UNIT 2 – THE SYSTEMS OF GOVERNMENT

THE UNITED KINGDOM

The Government of the United Kingdom, formally referred to as Her Majesty's Government, is the central
government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It is also commonly referred to as
simply the UK Government or the British Government.

Britain is a constitutional monarchy. That is, it is a country governed by a king or queen who accepts the
advice of parliament. It is also a parliamentary democracy. That is, it is a country whose government is
controlled by a parliament elected by the people. In other words, the basic system is not so different from any
other democratic country.

However, there are features of the British system of government which make it different from other countries
and which are not considered “modern”.

Mostly notably, Britain is almost alone among

modern states in that it does not have a
“constitution”. Of course, there are rules,
regulations, principles and procedures for the
running of the country –all the things which
are known collectively as “the constitution”.
But there is no single written document.

The principles and procedures by which the country is governed and from which people’s rights are derived
come from a number of sources. They have been built up, bit by bit, over the centuries.

Some of them are written down in laws agreed by Parliament

Some have been spoken and then written down (judgements made in a
court)
Some have never been written down at all

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For example, there is no written law in Britain that says anything about who can be the Prime Minister or what
the powers of the Prime Minister are. Instead, these things have been established, and are constantly being
modified by custom and practice. Similarly, there is no single written document which asserts people’s rights.

Disadvantages Advantages

 Not a sufficient safeguard of democratic and
individual rights
 No constitutional protection at all either for the
nation as a whole or for individuals
 An elected government could become a
menace to liberties and can become a dictatorship
 The British are respectful of their
traditions
 They are against substantial changes.
 The “let sleeping dogs lie” policy.

 WATCH: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xhcm4URR2dA

 FIND OUT: What is “Balmoral”?

What is the importance of Windsor Castle?

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The appearance

The position of the monarch in Britain illustrates the contradictory nature of the constitution. From the evidence
of written law only, the Queen has almost absolute power, and it all seems very undemocratic. The
American constitution talks about “government for the people and by the people”. There is nothing in Britain like
that. In fact, there is no legal concept of “the people” at all.

Every autumn, at the state opening of Parliament, Queen Elizabeth II makes a speech. In it, she says what “my
government” intends to do in the coming year. And it is her government, not the people’s. Ss far as the law is
concerned, she can choose anybody she likes to run the government for her. There are no restrictions on who
she picks as her Prime Minister. The same is true for her choices of people to fill some hundred or so other
ministerial positions. And if she gets fed up with her ministers, she can just dismiss them. Officially speaking,
they are all “servants of the Crown” (not of the country or the people). She also appears to have great power
over Parliament. It is she who summons a parliament, and she who dissolves it (i.e. tell it that it no longer
exists). In addition, nothing that Parliament has decided can become law until she has given it the royal assent.

Similarly, it is the Queen who embodies the law in the courts. When someone is accused of a crime, the court
records will show that “the Crown” has accused this person. And when an accused person is found guilty, he or
she is sent to one of “Her Majesty’s” prisons.

The reality

In practice, of course, the reality is very different. In fact, the Queen cannot just choose anyone to be Prime
Minister. There are elections. Similarly, it is really the Prime Minister who decides who the other government
ministers are going to be. It is the same story with Parliament; the Queen can, but does not dissolve Parliament
or refuse the royal assent to a bill passed by Parliament.

In reality, the Queen has almost no power at all. When she opens Parliament each year, the speech she makes
has been written for her. She makes no secret of this fact. She very obviously reads out the script that has been
prepared for her, word for word.

The Monarch reigns but doesn’t rule

 READ: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-23272491

THE GOVERNMENT:
THE PRIME MINISTER
10 Downing Street,
The official residence of the
British Prime Minister

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The position of a British Prime Minister (PM) is in direct contrast to that of the monarch. While the Queen
appears to have a lot of power but in reality has very little, the PM appears not to have much power but in reality
has a very great deal. The Queen is, in practice, obliged to give the job of PM to the person who can command
a majority in the House of Commons. This normally means the leader of the party with the largest number of
MPs (Members of Parliament).

