Learning Unit 5

Government and System of

Governance
Objectives

1. to discuss organs/branches of
government
2. to discuss types of government
systems
3. to discuss roles/functions of
government
Learning Outcomes

At the end of this Chapter, you should

be able to:
1. define government
2. describe types of government
systems
3. explain roles/functions of
government
 Government

“A government is "the
organisation, that is the
governing authority of a
political unit”

“The ruling power in a

political society, and the
apparatus through which
a governing body
functions and exercises
authority”
 “Governance”
“The exercise of political
authority and the use of
institutional resources to
manage society's
problems and affairs”
“The use of institutions,
structures of authority
and even collaboration to
allocate resources and
coordinate or control
activity in society or the
economy”
Branches of Government
 THREE ORGANS (BRANCHES) OF
GOVERNMENT
• Legislature
– It enacts the general
rules of the society
– Law-making,
representation,
supervision, education
– Types: bicameral (2
chambers) &
unicameral (1 chamber)
THREE ORGANS (BRANCHES) OF GOVERNMENT
THREE ORGANS (BRANCHES) OF
GOVERNMENT
 THREE ORGANS (BRANCHES) OF
GOVERNMENT
• Executive
– It refers to the whole
branch of the political
system – being in
charge of the execution
of the policies of the
state
– Functions: internal
administration, external
administration, military
functions, legislative
functions, judicial
functions, offer services
 THREE ORGANS OF
GOVERNMENT
• Judiciary
– To ensure administration of
justice. They are agencies
for the settlement of
disputes between
individuals and individuals,
and citizens and the state.
– Functions: establishing
facts, interpreting laws,
creating laws, upholding
constitution, preventing
violation of law, judicial
review
 SEPARATION OF POWER
• Separation of powers involves the
separation of governmental powers
into three arms of government:
legislature, executive and judiciary.
• The theory suggests that the three
arms of government should be
separated in two senses: first that
the functions that they perform are
separate and secondly that they
should be staffed by different
people.
• In classic liberal theory, the purpose
of the separation of powers is to
protect liberty.
 Executive PM/DPM/Cabinet
Ministers/Ministries/
Gov. Departments

Chief
Judge

DR/DN Courts
Legislative Judiciary
 Roles/Functions of
government
Economic

• transfer of resources
- collect tax
- proceeds of tax to the needy,
to develop socio-economic dev
of people, to build infrastructure,
etc i.e. GST
• provide subsidies
- ease the burden of the needy,
BRIM, KRIM, etc
- increase investment/business
opportunities (tax breaks, etc)
Roles/Functions of
government
Social

• education
- early, primary, secondary
& tertiary education
- social security
- inter-ethnic relations
• healthcare
- build hospitals, clinics, etc
for the elder citizens
- well-being of people in
general
 Roles/Functions of
government
Political role

• administration
- ministry, municipalities, etc
• regulation
- law & order
• foreign affairs
- diplomatic affairs
• military
- defense policy
- security of the nation at
large
 Types of government
• Federal
• Unitary
• Republic
• Presidential
• Parliamentary
• Autocratic & Totalitarian
• Democratic
 Types of government
Federal
• latin “foedris” = “league”
• 2 sets of governments
- national government &
constituent units (states,
provinces, regions, etc)
• there is division of power
laid out by the constitution
• the role of the court if
constitutional matter arises
(constitutional crisis)
 Types of government
Federal
• advantages
- capable of uniting
different units
- local unit can preserve
certain local
- uniqueness & a chance for
self- governance
- capable of including many
cultural & political units -
suitable for large countries
 …cont…federal system
- military & economic benefits
- testing out policy
implementation i.e. 1Malaysia
• disadvantages
- duplications of services at
regional & federal levels
- difficulty in amending the
constitution – state consent,
regional objection
Unitary
• sovereign power resides in
the central & national
government
• smaller units of governments
cannot make independent
decisions
• the centre can withdraw the
authority given to local units
• the centre can re-draw or
abolish the boundaries of local
or regional units
• centre can override policies &
actions introduced by the local
units
• advantages
- uniform application of laws &
policies
- simple government, little or no
duplication of personnel &
services
- no conflict of authority
- less wasteful
• disadvantages
- local units could be neglected
- not suitable to a large &
heterogeneous nations like
Malaysia, US, Australia, etc
Parliamentary
• representative system that
“fuses” the executive & legislative
institutions and powers
• citizens do not vote for chief
executive directly - vote for
legislative representatives or
members of parliament
• no clear separation of power
• i.e. Malaysia & Great Britain (but
with “strong two-party system”)
Presidential
• organised according to the
principle of separation of
power
• responsibility is vested in the
chief executive – the
president - elected for a fixed
term & independent of the
legislature
• president appoints heads of
departments who are directly
responsible to him/her
• executive is directly
responsible to the electorate
• i.e. USA, Philippines
Republic
• a state not led by a
hereditary monarch
• people have impact
on the government
• head of state is
called president
Autocracy
• power is held by a single
self-appointed leader/ruler
• ordinary people usually
do not have a great deal of
personal freedom
• mass participation is not
allowed either through
political parties or
pressure groups
• effective means to
control/regulate social life
does not exist
• usually unstable -
Pakistan & Zaire
Autocracy…cont…
• characteristics:
- no dominating political ideology
- resorts to force and coercion
- who is the ruling government? -
traditional or political elite
- no or weak civil liberty - mass media
is controlled by the government
- “personality cult” usually exists - no
respect for rule of law
Autocracy…cont…
• how does a totalitarian state
differ from an autocratic state?
- social life is regulated by the
government
- economy is controlled by the
government
no “market forces”
- only one party considered as
politically and legally legal
- there is an official ideology
(usually
Marxist-Leninism or Facism)
Autocracy…cont…
• how does a totalitarian state
differ from an autocratic state?
- judiciary and mass media
are controlled by the
government - used as a
means to indoctrinate the
people
- criticisms on the
government are not allowed -
“terror” is used to silence
political dissidents
i.e. Soviet Union, Cuba,
Maoist Party
DEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENT
• The word democracy is
derived from two Greek words,
demos which means people
and kratia which connotes rule.
Thus, literally, democracy
means rule by the people.
• Austin Ranney defines it as “a
form of government organised
in accordance with the
principle of popular
sovereignty, political equality,
popular consultation, and
majority rule”
DEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENT
 Characteristics of a
democratic government

 Popular participation
 Pressure groups such as
trade unions and other
voluntary associations
are free to operate and
attempt to influence
government decisions
DEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENT
 Characteristics of a
democratic government

 The freedom to form

voluntary associations
 The power of the central
government (executive) is
limited and regulated by
the law and by a
separation of powers
between the executive,
legislature and judiciary
DEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENT
 Characteristics of a
democratic government

 The extent of political

control over the social and
economic spheres of life is
relatively limited
 Typically and ideally,
democracies are ruled by
civilians who compete with
each other for political
power in an open and
non-violent manner
Conditions for a successful
democratic government
– Educational
• High level of
education/exposure
• Political awareness
– Economic
• Stable economy
• People have stake in the
economy (investors,
middle-class people,
business economy, etc)
Conditions for a
successful democratic
government

– Social
• Society less divided by
race, religion, class
– Ideological
• Our conception of
power, authority &
democratic ideals
References

“Organs of Government: the Legislature”, “The

Executive”, “Law and the Judiciary” (Chapter 10,
Chapter 11, Chapter 13) (Moten and Islam,
Introduction to Political Science, 3rd Edition)