Systems of government in the English speaking world

Otázka: Systems of government in the English speaking world

Jazyk: Angličtina

Přidal(a): Veronika S.

Democracy

=a form of government in which the people have the authority to choose their governing legislation/ the rule of majority, fundamental principles formulated in a constitution
two types of democracy:
- representative democracy
  - people elect representatives who make decisions
  - parliamentary democracy (UK)
  - presidential democracy (US)
- direct democracy (Switzerland)
  - referendums are held on virtually anything – people directly decide about the public matters

Division of power – checks and balances

the political power is separated into 3 branches, the system is set to prevent any of the branches from usurping too much power (part of the US Constitution):
- legislative power – makes laws (can impeach the president or judges)
- executive power – executes and enforces the law (can veto legislation and nominate judges)
- judicial power – interprets and applies the laws (can declare laws or presidential acts as unconstitutional)

Elections

elections in the UK
- held on Thursday
- House of Commons – elections held every 5 years
- the candidate who received the most votes in a particular area (each constituency has the same population) – becomes the MP (Member of Parliament)
- voting age=18 years, voter turnout typically not over 80%
- parties:
  - the two main rivals in the elections – the Conservative Party (right-wing,; currently holds the majority of the seats) + the Labour Party (left-wing)
  - (+ the Scottish National Party + the Liberal Democratic Party – other two parties that are considerably represented in the House of Commons)
elections in the US
- held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November
- presidential – held every 4 years; Senate – every 6 years; House of Repr. – every 2 years
- voting age=18 years, voter turnout typically not over 80%
- parties:
  - the Republican Party (right-wing) + the Democratic Party (left-wing) (other parties virtually nonexistent)

Parliamentary vs. presidential systems

The United Kingdom – parliamentary democracy + constitutional monarchy
- division of powers:
  - legislative – Parliament (resides in the Palace of Westminster)
    - House of Lords – the upper house
      - not elected, the number of members not fixed, debates laws (minimal influence today – cannot reject laws passed by the MPs)
      - (has undergone important changes recently – the number of hereditary peers was reduced; the rest are life peers – nominated by the Queen – they hold their position but cannot pass the title down to their children)
    - House of Commons – the lower house
      - elected, 650 MPs, makes laws + controls government’s finances
      - (the job of MP was unpaid until the 20th century so only rich people could afford it)
  - executive – British government (=cabinet) + the monarch
    - prime minister = the leader of the government, lives at 10 Downing Street
    - monarch = head of the state + commander-in-chief of the armed forces + head of the church of England + head of the Commonwealth x mostly a representative role – she has no real political power, resides in the Buckingham Palace
  - judicial – the Supreme Court
Ireland, Canada, Australia – parliamentary democracies
- Ireland – head of the state = president
- Canada+Australia – head of the state = the British monarch – has no political power
The United States – presidential democracy + federal republic
- division of powers:
  - each of the 50 states has a significant degree of autonomy (their own government + independent legislation in some matters x every state has to abide by the Constitution (adopted in 1788 + various amendments were added over the years, the document guarantees freedom of religion, speech, press, peaceful assembly etc.) + cannot leave the union at any circumstances)
  - legislative – US Congress (resides in the US Capitol)
    - Senate – the upper house
      - 100 members (2 for each state), advisors of the president + makes laws
    - House of Representatives – the lower house
      - 435 members (elected by total number of votes), makes laws (both houses have to agree on a law for it to pass to the president for signature)
  - executive – president (resides in the White House)
    - president = head of the state + leader of the government + commander-in-chief of the armed forces – highly influential, can serve a maximum of two four-year terms
  - judicial – the Supreme Court