Introduction to Political Science PDF

Introduction to Political Science 02. Constitutions, legislatures and executives Sándor Gallai, PhD Polity, political institutions, constitutions ▪ Polity: the world of political institutions = the “skeleton” of a political system ▪ Broadly: all rules, organisations, bodies and organs of politic...

Introduction to Political Science 02. Constitutions, legislatures and executives Sándor Gallai, PhD Polity, political institutions, constitutions ▪ Polity: the world of political institutions = the “skeleton” of a political system ▪ Broadly: all rules, organisations, bodies and organs of political authority ▪ Constitutions ▪ Broadly: a set of written and unwritten rules, which… ▪ …establish the duties, powers and functions of various state institutions, and regulate their relationships (system of government) ▪ …define the relationship between the state and its citizens (rights and duties) ▪ Narrowly: supreme / basic / fundamental / highest law / “law of laws” = a single, authoritative document, codifying the (major) constitutional provisions, including… ▪ …the structure of government ▪ …the state symbols ▪ …the main political institutions and the formal separation of powers ▪ …the rights and duties of citizens ▪ …the requirements of adoption and modifications to the Constitution ▪ Protection of the Constitutions: hard to modify + Constitutional Courts ▪ Qualified (super) majority (3/5, 2/3, 3/4) and/or approval by referendum, two consecutive parliaments, two houses, sub-national legislatures The three branches of power 2 Variety of Constitutions ▪ The oldest active codified constitution: USA (1789) ▪ The latest (most recent): Chad (2023) and Gambia to come? (Hungary: 2012) ▪ The shortest: Monaco (3814 words) ▪ The longest: India (146,385 words) ▪ The most stable: USA (27 amendments in 235 years) ▪ The least stable: Mexico (227 amendments in 107 years) (Hungary: 12 changes / 12 years) ▪ Entrenched (unchangeable) clauses: ▪ Universal values (such as human rights, democracy, rule of law, ban on autocratic ruling) ▪ Particularistic features (such as form of state, sovereignity, state integrity, separation of powers, state architecture, language, religion, national symbols, reconciliation rules) 3 Legislatures ▪ Parliaments (assembly, council) or Congresses ▪ Representatives (MPs and congressmen) usually elected by the people ▪ Unicameral (single chamber/house) or bicameral (two chambers/houses – balanced/asymmetric) ▪ Second/upper chamber/house (most called: Senate) ▪ In federal states: representing sub-national units (states/regions/lands/cantons) – territorial representation ▪ In the UK: House of Lords = hereditary members + members with given peerages – aristocratic tradition ▪ In Ireland, Slovenia – corporative/sectorial representation ▪ In Czechia, Poland, Romania: larger electoral districts – partisan logic of representation ▪ Structure: members (all = plenum), committees (standing, ad hoc, joint), sub-committees, political groups/factions ▪ Main functions: representation and law-making (legislation) + in non-presidential systems: government (cabinet) formation and oversight (scrutiny – tools: questions, interpellations, hearings) ▪ Other functions: political socialisation, publicity, legitimacy, political recruitment 4 Executive: definition and types ▪ Broader and narrower use: implementation of laws and policies vs. “political executive” (decides and runs government policy) ▪ Political executive = government/cabinet/administration/council of ministers ▪ Unitary leadership: head of state = head of government/cabinet/administration/council of ministers ▪ Divided leadership: head of state and head of government/etc. are two different persons ▪ Selection and legitimacy of the head of state determines the structure of government ▪ Hereditary head of state (or irregular elections by special electoral bodies), traditional authority: monarch =˃ monarchy (absolutist/constitutional/theocratic; e.g. Saudi Arabia/Benelux/Iran) ▪ Regular election of the head of state, legal-rational authority: president =˃ republic ▪ Tells nothing on the exercise of power – can be democratic or autocratic ruling; parliamentary or presidential executives (=˃ system (or form) of government) 5 Executives: structure and functions ▪ Structure of executives ▪ Head(s): president and/or prime minister/premier/chancellor ▪ Leading members of the government/cabinet/administration/council of ministers: cabinet ministers/ministers/secretaries ▪ Members at lower levels: ministers of state/state secretaries/under secretaries; political/parliamentary secretaries and their deputies ▪ Main functions and powers: not only the executions of laws! ▪ Heads of state: nomination and appointment rights, representational and diplomatic functions, symbolic powers, right to give pardon, awards, medals and decorations; has weaker powers in constitutional monarchies and parliamentary systems, stronger in (semi)presidential systems, where chief of foreign policy, commander-in-chief, has discretional powers and usually strong influence on legislation (convenes/dissolves/speaks/proposes/signs/vetoes) and right to secondary law-making ▪ Heads of government/etc.: run the government, propose or appoint ministers/secretaries, decide on or propose the units of government, decide on political strategy and directions ▪ Government/cabinet/administration/council of ministers: political planning, management and coordination, influence on legislation and secondary law-making (bills and decrees); managing budgetary, welfare, foreign and military policies; managing the implementation of laws; leading public administration 6 Systems (forms) of government ▪ Structure of the executive and its relationship with legislature define the system/form of government ▪ Two classical forms ▪ Parliamentary (European (UK) tradition) ▪ Presidential (American (US) tradition) ▪ Two more recent forms ▪ Chancellor type (German innovation) ▪ Semi-presidential or mixed (French innovation) ▪ Dessert ▪ Unique Swiss system – neither Lindt, nor Milka, but directorial system of government MAP: DO NOT TRUST SECONDARY SOURCES!!! 