Shrichakradhar.com 9958947060 BPSC -105: INTRODUCTION TO COMPARATIVE GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS (TUTOR MARKED ASSIGNMENT) Course code: BPSC-105 Assignment Code: BPSC-10S/ASST/TMA/2023-24 Marks: 100 There are three sections in this assignment. You have to answer all questions in each Section. Assignment - I Answer the following in about 500 words each. Each question carries 20 marks. 1. Describe how the nature, field and scope of comparative politics have evolved in response to the changing socio-political concems over different historical periods. 2. Examine the meaning and evolution of the doctrine of parliamentary supremacy. Assignment - 11 Answer the following questions in about 250 words each, Each question carries 10 marks, 1. What are the major challenges confronting the Chinese Communist Party in contemporary times? Explain. 2. Explain the doctrine of rule of law. How does it act as a constraint on the powers of the government? 3. What are the development strategies adopted by Brazil since its independence? Elaborate. Assignment - IIL Write a short note on the following in about 100 words each. Each short note carries 6 marks. Federalism in Nigeria Deutsch’s eybemnetics theory Wallerstein’s World System analysis Dictatorship of the proletariat The concept of dependent development. eee Disclaimer/Special Note: These are just the sample of the Answers/Solutions to some of the Questions given in the Assignments. These Sample Answers/Solutions are prepared by PrivateShrichakradhar.com 9958947060 Teacher/Tutors/Authors Meenakshi Sharma for the help and guidance of the student to get an idea of how he/she can answer the Questions given the Assignments. We do not claim 100% accuracy of these sample answers as these are based on the knowledge and capability of Private Teacher/Tutor Meenakshi Sharma. Saniple answers may be seen as the Guide/Help for the reference to prepare the answers of the Questions given in the assignment. As these solutions and answers are prepared by the private Teacher/Tutor so the chances of error or mistake canmot be denied. Any Omission or Error is highly regretted though every care has been taken while preparing these Sample Answers/ Solutions. Please consult your own Teacher/Tutor before you prepare a Particular Answer and for up-to-date and exact information, data and solution. Student should must read and refer the official study material provided by the university Assignment - I Answer the following in about 500 words each, Fach question carries 20 marks. 1. Describe how the nature, field _and scope of comparative! politics have evolved in response to the changing socio-political concerns over different historical periods. ANS: The nature and focus of comparative politics have changed over time in response to changes in its subject matter historically. The geographical, space (i.e., nations, regions) that has served as its field and the dominant theories about social reality and change that have shaped comparative study methodologies (capitalist, socialist, mixed, and indigenous) have both contributed to the subject matter of comparative politics. Similarto this, the focus or main interest of the study keeps shifting at various historical moments, ‘The Origins of Comparative Study of Politics Aristotle was the originator of comparative polities, which was carried on by intellectuals like Niccolo Machiavelli, John Locke, Max Weber, and others. Aristotle, a Greek philosopher, analysed the constitutions of 150 states and categorised them into various types of regimes. His classification was presented in terms of both-descriptive and normative categories, meaning that he not only described and classified regimes ind political systems in terms of their types, such as democracy, aristocracy, monarehy, etc., butjalso distinguished them on the basis of specific good governance norms. On the basis of this contrast, he categorises regimes as either ideal or distorted, good or terrible. These Aristotelian categories were acknowledged and taken up by Romans such as Polybits (201-120 B.C.) and Cicero (106-43 B.C.) who considered them in formal and legalistic terms. Concem with comparative study of regime types reappeared in the 15th century with Machiavelli (1469- 1527) who compared different types of principalities (hereditary, new, mixed and ecelesiastic ones) and republics to arrive the most suecessfil ways to govern them. ‘The Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries The preoccupation with philosophical and speculative questions concerning the “good order’ or the “ideal state’ and the use, in the process, of abstract and normative vocabulary, persisted in comparative studies of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. This was a period when liberalism was the reigning ideology and European countries enjoyed overwhelming dominance in world politics. Asia, Africa, and Latin America made up the remainder of the world and were either under European control as former colonies or within their sphere of influence, James Bryce's Modern Democracies (1921), Herman Finer's Theory and Practise of Modern Governments (1932), Carl J. Friedrich's Constitutional Government and Democracy (1937), Roberto Michels' Political Parties (1915), and Maurice