those created with a formal constitution after a revolution • First propounded by Charles-Louis de Secondat, Baron de la Brède et de Montesquieu (1689-1755) in L' Esprit des Lois (1748) [Spirit of the Laws] • Political authority should be divided into legislative, executive, and judicial powers • For liberty to be promoted, these three powers must be confided to different individuals or bodies, acting independently

3. Unitary States • Sovereign power is vested in a single, national institution – usually parliament • Peripheral and local govt exists at the pleasure of the centre • In practice the centre-periphery relations need not be one-way • Since Napoleon, France was highly centralised via centrally appointed prefects, but in mid-1980s became decentralised, locally elected presidents • UK, traditionally decentralised – local authorities had discretion within the law, but more central control since 1980s

4. Devolution • Decentralisation of power within a still unitary state • Spain, especially since death of Franco & creation of 17 autonomous communities in 1979 • France since 1980s noted above • UK, Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly, with different powers • Asymmetrical nature of UK devolution – the West Lothian question – perhaps pressures for federalism • Analogous situation in Czechoslovakia both between wars and for most of the socialist period

5. Federalism • Sharing of sovereignty between central and peripheral institutions • USA, Brazil, Pakistan, Australia, Mexico, Switzerland, Nigeria, Malaysia, Canada • Often formed by the coming together of established political communities – eg US 1789, Germany 1871 – in order to have greater political weight • Also consequence of size – Canada, Brazil etc • Also response to ethnic heterogeneity – Canada, India, Nigeria

6. Two Party Systems • Two major parties that have roughly equal prospect of winning power • Other minor parties may exist • But the winning party is strong enough to rule alone • Power alternates between the two main parties • UK and US, also Canada, Australia and NZ • Strong but accountable govts • But emphasis on conflict rather than consensus

7. Multi-party Systems • Usually associated with proportional representation • Coalition government • Germany two-and-a-half party system • Italy, more, smaller parties • Checks and balances within coalition – FDU a moderating influence in Germany • Horse-trading, time to form govt, disproportionate power of party that holds balance of power – FDU in Germany • Can be unstable – Italy, average govt post 1945 is 10 months

8. Common Features • Two relatively autonomous levels of govt – specific fields of jurisdiction vary • Written constitution in which levels of autonomy are guaranteed • Constitutional arbiter – some sort of supreme court to adjudicate changes to levels of responsibility • Linking institutions – usually bicameral legislature in which peripheral units have a voice

9. Modern social democracy • In 1959, the SPD, in the so-called “Bad Godesberg Resolution,” discarded nationalization of industry in favour of gradualist reform, and appeals to class warfare were abandoned. The party broadened its base to attract increasingly greater segments of the middle class • In 1995 Tony Blair dropped the Labour Party’s commitment to ‘Clause Four’ which called for the socialisation of production (see next slide)

10. Clause Four Old and New • "To secure for the workers by hand or by brain the full fruits of their industry and the most equitable distribution thereof that may be possible upon the basis of the common ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange, and the best obtainable system of popular administration and control of each industry or service." • "The Labour Party is a democratic socialist party. It believes that by the strength of our common endeavour we achieve more than we achieve alone, so as to create for each of us the means to realise our true potential and for all of us a community in which power, wealth and opportunity are in the hands of the many, not the few. Where the rights we enjoy reflect the duties we owe. And where we live together, freely, in a spirit of solidarity, tolerance and respect."

11. Elements of Conservatism • Tradition: respect for customs and institutions that have endured • Pragmatism: limitations of human reason, distrust abstract ideas, faith in experience and ‘what works’ • Belief in human imperfection, need for stable communities, a strong state and strict laws • Organicism; Hierarchy; and Authority • Property: security and independence from govt

12. Paternalistic Conservatism • Benjamin Disraeli’s warning about the ‘two nations: the Rich and the Poor’ • ‘Reform from above’ preferable to ‘Revolution from below’ • ‘One-nation Toryism’ – organic balance in a cohesive and stable hierarchy, rather than social equality • Similar ideas amongst Christian Democratic parties • Blend of market competition and govt regulation – ‘private enterprise without selfishness’

13. Neo-Conservatism • Reasserts C19th primacy of authority and traditional values, particularly those of family, religion and nation • Focus on authority and discipline rather than permissiveness and progressive social policies • Tend to be critical of multi-cultural and multi-religious societies, seeing them as inherently conflict-ridden and unstable • Tends to be associated with nationalism and scepticism concerning supranational bodies such as EU or UN

14. Liberalism • Ideology of the industrialised West • Product of the breakdown of feudalism and the rise of market of capitalist society • Attacked absolutism and feudal privilege • Advocated constitutional and (later) representative govt • By early C19 supported laissez-faire capitalism and condemned all forms of govt intervention

15. Elements of Liberalism • Individualism – humans seen as individuals of equal moral worth • Freedom – individual freedom given priority over equality, justice or authority, consistent with like liberty for all • Reason – world can be uncovered by human reason and critical enquiry; related faith in progress • Equality – before the law, in politics, in life-chances, but not life-outcomes • Toleration, consent and constitutionalism