7 Parliamentary systems ▪ Total primacy (supremacy) of legislature (parliament): legally unlimited power ▪ Executive (cabinet/government) is politically accountable to Parliament ▪ Election (investiture) – vote of confidence ▪ Scrutiny: questions, interpellations, committee hearings, reports ▪ Possibility of the motion of no-confidence ▪ and individual ministers responsible to parliament: get their mandate from parliament (vote of confidence); are subject to questions, interpellations, hearings; can be dismissed by vote of no confidence ▪ Head of state (monarch or president) ≠ head of government (prime minister) ▪ Head of state with mostly symbolic powers (even if directly elected), has no political accountability; has weak legislative veto (if at all); political decisions counter-signed by members of government ▪ Political leader of the executive branch = prime minister/premier/first minister, who runs the cabinet/government/council of ministers ▪ Classic (atypical) model: Westminster, copied by a majority of EU states (differences: (qualified) majority rule, taxative competence list, conflict of interest, vote of no-confidence in induvidual ministers), e.g. Benelux, Slovakia, Czechia, Nordic countries (+ electoral systems, coalitions) ▪ Note: fusion of two branches; strong political parties, disciplined MPs drives the classical legal and political conflict of parliament and executive into a (political) conflict between governing and opposition forces 8 Presidential systems ▪ Unitary executive, headed by the president (head of state = head of administration/government) ▪ President elected independent of legislature, usually in direct popular vote → strong legitimacy ▪ Exception: USA, indirectly elected, by the electoral college (of directly elected electors) ▪ President is NOT responsible to legislature (no questions, no interpellations, no vote of no- confidence); political accountability lies with the electorate; legal accountability: impeachment in cases of severe violation of laws) ▪ President has broad competences and strong powers: directs and supervises the heads of ministries (departments) and other government agencies, who are accountable to the president; serves as the commander-in-chief; appoints leading officials; has strong legislative veto (qualified majority needed to overcome); usually has the power to dissolve parliament ▪ USA as atypical model: exceptional for checks and balances and weak political parties ▪ Latin American, African and Asian presidential systems: stronger presidents, becuse principle of checks and balances less in place, congresses and territorial subunits usually weaker; personalized parties (and often unfair competition + political clientelism) 9 New systems of government ▪ Bitter experience in Europe ▪ World wars, economic crisis, fragmented party systems and permanent government crisis in many countries (e.g. France 4th Republic), failure of the Weimar Republic, strong radical parties on both flanks ▪ Main objective: political stability… ▪ …by stregthening the executive vis-à-vis parliament ▪ …by establishing stable executives ▪ Outcome ▪ Chancellor-type system of Germany ▪ Semi-presidential/mixed system of France, 5th Republic ▪ Permanent government crises (Weimar, French Fourth Rep. etc.), mainly due to fragmented party systems, weak governments and strong radical parties on both flanks 10 Chancellor-type system of government ▪ Origin: Bonn Constitution of 1949 ▪ Legal and political elevation of the prime minister (chancellor) ▪ Personal and organisational powers ▪ Political leadership assigned ▪ Stronger parliamentary position (cf. accountability and no-confidence) ▪ Limited parliamentary accountability of ministers ▪ Chosen by the chancellor (discretional power) ▪ No vote of no-confience against individual minisiters ▪ Political accountabulity lies with the chancellor (and not the parliament) ▪ “Constructive” vote of no-confidence ▪ An “alternative majority” is a prerequisite for the fall of the chancellor ▪ Continuity of government, more stable governments ▪ Similar example: Hungary ▪ Difference: powers of the German chancellor curtailed by federalism ▪ NOTE: neither the lack of no-confidence against individual ministers, nor the constructive vote of no- confidence against the government will make a parliamentary system a chancellor-type system (cf. Czechia, Poland, Slovenia); the same for a PM called chancellor (cf. Austria) 11 Semi-presidential (mixed) systems ▪ A mix of presidential and parliamentary systems ▪ Directly elected president ▪ Similarly strong powers as in presidential systems ▪ Government remains accountable to legislature (parliament) ▪ Divided executive ▪ President is head of the executive and/or has broad powers in foreign and defence policies ▪ Problems of “cohabitation” ▪ Typical examples ▪ France (5th Republic) – but weak presidential veto ▪ Poland (between 1993-97) – but strong presidential veto as a political legacy ▪ Finland (until 2000) – Cold War legacy; speaking in one voice to the Soviet bear ▪ Ukraine (except for the period of 2004–2010) ▪ Russia, Belarus and Azerbaijan (as “quasi-Presidential systems”) 12  A summary of the systems of government Chancellor- Semi- Presidential Parlamentary type presidential unitary; divided, but weak divided, but weak divided, strong Executive head of state = head of state, PM is head of state, PM is head of state, often leadership head of adm/govt. the political leader the political leader admin PM PM: general, president: none, Accountability none general ministers: limited, PM and ministers: to legislature indirect general president: none Motion of normal, against PM constructive, only none normal against no-confidence and ministers against PM PM and ministers Presidential can be strong, but strong weak or none weak veto not necessarily Main stability removability stability stability objective Examples USA, L-A UK, B, N, SK D, HU F, RO 13 Swiss directorial system ▪ Unique history ▪ Very powerful cantons enjoying great level of autonomy ▪ Multi-ethnic society – political objective to preserve balance and guarantee political stability ▪ Special system (form) of government: directorial ▪ 7-member Federal Council (government) ▪ Elected by parliament ▪ Jointly exercise the powers of the executive ▪ Not accountable to the Federal Assembly (parliament) ▪ Head of the Council is head of state and head of government ▪ Annual rotation in the position of the head of the Council (first among the equals – primus inter pares) 14 Thank you for your attention! [email protected]