Duverger’s Political Parties (1950) are a few examples of comparative studies conducted during this time period that were primarily focused on a comparison of institutions, the distribution of power, and the interaction between the various layers of goverument. The Second World War and AfterShrichakradhar.com 9958947060 The political and economic climate of the world shifted in the 1930s. Socialism was introduced into the world in 1917 as a critical counterpoint to western liberalism and capitalism by the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia. The decline of European (British) hegemony, the emergence and entrenchment of the United States of America as the "new hegemon" in global polities and economics, and the division of the world into two ideological camps—(western) capitalism and (caster) socialism—had all occurred with the end of the Second World War. The majority of the ‘rest of the world’ had, by the time the Second World War ended, liberated itself fom European imperialism. For a period after decolonisation the notions of development, modernisation, nation-building, state-building ete., evinced a degree of legitimacy and even popularity as ‘national slogans’ among the political elite of the ‘new nations’, [deologically, however, these ‘new nations’, were no longer compelled to tow the western capitalist path of development, While socialism had its share of sympathisers among the new ruling elite of the Asia, America and Latin America, quite a number of newly independent countries made a conscious decision to distance themselves from both the power blocs, remaining non-aligned to either. They evolved their own specific path of development akin to the socialist, as in the case of Ujjama in Tanzania, and the mixed-economy model in India which was a blend of capitalism and socialism. The 1970s and Challenges to Developmentalism In order to explore many political, social, and cultural systems under a single universalistie framework, developmentalism was critiqued in the,1970s for choosing abstract models that flattened out variations among various political, social, andveultural systems. To establish a theory of underdevelopment, these criticisms highlighted the ‘ethnocentrism’ of these models, and concentrated on the Third World. They emphasised the necessity to concentrate on finding answers to the developing world’s problems. Early in the 1970s, corporatism and dependency emerged as two major problems that developmentalism had to contend with, 2. Examine the meaning and evolution of the doctrine of parliamentary supremacy. ANS: According to the theory of "parliamentary sovereignty,” Britain's Parliament is the supreme or highest legal authority. Due to its de jure authority, itis able to enact, alter, or repeal any law without facing opposition from other, domestic citizens or groups of citizens. De Lolme's statement, "It is a fundamental principle with English lawyers, that Parliament can do everything but make a woman a man, and aman a women," is nearly a clichéd declaration of parliamentary supremacy. One of the most glaring evidence of it was the passage of the Septennial Act, which extended the legal duration of the then existing House of Commons from three to seven years, and thereby over-extending the duration of mandate given to those representatives by the British electorate themselves. In essence, the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty establishes the supreme law-making authority of the parliament within the United Kingdom and enables it to legislate, amend or repeal any law without the interference of any other UK institution. Dicey notes three traits of parliamentary sovereignty in England: 1) legislative power to atiiend any law, fundamental or otherwise, in a free and uniform mamer, 2) no legal distinction between different kinds of laws as constitutional/fiundamental and others and 3) no authority, judicial or otherwise has power to declare void a parliamentary act EVOLUTION OF THE DOCTRINE OF PARLIAMENTARY SUPREMACY In the British system of parliamentary democracy, the head of the state is the monarch while the head of the government is elected and comes from the parliament. According to Professor Mayor Grant, the evolution of British Parliament can be understood in four broad phases: 1) First phase- In the Middle Ages, the House of Lords was the only house that served as the parliament's representative, It was made up of "wise men" during the Saxon era, who frequently included counsellors fiom the religious (bishops, archbishops, ete.) and political (earls, knights, etc.) spheres. Later, Magna Carta was ratified in 1215 as a result of nobles’ opposition to theShrichakradhar.com 9958947060 monarch's policy of levying exorbitant taxes. As expensive battles put a strain on the nation's considerable tax collections from both the lords and the freemen, the Commons was also established in the 13th century. There was some kind of restricted right of representation added to this tax obligation. Each county then chose four knights to be transported to Westminster. The federal Council now became more representative of the population interests with three major factions being the clergy; the barons and the commoners. The 14th century witnessed a gradual separation of the two chambers or Houses into the House of Lord and the House of Commons. 