Lecture Slides to Accompany:

ESSENTIALS OF
COMPARATIVE POLITICS
FOURTH EDITION
PATRICK H. O’NEIL

Chapter 5

Democratic
Regimes

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Copyright ©2013 W.W. Norton, Inc.
Chapter 5: Democratic Regimes
1. Democracy: Liberal democracy, indirect democracy,
republicanism
2. Democratization: Modernization, elites, civil society, political
culture
3. Democratic institutions: Executives, legislatures, courts
4. Systems: Parliamentary, presidential, semi-presidential
5. Elections: Proportional representation, majoritarianism
6. Rights and Liberties: Civil rights, civil liberties
7. Summary

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1. Democracy
 Question:

A state cannot be defined as a democracy if it has:

A. a hereditary monarch as the head of state.

B. an official, state-sanctioned religion.
C. a legislative body that is not subject to elections.
D. None of the above. It can have A-C and still be a
democracy

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1. Democracy
 Democracy: political power exercised either directly or
indirectly through participation, competition, and liberty
 Forms of democracy:
 Liberal democracy: democracy rooted in the idea of liberalism,
emphasizing individual freedoms
 Indirect democracy: citizens choosing leaders who then make
laws and policies (as opposed to citizens directly choosing laws
and policies through referendum)
 Republicanism: separation of powers and indirect
representation

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1. Democracy
 Original democracies
 Ancient Greece: small democratic communities
 Direct democracy, in which citizens choose laws
 Few fixed institutions
 Rome: separation of powers in a republic
 Indirect rule, by popularly elected officials
 Fixed institutions, with divided roles
 England: limits on the monarch
 Magna Carta, 1215, establishes rights
 Taxes and borrowing controlled by parliament

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2. Democratization
 Why do countries become democracies?

 Several possible explanations:

 Modernization
 Elites
 Civil Society
 Political Culture

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2. Democratization
 Modernization
 Idea: As societies become wealthier and better-educated, they
will embrace liberal democracy.

 Evidence: On average, wealthier countries are more likely to be

democracies.

 Problem: There is much variation, and there are many examples

of countries that modernized without democratizing.

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2. Democratization
 Elites
 Idea: Countries democratize when powerful people see
they may be better off.

 Examples: Elites may choose democracy if it…

 ...means they can keep their wealth (South Africa).
 ...wins them more international support (Taiwan).
 ...protects their assets from seizure (Chile).

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2. Democratization
 Civil Society
 Idea: People will demand more change when there is a
strong civil society -- life outside the state.

 Evidence: Civil society organizations promote change.

 People learn to work in groups to push demands.
 Nondemocratic states try to suppress groups.

 Example: China stops environmental or religious

groups, even when they are not explicitly political.
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2. Democratization
 Political Culture
 Idea: Western-style individualism is the key to
democracy.

 Evidence: For many years, almost all democracies were

in Western Europe or North America.

 Problem: Many non-Western states have adopted

successful democracies, including Japan and South
Korea.
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3. Democratic institutions
 Executive
 Head of state
 Head of government
 Legislature
 Chambers (bicameral/unicameral)
 Mode of selection
 Judiciary
 Court of appeals
 Judicial review

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3. Democratic institutions
 Executive: in charge of carrying out laws
 Two distinct roles:
 Head of state
 Symbolic, embodiment of the people
 Sometimes conducts international affairs
 Leader of the permanent institution of the state
 Head of government
 Makes national policy
 Directs officers, ministers
 Leader of current government

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3. Democratic institutions
 Example: Great Britain
 Head of State: The Monarch  Head of Government: The
Prime Minister

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3. Democratic institutions
 Example: The United States
 The President is the Head of
State and the Head of
Government

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3. Democratic institutions
 Question:

Who is the head of state of Australia?

A. the Prime Minister

B. the Governor of New South Wales
C. the British monarch
D. the Speaker of Parliament

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3. Democratic institutions
 Legislature: group of elected officials that make laws

 Some legislatures are unicameral -- there is one group

of elected representatives.
 Unicameral legislatures include those in Denmark,
Finland, Greece, New Zealand, Norway, and Sweden.

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3. Democratic institutions
 Legislature: group of elected officials that make laws

 Some legislatures are bicameral -- there are two groups of

elected representatives.