The traditional phrase describes the position of the PM within the cabinet as primus inter pares (Latin for “first
among equals). But in fact the other ministers are not nearly as powerful. There are several reasons for this.
First, the monarch’s powers of patronage (the power to appoint people to all kinds of jobs and to confer honours
on people) are, by convention, actually the PM’s powers of patronage. The fiction is that the Queen appoints
people to government jobs “on the advice of the Prime Minister”. But what actually happens is that the PM
simply decides.

THE GOVERNMENT:
THE CABINET

Whitehall,
Cabinet Office

The leading politicians in the governing party usually become members of the cabinet.

Once a week, the cabinet meets and takes decisions about new policies, the implementation of existing policies
and the running of the various government departments. Because all government members must be seen to
agree, exactly who says what at these meetings is a closely guarded secret. The reports of the meetings, which
are circulated to government departments, summarize the topics discussed and the decisions taken but they
never refer to individuals.

Local government
In countries that are federal, the states or provinces have their own governments with their own powers to make
laws and collect taxes. In these countries, the central government has powers only because the
states/provinces have given it powers. In Britain, it is the other way around. Local government authorities
(generally known as “councils”) only have powers because the central government has given them powers.
Several times in the last 100 years, British governments have reorganized local government, abolishing some
councils and bringing new ones into existence (mainly based on population).

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Parliament
Westminster Palace

Nicknamed the "Mother of Parliaments", the British parliament is respected as the most ancient parliament in
today's world. Apart from a few brief interruptions, it has carried out its business on the same spot, called the
Palace of Westminster, since the year 1265.

The British Parliament is a bicameral parliament, that is to say that it is made up of two chambers, or two
"Houses": The House of Commons and the House of Lords.

THE HOUSE OF LORDS

This is the "Upper House" of the British Parliament. It consists of about 750 members (a variable number) most
of whom are Life Peers (i.e. not hereditary lords), or people who have been ennobled for services rendered to
the nation. These Life Peers are mostly former members of the House of Commons, or former senior officials,
judges, or former business leaders or trade union leaders: each government and opposition party has the right,
each year, to propose new Life peers.

The other members of the House of Lords are 96 hereditary Lords from the "nobility" of the United Kingdom,
and 26 Bishops of the Anglican Church.

As mentioned above, the House of Lords cannot block bills proposed by the Government in the House of
Commons, and can only delay some bills It is rare that the House of Lords use of this prerogative, other than in
exceptional cases; for the Lords to act against the wishes of an elected government would be constitutionally
unacceptable. Thus, almost all the bills from the House of Commons are approved quickly by the Lords, and
returned for a "second reading" with some proposals for modifications or improvements. It is up to the House of
Commons to accept or reject these proposals.

The essential role of the House of Lords is to discuss non-controversial subjects, or examine in detail projects
for which the House of Commons does not have time. Given its experience of the Life Peers who sit in the
House of Lords, the Upper House is an assembly of well experienced former politicians, and is well suited to its
parliamentary duties, even if its members are not elected representatives.

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In 2012, the Cameron Government proposed to change the status of the House of Lords, making it into a
largely elected chamber: but the proposal does not terribly interest the British public, and this change is unlikely
to happen in the near future.

THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

The House of Commons is the main House of the British Parliament in terms of legislative power. It is a
chamber composed of 650 members (Members of Parliament or MPs) elected by universal suffrage. The life of
a Parliament is five years.

According to an ancient tradition, MPs are elected by universal suffrage under a system of relative majority, in
one round of voting. This means that the candidate with the most votes in an election is elected, whether or not
he or she has an absolute majority of votes. This system favors the major political parties, and stable
governments - at the expense of smaller parties.

Elected Members of Parliament do not have a deputy, so in the event of the death, resignation or removal of
an MP, a "by-election" must be called in order to elect a new MP. Each MP represents a territory, or
constituency: the link between an MP and his or her constituency is symbolically and historically very important ,
and in the House of Commons, Members are not called by their name, but by the name of the constituency from
which they have been elected ( or, if they are government ministers, by their function) .

A significant aspect of the House of Commons is the importance given to the Parliamentary Opposition . It
is structured with an official Leader (The Leader of the Opposition) and a "shadow cabinet ", consisting of
spokesmen for the Opposition each with an official portfolio corresponding to that of a government minister.