2) In the second phase- from 1485 to the 17th century- The Stuart kings and the Parliament competed for ultimate royal authority during the parliamentary era's development. The parliament rejected the monarchs’ claim that they had a divine right to reign. Charles 1 signed the petition of rights in 1628, but it was ignored, and he later abolished the parliament as well. All of this resulted in the Civil War, which lasted for 11 years without a parliamentary session. The civil war definitively confirmed Parliament's lawful sovereign authority. With the ability to penalise royal officials who broke the regulations governing tax collection, parliament began the practise of serutinising the executive or the administration. Also, being the taxpayers, the Commons started asserting their sole propriety (against the House of Lords) on the right to approve the matters of finance and taxation laid down by the Government. 3) The third phase, which lasted from 1688 to 1832, saw the beginning of several of the practises that are associated with the present parliamentary system in Britain, such as the party system, the idea of ministerial responsibilityythe Cabinet system, public reporting of parliamentary debates, etc. The Glorious Reyolution of 1688, which took place under the rule of James I, established the parliament's absolute power. This was furthered by the Bill of Rights of 1689, which supported a constitutional or limited monarchy with a supreme parliament. The sole sovereign of Britain waS declared to be the Queen-in-Parliament. Through the passage of the Act of Settlement in 1701 and the Bill of Rights in 1689 (collectively known as the Great Charters), Parliament's authority over new laws and levies rose at the expense of the Royal authority. 4) The fourth Phase, fiom 1832 ‘till today, is Characterized by an institutioualization and specification of the roles, responsibilities’ and relations between the executive and the legislature on the one hand, and between the two Houses on the other. The overall effect has been to establish the legal sovereignty of the elected British Parliament as the representative body of the population. In terms of political sovereignty, the British electorate was hailed as the authority through the Reform Act. 1832 when electoral districts were redrawn (though pemnitted voting rights to.a very limited population at the time). The franchise was extended in later periods, especially after 1867. Women received the right to vote only in 1918 after a prolonged movement for it Assignment - II Answer the following questions in about 250 words cach. Each question carries 10 mark: 1. What are the smajor challenges confronting the Chinese Communist Party in contemporary times? Explain. ANS: CPC is currently dealing with a wide range of problems and difficulties that originate both inside and outside the party. Given the party's highly centralised and intricate structure, this is very understandable. The party is frequently criticised for the lack of transparency in its governance and decision-making processes. The CPC is arguably the most secretive party in terms of its internal workings. China's polities continue to be much more opaque, with a small number of top party officials making decisions without any oversight or public accountability. For instance, the top leadership in the party hierarchy makes decisions regarding the succession and/or selection of party leaders, such as members of the Central Committee, the Politburo andShrichakradhar.com 9958947060 its Standing Committee, the CMC, the CCDI, ete. Very little information is available in the public domain how selections are made. On the other hand, the absence of independent press and the organised opposition party in the political system lends credence to the perception that the party is not supportive of freedom of expression and political reform. When confronted with choices between greater control and more openness, CPC always opted for the former. In such a politically restricted environment, CPC has been under intense criticisms from both within and outside the country. Another hotly debated topic among the observers of contemporary China is related to the prospects of the CPC. Many China observers in the West have questioned the viability of China's political system. Some of them have even predicted the imminent collapse of China. China scholars like David Shambaugh, Gordon Chang, etc. argue that CPC"s rule in China is historically anachronistic” and suffers from a deepening governance and legitimacy crisis. However, the Communist Party's use of harsh repressive tactics, notably as the massacre at Tiananmen Square that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of supporters of democracy, seriously damaged its credibility abroad. Alongside this, Chinese citizens’ increasing awareness of their civil and political rights and hopes for broader political reforms have posed a serious challenge to the party. There is a rising need for political democratisation, which would increase the party's accountability by allowing for multi-party elections, intemal democracy, assuring transpareney, protecting civil rights and liberties, and other factors. At the same time, development in new teelmologies, especially the intemet, has empowered the Chinese citizens in tremendous ways, making it increasingly difficult for the CPC to control the public opinion. Considering this, CPC has taken certain reform initiatives in the economic sphere since the Deng Xiaoping era, However, the party has been reluctant in introducing political reforms. Top leadership in the CPC, from the time of Mao, has constantly rejected the multi-party system of election unsititable to China's society and tradition. 