Core Issues in Comparative Politics (PO233) Module Director: Dr. Renske Doorenspleet Associate Professor in Comparative Politics director Centre for Studies in Democratization Department of Politics and International Studies University of Warwick, UK

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Core Issues in Comparative Politics(PO233)Modul
e Director Dr. Renske DoorenspleetAssociate
Professor in Comparative Politicsdirector Centre
for Studies in DemocratizationDepartment of
Politics and International StudiesUniversity of
Warwick, UK

• www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/pais/staff/doorenspleet
  /
• www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/pais/research/csd/
• e-mail renske.doorenspleet_at_warwick.ac.uk

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Types of Democracies

• Consensus versus Majoritarian Systems
• (Lijphart 1999, see also week 11)
• Executive-parties dimension (how easy is it for
  one party to take control of the government?)
• concentration of executive power (week 14)
• dominance of executive (week 14)
• two-party vs. multiparty system (week 12)
• majoritarian electoral rules vs. PR (week 13)
• types of interest groups
• Federal-unitary dimension

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Content Lecture week 14

• Legislatures and Executives
• Legislatures (read Kreppel 2008 Hague and Harrop
  2007, Ch. 15)
• The political executive parliamentary versus
  presidential systems (Hague and Harrop 2007, Ch.
  16!)
• C. Back to Lijphart (read literature week 11)
• D. Contents of seminar week 15

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A. Legislatures
Legislature versus Assembly Within
legislatures Parliaments (in parliamentary or
fused-power systems) versus Congresses (in
presidential or separation-of-power systems)
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A. Legislatures
parliamentary versus presidential systems
differences in type of relationship between
executive and legislative. Parliamentary systems
are characterized by - An executive branch
selected from within and by the legislature - An
executive branch which can be removed from office
at any time - A high degree of mutual dependence
between executive and legislature Examples UK,
Germany, the Netherlands, etc. See Kreppel
2008 Hague and Harrop 2007 336 (Figure 16.2)
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A. Legislatures
Parliamentary systems UK
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A. Legislatures
parliamentary versus presidential systems
differences in type of relationship between
executive and legislative. Presidential systems
are characterized by - An independent selection
of executive branch and legislature - The
absence of the ability to dissolve or remove the
other from office (with the exception of
incapacity or serious legal wrong-doing) Examples
USA, many new democracies in Latin America and
Africa See Kreppel 2008 Hague and Harrop 2007
330 (Figure 16.1)
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A. Legislatures
Presidential systems USA (Congress Senate
House of Representatives) (US Senate, see below)
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A. Legislatures
The activities of legislatures can be put into
the following categories 1) Linkage and
representation 2) Oversight and control 3)
Policy-making Not the categories, but their
importance differs between legislatures!
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A. Legislatures

• Ad 1) Linkage and representation
• Linkage of citizens to government, more
  effective
• - In single-member constituencies
• - When the executive is indirectly elected (i.e.
  in parliamentary systems)
• Representation
• Debating

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A. Legislatures

• Ad 2) Oversight and control
• Control of the executive branch
• Budget control
• Oversight over budgetary implications, timely
  and accurate implementation
• Oversight instruments
• - Question-time
• - Hearings / special inquiries
• - Investigative committees
• - Reports on special issues

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A. Legislatures

• Ad 3) Policy-making legislature as legislator
• different ways
• - Consultation
• - Delay
• - Veto
• - Amendment
• - Initiation

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B. parl. versus pres. systems
parliamentary versus presidential systems see
slides 5 - 8, UK versus USA parliamentary versus
presidential systems differences in type of
relationship between executive and
legislative. But in some parliamentary systems
also presidents (Austria, Germany, India) ? still
parliamentary systems! See Hague and Harrop
2007 344 (box 16.7) And existence of
semi-presidential systems (France, Finland, some
former French colonies (see for more
information Hague and Harrop 2007 344- 348)

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B. parl. versus pres. systems

• Advantages presidential systems (cf Hague and
  Harrop 2007 335)
• Stability in executive
• Popular election
• Independence legislature
• Separation of powers
• National view

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B. parl. versus pres. systems

• Disadvantages presidential systems (Hague
  Harrop 2007 335)
• Danger of deadlock
• Fixed terms of office ? rigid
• Waste of experience
• Winner takes all
• Public appeal is key
• Concentration of power, dependent on one person,
  unrealistic expectations
• Less chance of consolidation democracy, likely
  that presidents becomes a dictator

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B. parl. versus pres. systems
Disadvantages presidential systems
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B. parl. versus pres. systems
Disadvantages presidential systems
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B. parl. versus pres. systems
Disadvantages presidential systems
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C. Back to Lijphart

• Lijpharts executive-parties dimension
• (how easy is it for one party to take control of
  the government?)
• 1st and 2nd element legislatures and executive
  power
• (see also second dimension of federalist-unitary
  systems)
• Lijphart Parliamentary systems perform best
• Country performs better, when executive has not
  too much power and is not too dominant compared
  to legislature.
• Problem of dichotomy, again!
• There is no a priori best-type of legislature
  (but differences in Efficiency,
  Representativeness, Quality of policy outputs)

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D. Contents of Seminar week 15

• Homework seminar week 15
• Read the required literature of week 14
• Choose your country (see seminar week 13)
• and discover the strengths and weaknesses of
  Lijpharts ideas.
• Write a report and prepare a presentation (around
  5 minutes)
• (see handout!)