Most of the time, the debates in the House of Commons are devoted to projects of government legislation.
Most bills are put forward by the government ministers. However, some time is given to bills tabled by individual
MPs (known as Private Members' bills), or to bills tabled by the opposition (known as Opposition motions) In
each session of Parliament, the opposition has 20 days during which it may propose legislation and determine
the agenda of the House.

Territoriality

The British Parliament is both Parliament of England and Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is sovereign (see
Constitution). Parliament has delegated some of its powers to the regional parliament of Scotland or the
assemblies of Northern Ireland and Wales.

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Though the UK has basically a two-party system, from time to time third parties appear, but they are not
important enough to attract voters

Conservative Party Labour Party

th th
Early 19 century, known as “Tories” Early 20 century, trade unionists+intellectuals
Right of centre Left of centre
Stands for hierarchical authority and minimal Stands for equality and more government
government interference involvement in the economy
Likes to reduce income tax Not concerned to keep income tax low
Gives priority to national defence and internal law Gives priority to providing full social services
and order
Voters: richer classes Voters: middle and working classes

Elections
Voting is not compulsory. To be eligible to vote,
a person must be at least 18 years-old and must
register.
For elections, the UK is divided into constituencies,
areas of equal population that change in each
election.
According to the law, there are elections at least
every five years, but sometimes the period between
elections is shorter.
Elections are always held on a Thursday; and
that day is never a public holiday.

 Find out the meaning of:

polling day – polling stations – ballot paper – spoiled ballot
 WATCH: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5s4WPpyWlQ

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THE UNITED STATES

The American government is based on three main principles:

 Federalism
 Separation of powers: legislative – executive - judiciary
 Respect for the Constitution

The American Constitution

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The 13 colonies (later states) declared their independence in 1776.

The Constitution was formally signed in July 1776. It is the world’s oldest Constitution and was a model for
other constitutions. The 55 delegates who drafted the Constitution are known as the Founding Fathers, i.e.
founders of a new nation.

The most important principle  self-government. The underlying idea  the creation of a government

 of the people
 for the people
 by the people

The Founding Fathers wanted to give a voice to everybody in local, state and national government.
It is the supreme law
 no other laws can contradict its principles
 nobody is exempt from following it
 it allows the introduction of amendments (26 till now)

 You will find a copy of the American Constitution here

https://constitutioncenter.org/media/files/constitution.pdf

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Read and answer

 Which of the three powers (executive, legislative, judiciary) is listed first? Why? Find out
https://constitutingamerica.org/why-the-legislative-branch-is-listed-first-in-article-i-of-the-united-states-
constitution-guest-essayist-james-d-best/
 Which are the two houses of Congress?
What is a Representative?
Also referred to as a congressman or congresswoman, each representative is elected to a two-year term
serving the people of a specific congressional district. Among other duties, representatives introduce bills and
resolutions, offer amendments and serve on committees. The number of representatives with full voting rights is
435, a number set by Public Law 62-5 on August 8, 1911, and in effect since 1913. The number of
representatives per state is proportionate to population.
Article 1, Section 2 of the Constitution provides for both the minimum and maximum sizes for the House of
Representatives. Currently, there are five delegates representing the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands,
Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. A resident commissioner
represents Puerto Rico. The delegates and resident commissioner possess the same powers as other members
of the House, except that they may not vote when the House is meeting as the House of Representatives.
To be elected, a representative must be at least 25 years old, a United States citizen for at least seven years
and an inhabitant of the state he or she represents.
 How are Representatives paid?
What is the Senate?

United States Senate, one of the two houses of the legislature (Congress) of the United States, established in
1789 under the Constitution. Each state elects two senators for six-year terms. The terms of about one-third of
the Senate membership expire every two years, earning the chamber the nickname “the house that never dies.”
The role of the Senate was conceived by the Founding Fathers as a check on the popularly elected House of
Representatives. Thus, each state, regardless of size or population, is equally represented. Further, until the
Seventeenth Amendment of the Constitution (1913), election to the Senate was indirect, by the state
legislatures. They are now elected directly by voters of each state.
The Senate shares with the House of Representatives responsibility for all lawmaking within the United States.
For an act of Congress to be valid, both houses must approve an identical document.
 Who can be a Senator?