2. Explain the doctrine of rule of law. How-does it act.as a constraint on the powers of the government? ANS: According to the rule of law philosophy, both citizens and the government, including its officials, are subject to the general rulesand provisions of the law. Institutions and mechanisms must be in place in order to enforce the law. While proponents of the thin version of the doctrine concentrate on the procedural aspects of rule of law with an emphasis on the doctrine's legality, some scholars focus on the substantive and normative commitment and respect to the ideas of individual liberties as ingrained in. the thick version of the doctrine. There is a general consensus that the nile of law tequires a restraint on capricious or oppressive governance While the element of discretion or discretionary power of the state itself may not be interpreted as being contradictory to rule of law but an arbitrary exercise of discretionary powers can undermine rule of law. During the middle ages, the monarch would swear an oath to affirm abidance to positive, customary or divine law but the historical origin of the concept in United Kingdom is owed to Magna Carta signed by King Joln in 1215. He wanted to raise the taxes to be paid by noblemen to fund the war against France. This written instrument sought to limit the powers of the king in terms proposed by the barons (fetdal lords) who in tum for their tax- paying responsibility wanted the king to adhere to good governance” and not rule arbitrarily. Among other things, the document asserted that no one should be deprived of their liberty or property “except by the lawful judgement of his equals or by the law of the land”. It was cited numerously by the successive parliaments and courts to assert a limitation on the arbitrary powers of the monarch in order to protect individual rights. This was in sharp contrast to the doctrine of ,ivine rights of kings” propounded in the 16th century by Jean Bodin (a French jurist) in response to religious wars between Catholics and the Protestants. The idea of rule of law, however, survived this phase aud was adopted by legal profession subsequently. The Sovereign had to abide by the law in force. If they wished to change it, they still had to make new laws in consonance with uatural law or customary law. Originally meant to constrain theShrichakradhar.com 9958947060 sovereign power of the king, the doctrine was later elaborated to support individual rights vis- a-vis the governmentThis is not meant to suggest that the monarchs always upheld the law. However, they frequently tried to offer an explanation to justify their actions in front of the public. Charles I, for instance, gained notoriety for enforcing arbitrary laws, such as tax increases without parliamentary consent or the death of dissenters, as well as his battle with the parliament's predominately religious puritans. It led to the English Civil War, which lasted fiom 1642 to 1651. Parliament won, and King Charles 1 was tried and executed in 1649 as a result. The doctrine of rule of law was expressed in more robust terms by the Chief Justice Sir Edward Coke during the regime of James I, when he expressed that the King should be under God and the law 3. What are the development strategies adopted by Brazil since its independence? Elaborate. ANS: This is not meant to suggest that the monarchs always upheld the law. However, they frequently tried to offer an explanation to justify their actions in front of the public. Charles I, for instance, gained notoriety for enforcing arbitrary laws, such as tax increases without parliamentary consent or the death of dissenters, as well,as his battle with the parliament's predominately religious puritans. It led to the English Civil War, which lasted from 1642 to 1651. Parliament won, and King Charles 1 was tried and executed in 1649 as a result, Third, the state has emerged as. leading lender to public and private enterprises. The state is providing much-needed funds to establish and run enterprises. Brazil"s National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES) has emerged as the leading lender. Even in the age of globalisation, under the neoliberal model of development in’Brazil, the BNDES has arisen as, a significant player in the field of lending. For instance, iw 2013, the bank's amount of given Joan was three-time greater than the amount of loan provided by the World Bank in the same year. Despite all ups and downs, today, Brazil is emerging as one of the leading states from the global south. Economically, it is one of the top ten states in the world measured either in GDP or purchasing power parity (PPP) terms, More precisely, in terms of GDP, Brazil is ranked ninth, while in terms of PPP, it is ranked