16. Social or Welfare Liberalism • State intervention in field of welfare can enlarge liberty by safeguarding individuals from social evils. • e.g. Beveridge’s 5 evils: want, ignorance, idleness, squalor and disease • Equivalent faith in managed capitalism and state’s role in regulating markets

17. Pluralist state • Liberals (and to a large extent conservatives) see the state as an umpire or referee • In the thought of Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau, it is brought into being on the basis of a ‘social contract’ to either (Hobbes) fend off the brutality of the state of nature, or (Locke) to defend certain natural (God-given) rights • Neo-pluralists (Dahl, Lindblom, Galbraith) accept that business enjoys a privileged position amongst other competing interests, and indeed can have its own interests

18. Neo-liberalism • Free-market economists such as Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman; philosophers such as Robert Nozick • Back to basics; reject the concessions to the state of the previous era • ‘Roll back the frontiers of the state • Unregulated capitalism alone suffices to deliver widespread prosperity • cf Thatcher: ‘there is no such thing as society, only individuals and their families’

19. UK : Unitary 2-Party System • UK - constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary democracy • Head of state is reigning king or queen • Head of government is prime minister, who is leader of majority political party in House of Commons • Constitution is uncodified; basic sources are parliamentary and European Union legislation, the European Convention on Human Rights, and decisions by courts of law – ‘precedent’.

20. UK • There is no formal ‘separation of powers’ • Lord Chancellor is member of all three branches – sits in cabinet (executive branch), is government's leader in House of Lords (legislative branch), and is head of judiciary (judicial branch) • Sovereignty resides in Parliament • This comprises the monarch, the mainly appointed (but still partly hereditary) House of Lords, and the elected House of Commons • Each MP (659 in all) represents an individual constituency by virtue of winning a plurality of votes in the constituency

21. UK • Royal right of veto has not been exercised since early C18 • Legislative power of House of Lords reduced in 1911 to right to delay legislation • Cabinet plans all important bills but its continuation in office depends on support of House of Commons • Govts with big majorities can result in ‘elected dictatorship’ • Parls elected for max of 5 years, but PM decides when to call election

22. UK 2 Party system • Simple plurality voting in single-member constituencies exaggerates majority of winning party and diminishes representation and influence of third parties • Tends to produce strong governments • From late C17 to 1920s the two parties were Whigs (liberals) and Tories (conservatives) • Since 1920s, Conservative Party and Labour Party • Other parties are Liberal Democrats, Scottish and Welsh Nationalists • Proportional representation is used for regional assemblies in Scotland and Wales

23. US 2 Party Federal System • US Constitution defines a federal system of government in which certain powers are delegated to national government and others are reserved to states • Separation of powers between executive, legislative and judicial branches • Formal constitution (ratified in 1788) which has been amended 27 times • First 10 (adopted 1791) known as Bill of Rights – they establish freedom of speech, press, religion and criminally accused • Amending constitution requires 2/3 of vote of both houses and ratification by ¾ of state legislatures

24. US Executive • Executive headed by president, who must be a natural-born citizen of US, at least 35 years old, and a resident of the country for at least 14 years • Formal constitutional responsibilities of president include serving as commander in chief of armed forces; negotiating treaties; appointing federal judges, ambassadors, and cabinet officials; and acting as head of state • In practice, presidential powers have expanded to include drafting legislation, formulating foreign policy, conducting personal diplomacy, and leading the president's political party

25. US Legislative • Legislative branch is Congress, which has two houses: Senate and House of Representatives • Congress may levy taxes, borrow money, regulate interstate commerce, impeach and convict the president, declare war, discipline its own membership, and determine its rules of procedure • House of Representatives is chosen by direct vote in single-member districts in each state • Number of representatives allotted to each state is based on its population as determined by a decennial census • Membership has been 435 since the 1910s

26. US Congress cont’d & Senate • Members must be residents of the states from which they are elected, and previously citizens of US for at least 7 years • Members serve two-year terms • Second house is the Senate • Each state elects two senators • They must be at least 30 years old, residents of the state from which they are elected, and previously citizens of the United States for at least nine years • They serve six-year terms, which are arranged so that one-third of the Senate is elected every two years

27. US Senate powers • Debate is almost unlimited and may be used to delay a vote on a bill indefinitely –the ‘filibuster’, which can be ended by 3/5 of Senate through a procedure called cloture • Treaties negotiated by president with other governments must be ratified by a 2/3 vote of Senate • Senate also has power to confirm or reject presidentially appointed federal judges, ambassadors, and cabinet officials

28. US Judicial • Judicial branch is headed by the Supreme Court of US • Supreme Court interprets the Constitution and federal legislation • It consists of nine justices (including a chief justice) appointed for life terms by the president with consent of Senate • Because the members are appointed by the president, they are not entirely independent of the executive • In 1930s the Republican-dominated court was criticized for overturning much of New Deal legislation of Democratic Party President Franklin D. Roosevelt