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 Who is the President of the Senate?

Constitutional Powers of Congress
The Constitution specifically grants Congress its most important power — the authority to make laws. A BILL,
or proposed law, only becomes a law after both the House of Representatives and the Senate has approved it
in the same form. The two houses share other powers, many of which are listed in Article I, Section 8. These
include the power to declare war, coin money, raise an army and navy, regulate commerce, establish rules of
immigration and naturalization, and establish the federal courts and their jurisdictions.

The Executive Branch of Government

Article. II.
SECTION. 1.
The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his Office
during the Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same Term.
The power of the Executive Branch is vested in the President of the United States, who also acts as head of
state and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. The President is responsible for implementing and
enforcing the laws written by Congress and, to that end, appoints the heads of the federal agencies, including
the Cabinet. The Vice President is also part of the Executive Branch, ready to assume the Presidency should
the need arise.
The Cabinet and independent federal agencies are responsible for the day-to-day enforcement and
administration of federal laws. These departments and agencies have missions and responsibilities as widely
divergent as those of the Department of Defense and the Environmental Protection Agency, the Social Security
Administration and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Including members of the armed forces, the Executive Branch employs more than 4 million Americans.
The President of the United States
Presidential eligibility
Article II, Section 1, Clause 5 of the Constitution sets three qualifications for holding the presidency. To serve as
president, one must:
 be a natural-born U.S. citizen of the United States;
 be at least thirty-five years old;
 be a resident in the United States for at least fourteen years.[1]
A person who meets the above qualifications would, however, still be disqualified from holding the office of
president under any of the following conditions:
Under the Twenty-second Amendment, no person can be elected president more than twice. The amendment
also specifies that if any eligible person serves as president or acting president for more than two years of a
term for which some other eligible person was elected president; the former can only be elected president once.
Under Article I, Section 3, Clause 7, upon conviction in impeachment cases, the Senate has the option of
disqualifying convicted individuals from holding federal office, including that of president.

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The Constitution succinctly defines presidential functions, powers, and responsibilities. The president’s
main duties:
 to make sure that the laws are executed,
 to appoint all cabinet heads and most other high-ranking officials of federal government
 to nominate all judges of the federal judiciary, including the members of the Supreme Court that must
be approved by a majority of the Senate
The president is also the commander in chief of the country’s military and has unlimited authority to direct the
movements of land, sea, and air forces.
The president has the power to make treaties with foreign governments, though the Senate must approve such
treaties by a two-thirds majority.
Finally, the president has the power to approve or reject (veto) bills passed by Congress, but Congress can
override the president’s veto.
 FIND OUT: What is “The State of the Union”?
What is “Hail to the Chief”?
State and Local Government
Powers not granted to the federal government are reserved for states and the people, which are divided
between state and local governments.

Most Americans have more daily contact with their state and local governments than with the federal
government. Police departments, libraries, and schools — not to mention driver’s licenses and parking tickets —
usually fall under the oversight of state and local governments. Each state has its own written constitution, and
these documents are often far more elaborate than their federal counterpart.
All state governments are modeled after the federal government and consist of three branches: executive,
legislative, and judicial. The U.S. Constitution mandates that all states uphold a “republican form” of
government, although the three-branch structure is not required.
In every state, the executive branch is headed by a governor who is directly elected by the people.
All 50 states have legislatures, the legislative branch, made up of elected representatives, who consider
matters brought forth by the governor or introduced by its members to create legislation that becomes law.

Political Parties
The
The The United States has only two major political parties:
Tthe The Democrats and the Republicans. There are also smaller
Parti parties that aren’t as well known.