eighth. Is political clout has enhanced significantly in the last few decades. Because of economic development and changing intemational scenario, it has joined rauk with other emerging powers like China, Russia, India, and South Africa in forums like Brazil, Russia, India, China, and.South Africa (BRICS) and India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA). Today, it is playing a pivotal role in shaping the global norm and standards- setting, For instance, Brazil implemented "responsibility while protecting” in the UN as a reaction to the Responsibility to Protect theory to guarantee that use of military interventions. always do the least amount of harm. Brazil has greatly influenced international climate change negotiations as a member of the BASIC group. It demands the democratisation of the United Nations Security Council and her inclusion in it as a G-4 member Assignment - IIT Write a short note on the following in about 100 words each. Fach short note carries 6 marks, 1. Federalism in Nigeria ANS, Nigetia is a federal uation, although it operates more like a unitary state in reality. The governmental system has started to exhibit tendencies towards centralization. Federalism is founded on the idea of preserving each constituent unit's autonomy while equally distributing authority among them. However, both the state and local governments lack the ability and resources to take action, thus they must rely on the centre for funding in order to guarantee the welfare of the populace. Nigeria gradually extended the number of federating units from four states in the 1960s to 36 states to meet the diversity of its society. While this was intended to address the issue of conceutration of resources in a few regions, it has created more problems owing to non-viability of the states in terms of resources. The centralized authority over revenue aud resources during the military regime has left its mark on fiscal federalism inShrichakradhar.com 9958947060 Nigeria. There is a mismatch between resources and the constitutional responsibility of the state and local level. Further, these centralizing tendencies have led to both vertical and horizontal imbalance; with the north having less revere than the south and centre. The actions of the federal government, which tend to concentrate more resources in their control, further exacerbate the sitnation. For instance, the federal goverament exclusively reserved for them the right to exploit offshore resources. In certain cases, the centre has improperly taken money from the federal account and misappropriated it. The centre became the single distributor of oil rents, controlling the part of the country's riches, because the federal government had such immense financial power. In tum, the states were transformed from separate tiers of government into extensions of the federal government. 2. Deutsch’s cybernetics theory ANS: According to Deutsch, cybernetics is the study of communication and control. It focuses on the scientific examination of coordination and control in allytypes of organisations According to the concept of cybernetics, communication holds every organisation together and that all organisations share some essential similarities. Acéording to Deutsch’s cybernetics theory, "governments" are organisations where information-processes are channelled through According to cybemetics, information is a pattern in the telationships between events; communication is the transfer of these pattems; and channels are the routes by which information is transmitted. Deutsch rightly says that his book The Nerves of Government (1966) deals less with the bones or muscles of the body politic and more with its nerves... its channels of communication. The political system, according to Deutsch, is nothing but a system of decisionmaking and enforcement, as a network of communication channels. Drawing largely from the science of neurophysiology, psychology and” electrical engineering, Deutsch perceived the similarities in processes and fimmetional, requirements between living things, electronic machines and social organisations. According to him, organizations in the society have the capacity to transmit and react to itiformation (Davies and Lewis, Models of Political Systems, 1971). The characteristic features of the cybemetics model of the systems analysis can be, briefly, stated as under * Feedback constitutes a key concept in the:cybernetics model. It is also called a servo- mechanism. By feedback, Deutsch means a communications network that produces action in response fo an input information; « All organisations, including a political system, are characterised by feedback mechanisms. It is feedback that introduces dynamism into what may be otherwise a static analysis Wallerstein’s World System analysis ‘ANS: The main thrust of Wallerstein's argument was that the emergence of the global capitalism system in the’sixteenth century ushered in a new era of history based on increased accumulation as opposed to static consumption. This was due to the emergence of three enucial factors: 1) a geographic expansion of the world in question (through incorporation), 2) the development of diverse labour control methods for different produets and different zones of the world economy (specialisation), and 3) the establishment of relatively strong state apparatuses in what-would be the core states of this capitalist world economy (to ensure the transfer of surplus to the core). The countries where the bourgeoisie grew stronger and landlords weakened are the core economies of the globe. The important relationship that determines whether a country is to be a core or part of the periphery is dependent on the strength of its state. According to Wallerstein, those countries that could achieve the process of _statism*, ic, the concentration of power in the central authority, became the core countries of the world economy. On the other hand, the strength of the state machineries is explained _in terms of the structural role a country plays in the world economy at that moment of time’. A. strong state enables the country as an entity to get a disproportionate share of the surplus of the entire world economy. Three things contribute to the stability of the global capitalist system:Shrichakradhar.com 9958947060 (j) the concentration of military power in the hands of the dominant forces; (ii) the widespread ideological adherence to the system; and (iii) the division of the majority into a sizable lower stratum and a smaller middle stratum. Because the middle stratum (semi-periphery) is both the exploited and the exploiter, the existence of the semi-periphery means that the higher strata (core) are not met with the unified opposition of all others. However, the semi-periphery also serves as a place for transition. The semi-periphery is a place for the dying core states to go as well as a place from where new core states can arise 4. Dictatorship of the proletariat ANS: Lenin stated that the proletariat's goal is to construct a socialist system by destroying capitalism and the bourgeoisie class in his commentary on the proletariat's duty and its vanguard party. He asserts that this goal, however, cannot be accomplished overnight and calls, for a lengthy period of transition from capitalism to socialism. The socialist system of government known as the "dictatorship of the proletariat” is in plage during this transitional phase. In his book State and Revolution, Lenin argued that after the proletariat seizes governmental control, a revolutionary dictatorship of the prdletatiat is necessary to crush the capitalists’ opposition. In other words, there will be class conflict in the state that is ruled by the proletariat dictatorship. The purpose of the dictatorship of the proletariat is to use the state power for the removal of capitalist elements from society by transferring the means of production from private ownership to state property. In this regard Marx said, proletariat state is _first’ stage (or lower" stage) of socialism and its ultimate objective will be to create the conditions for its eventual transition to a stateless and classless society known as _communism'— which Marx called as the _second stage* (or _higher* stage) of socialism. That is why Marx called socialism or the socialist state as)_immature* or _crude* form of communism. The society will be free from ¢lass and. class tivalry under communism, the pinnacle of socialism, and the state will "wither away,” Marx stated as follows in his Critique of the Gotha Programme (1875): "There lies the period of the revolutionary transformation of the one to the other between capitalist and commmmist society." And the only type of government that can exist throughout this period of transition is the proletariat's dictatorship" (Marx, 1875: 8). Therefore, from a) Marxist. viewpoint, the proletariat’s dictatorship is a transitional or interim stage from socialism to communism. As a result, the Marxist theory of the state is not a defence of the state but rathera hypothesis for its eventual overthrow. 5. The concept of dependent development ANS: ,, Another similar idea thanis used to describe the development process in Brazil and Latin America is dependent development, Dependent development, according to Peter Evans, is a "special instance of dependency’: The dependent development is employed for semi- peripheral states like Brazil and Mexico if dependency is used to explain the status of weak periphery states. According to Evans (1979: 32-33), the term "dependent development” refers to "dependence combined with development." Development occurs at the periphery in a dependent developmeiit)scenario. But the fundamental states still control its development. Dependent development is characterised by an alliance of intemational capital, local capital and state. According to Evans (1979: 32), the alliance between national and local govemmments and foreign capital is "fundamental to the emergence of dependent development." Other characteristics that distinguish dependent growth include the "accumulation of capital and some degree of industrialization on the periphery". Peter Evans coined the term "dependent development" to describe states "where capital accumulation and diversified industrialization ofa more than superficial sort are not only occurring in a peripheral country but are dominating the transformation of its economy and social structure” in his renowned study titled Dependent Development: The Alliance of Multinational, State, and Local Capital in Brazil (1979).