29. US state governments • Governments of the 50 states have structures closely paralleling those of federal government • Each has a governor (president), a legislature, and a judiciary, including a supreme court • Each also has its own constitution • All state legislatures are bicameral except Nebraska's, which is unicameral • State governments deal with agriculture and conservation, highway and motor vehicles, public safety and corrections, professional licensing, regulation of intrastate business and industry, and certain aspects of education, public health, and welfare

30. US Political Parties • Major parties are Democratic Party and Republican Party • Although these parties contest presidential elections every four years, between elections they are often little more than loose alliances of state and local party organizations • As in UK, the individual constituency system favours a 2-party structure • Smaller parties also find it difficult to qualify for the ballot in all states in presidential elections

31. US ‘getting on the ballot’ • Each state writes its own ballot access laws, even for federal office. • There is no single standard, so the public and media are generally ignorant of them • Georgia in 1943 required new party and independent candidates to submit a petition signed by 5% of registered voters in order to get on the ballot for any office • Florida - a third party or independent candidate for any statewide office (other than US president) needs 196,255 valid signatures and, as of 2005, a filing fee of 7% of the annual salary of the office, unless the candidate is a pauper • Arkansas, West Virginia, Minnesota and Maryland require new parties to submit a petition signed by a proportion of voters, circumscribed by restrictive conditions on when and how it is collected or made public

32. US electoral college • President and vice-president elected via the ‘electoral college’ • Voters choose electors committed to support a particular candidate in a vote of the college • Each state is allotted one electoral vote for each of its senators and representatives in Congress • Presidents can thus be elected despite not winning the popular vote • George W. Bush in 2000

33. Germany • Constitution is Grundgesetz (Basic Law) of 23 May, 1949 originally granted to the occupied zones of UK, US and Germany • Originally 11 states (Länder) and West Berlin • Full sovereignty of West Germany achieved only on 5 May, 1955 • As a condition for unification on 3 Oct 1990, East Germany was required to reconstitute the five historical states of Brandenburg, Mecklenburg–West Pomerania, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia

34. Germany • On unification too, Berlin was no longer technically occupied territory with ultimate authority vested in military governors • Germany’s federal system, partly in reaction to centralisation associated with Nazism, gives states considerable autonomy • Federal Constitutional Court is independent and can void laws by declaring them unconstitutional

35. Germany: the president • Head of state is president • President is elected for 5 years by specially convened assembly and is intended to be an elder statesman of stature • He signs all federal legislation and treaties, nominates the federal chancellor and the chancellor's cabinet appointments, whom he may dismiss upon the chancellor's recommendation • He cannot dismiss the federal chancellor, the Bundestag (the lower chamber of the federal parliament ) or the government

36. Germany: the Chancellor • Chancellor is head of govt, elected by a majority vote of Bundestag upon nomination by president • Responsible for initiating government policy • Can be deposed only by an absolute majority of the Bundestag and only after a majority has been assured for the election of a successor - “constructive vote of no confidence” • Used only once to remove a chancellor from office - in 1982 Helmut Schmidt replaced by Helmut Kohl • Cabinet may not be dismissed by a vote of no confidence by the Bundestag

37. Parliament • Bundestag consists of some 600 members (the precise number of members varies depending on election results) • Legislation originates in Bundestag • Upper House, Bundesrat, has 69 members and represents the interests of Land govts – must vote as instructed by Land govts • Consent of Bundesrat necessary only on certain matters directly affecting the interests of the states, especially in the area of finance and administration and for legislation in which questions of the Basic Law are involved

38. Parl cont’d • It can also delay legislation by rejecting it • 2/3 of both chambers required to amend Basic Law • Foreign affairs, defence, post and telecommunications, customs, international trade, and matters affecting citizenship reserved for federal parl • Landtage (state chambers) otherwise are free to act in areas in which they are not expressly restrained by the Basic Law

39. Germany Political System • Bundestag elections held every 4 years • Mixture of proportional representation and individual constituencies • Half of members represent single-seat constituencies • Half elected through proportional representation • Two rounds of election • Round one: constituency representatives, winner of plurality is elected • Round two: vote for parties at regional level – 5% threshold to secure representation

40. Bundesrat in Political System • Bundesrat members are appointed by Land governments • Each Land receives 3-6 members depending on its population • Land and local elections are also held on 4-year cycles, but take place at different times throughout the life of a given Bundestag

41. German Parties • 2 major parties: Christlich-Demokratische Union (CDU) and Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands (SPD) • But neither can easily get parliamentary majority, therefore coalition governments are the norm • 4 smaller but important parties: Christlich-Soziale Union (CSU), the Bavarian sister party of the CDU; Free Democratic Party (FDP); Bündnis '90/Die Grünen, formed in 1993 by merger of ecologist Green Party and East German Alliance '90 ; Partei des Demokratischen Sozialismus (PDS), successor of East German governing party

42. German Coalitions • Before unification, the FDP effectively held the balance of power and was the coalition partner of either the SPD or a CDU/CSU government • The pro-peasant policies of the CSU were also disproportionately influential because of the CDU’s need for CSU support • Since unification the SPD, when in power, has formed coalition with the Greens • Occasionally, as now, the SPD was obliged to go into a grand coalition with the CDU