Democratic Party: many 20th century United States Presidents such as Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D.
Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and the most recent
past President Barack Obama are Democrats. They have 48 out of 100 seats in the U.S. Senate and 223 out of
435 seats in the House of Representatives. Sixteen out of 50 state governors are also Democrats. The party
generally promotes liberalism and is often classed as a center-left party. Currently, the party has 60 million
registered voters across America. The party's philosophy of modern liberalism advocates social and economic
equality, along with the welfare state. It seeks to provide government intervention and regulation in the
economy. These interventions, such as the introduction of social programs, support for labor unions, affordable
college tuitions, moves toward universal health care and equal opportunity, consumer protection and
environmental protection form the core of the party's economic policy.

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The Republican Party was started in 1854 as an anti-slavery party and its first President was Abraham Lincoln
in 1861. Others include Ulysses S. Grant, Benjamin Harrison, Theodore Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower,
Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush and Donald Trump. Currently, the
Republican Party is identified as conservative.

Elections

Presidential elections are held every four years, usually a leap year, on the first Tuesday in November ( When
will the next presidential election be held?).
When the Constitution was written, the founding fathers had a disagreement about how the president should be
elected. Some did not want the members of Congress to choose the president, and others were afraid to leave
the choice entirely to the voters. The result was a compromise – the Electoral College, a system for indirectly
electing the president. The system persists today. In presidential elections, people are actually voting for
representatives called electors, and it is these electors who officially choose the president. With the electoral
college system, the winner of each state’s popular votes gets all of that state’s electoral votes. The number of
each state’s electoral votes is equal to the total number of their representatives in the House and the Senate.
Though the number of electoral votes varies according to each state’s population, it is still possible for a person
to be elected president without getting the highest number of the individual votes.
Cf. November 2016

To round up  WATCH: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuFR5XBYLfU

ARGENTINA

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Argentina is a presidential representative democratic republic where the President is Head of both State
and Government.

The Government of Argentina

Argentina is a presidential democratic republic where the President is the Head of State and the Head of
Government, and the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. The government operates in three branches,
the executive, the legislature, and the judiciary. The President the most powerful of all the three arms of the
government and has the power to draft his bills, declare a state of emergency or war, and to suspend the
Constitution.

The Executive Branch

The President exclusively exercises the executive power. The nation elects the President and the Vice
President through universal suffrage. The election takes place in two rounds where the first round determines
the two leading President and Vice President tickets. The two tickets then go for a second round and the ticket
that gets the majority vote becomes the president and the Vice President. The President and the vice President
serve for a four- year term and eligible for another term. The President then appoints the ministers who will be
members of the cabinet. The last elections have been held in two rounds.

The Legislative Branch

Argentina has a bicameral National Congress. The Congress consists of the Senate and the chamber of
deputies. The Vice-President presides over the Senate which has 72 members who are elected directly in multi-
seat constituencies by a simple vote. The chamber of deputies has 257 members who are elected directly in
multi-seat constituencies by a proportional representation vote. The Senate serves for six years as the deputies
serve for four years. Each province directly elects deputies who represent the people of the nation and the
senators who represent the districts. Each district elects deputies through proportional representation and three
senators to represent two majorities and one minority. Functions of the Senate include changing the federal
revenue policies, ratifying international treaties, confirming or impeaching the President or the nominees to the
cabinet. It can also disapprove or approve changes regarding the constitutional laws. The chamber of deputies
performs functions such as drafting troops and levying taxes.

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Local Government

Argentina has 23 districts called provinces and one autonomous district which host the national capital. Each
province has its Constitution, laws, and forms of government. Each form of government in the provinces has
three branches which are executive, legislature, and judiciary. Each province has districts known as
departments which in turn have municipalities.

Elections

All citizens aged 16 and above in Argentina have the right to vote. The people elect the President and the vice-
President through proportional representation by universal adult suffrage. Elections are free and fair. Citizens
elect the deputies through closed-list which means that they are not allowed to change the order that candidates
appear on the list. Every electoral district has its electoral laws.

Argentina adopted the Constitution in 1853 which governs the activities of the government and the people. The
Constitution provides a federal union where power is distributed throughout governing bodies in the provinces.
However, the government keeps suspending and revising the Constitution. Among the amendments to the
Constitution are elements such as reducing the President term of service, provision for Presidential re-election
and introduction of the two-round system of voting if the candidate receives less than 45% of the total votes.

To round up  WATCH: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wb2eRBExpBs

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