 Bicameral legislatures include those in Australia, Canada,

France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United
States.
 Lower house: directly-elected
 Upper house: chosen in a variety of ways
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Bicameral System in the USA

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Bicameral in UK

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3. Democratic institutions
 Legislature: group of elected officials that make laws
Variation in how legislatures are chosen:
 Direct election:
 United States (House and Senate)
 France (Assembly)
 Germany (Bundestag)
 United Kingdom (Commons)
 Indirect election:
 France (Senate)
 Germany (Bundesrat)
 Heredity and appointment:
 United Kingdom (House of Lords)

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3. Democratic institutions
 Judiciary
 Courts interpret applications of laws:
 Judge criminal complaints
 Rule on civil suits
 High Courts (or Supreme Courts) have distinct roles:
 Appeals
 Judicial review

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3. Democratic institutions
 Judiciary: courts of appeals

 National courts are a hierarchy. The losers in a case at any

level can usually appeal to a higher level.

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3. Democratic institutions
 Judiciary: judicial review
 In 90 percent of democracies, a constitutional court
can rule on the validity of laws.

 Two variations:
 Combined appellate and constitutional court.
ex: United States, Australia, Norway
 Separate appeals and constitutional courts.
ex: Germany, France, South Korea

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3. Democratic institutions
 Judiciary: judicial review
 Two forms of review:
 Abstract review
 Political leaders can refer questions to a court, often before
laws are passed.
 Example: minority party in France often refers bills to the
“Constitutional Council”.
 Concrete review
 Citizens can challenge a law in court after passage.

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4. Systems
 Question:

When are governments most responsive to voters?

A. When powers are divided between branches of

government so that no one branch is powerful enough to
subvert the public will.
B. When power is unified in one single branch so the
public can more easily control it through elections.

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 4. Systems
 How do voters control governments?

 Three models:
 Parliamentary
 Voters elect legislators
who elect executives.
 Presidential
 Voters elect legislators,
executives separately.
 Semi-Presidential
 A hybrid.

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4. Systems
 Parliamentary democracy
 Voters elect Members of Parliament (MPs).
 MPs elect ministers to run the government.

Voters Members Government

 Voters hold MPs accountable through elections.

 How do MPs hold government accountable?

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4. Systems
 Parliamentary democracy
 How MPs hold government accountable:
 “Confidence”
 Biggest party in parliament forms government.
 If parliament votes no confidence in government,
 Other parties form government. If they can't,
 New elections for a new parliament.
 So:
 Government is accountable to parliament.
 Both are accountable to voters.

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4. Systems
 Parliamentary democracy

 Prime Minister has two roles:

 head of government (executive)
 leader of parliament (legislature)

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4. Systems
 Presidential democracy
 Voters elect Members of Congress, and
 Voters elect President to run the government.
Members
Voters Government

President
 Congress holds government accountable through
budgets and oversight.

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4. Systems
 Semi-Presidential democracy
 Prime minister shares power with a president.
 Examples:
 France: President effectively runs government when
President and Prime Minister are from the same
party.
 When they are from different parties (“cohabitation”)
they divide roles.
 Finland: President runs foreign policy, Prime
Minister runs domestic policy.
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5. Elections
 How do votes become seats?
 Two different principles:
 Proportional Representation
 Parties gets seats in proportion to votes.
 Voters vote for a party.
 Often districts with more than one member
 Parties often must share power in coalitions.
 Winner-take-all (or “Majoritarian”)
 Party or candidate with the most votes wins all.
 Voters usually vote for individual candidates.
 Little power-sharing, small parties ignored.
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5. Elections
 Example of Proportional
Representation (PR)
in South Korea:

Parties campaign by
promoting groups of
candidates; voters cast
ballots for the party list.

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5. Elections
 Questions:

1. Which system best describes the United Kingdom?

A. proportional representation

B. winner-take-all

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5. Elections
2. Which system best describes the United States?

A. proportional representation

B. winner-take-all

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6. Rights and Liberties
3. Where do rights come from?

A. Rights are natural; people have them whether or not

states recognize them.

B. Rights are created by states; they are chosen as a

result of a political process, so people only have those
rights that get recognized politically.

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6. Rights and Liberties
 Civil rights: promotion of equality

 Civil liberties: promotion of freedom

 Differences across states:

 Specificity of constitutional protections
 Actions by courts to defend rights and liberties
 Ideas about central role of state

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Copyright ©2013 W.W. Norton, Inc.
Copyright ©2013 W.W. Norton, Inc.
7. Summary
1. Democracy: Liberal democracy, indirect democracy,
republicanism
2. Democratization: Modernization, elites, civil society, political
culture
3. Democratic institutions: Executives, legislatures, courts
4. Systems: Parliamentary, presidential, semi-presidential
5. Elections: Proportional representation, majoritarianism
6. Rights and Liberties: Civil rights, civil liberties

Copyright ©2013 W.W. Norton, Inc.