Politics & Governance PDF

Aristotle, the **Father of Political Science**, once said, **\"Man is by nature a political animal\".** **POLITICS** **Politics** formulated by the Greeks during the **4th and 5th** **century**. It come from the word "**polis**" which means **city state.** **Polites** -- citizens **Politikos**...

Aristotle, the **Father of Political Science**, once said, **\"Man is by nature a political animal\".** **POLITICS** **Politics** formulated by the Greeks during the **4th and 5th** **century**. It come from the word "**polis**" which means **city state.** **Polites** -- citizens **Politikos** - government officials **Basic issues in politics** **1. Legitimacy-** the question of being a rightful ruler. **2. Sovereignty**- the question on the right of the government to rule. **3. Authority**- question of the power to rule and exact obedience on the people **CONSENSUS** A general agreement among a group of people regarding a particular issue or decision. **COMPROMISE** A process of negotiation and agreement where two or more parties with conflicting interest or goals work together to find a mutually acceptable solution. **GOVERNMENT** Government is defined as **the group of people with the authority to govern a country or state**, a particular ministry in office (Oxford Dictionary). It is the instrument of the state through which the will of the people is expressed, carried out, and formulated. Thus, the government serves as the bridge that connects the people to the state. **Forms of Government** 1\. As to number of persons exercising sovereign power: **a. Monarchy/monarchic**- the supreme and final authority is in the hands of a single person without regard to the source of his election or the nature or duration of his tenure. Ex. (Sweden, Thailand,UK)(king or queen) *[1. Absolute monarchy]*- the ruler rules by divine right. Ex. (brunei, oman, Saudi arabia, Vatican city) *[2. Limited monarchy]*- the ruler rules in accordance with a constitution. (uk, Belgium, Norway, Thailand) **b. Aristocracy/aristocratic**- the political power is exercised by a few privileged class which is known as an aristocracy or oligarchy. (uk, Russia, France) **c. Democracy/democratic**- the political power is exercised by the majority of the people. (Norway, Iceland, Sweden, new zealand, finland, Ireland, Canada, Denmark, Australia, Switzerland- TOP 10) 2\. As to extent of powers exercised by the central or national government: **a. Unitary government**- the control of national and local affairs is exercised by the central or national government. Ex. (china, France, Japan, UK) **b. Federal government**- the power of the government are divided between two assets of organs, one for national affairs and the other for local affairs, each organ being supreme within its own sphere. (Russia, Canada, USA, brazil, Australia, india, Argentina) 3\. As to relationship between the executive and the legislative branches of the government: **a. Parliamentary government**- government by a body of cabinet ministers who are chosen from and responsible to the legislature and act as advisers to a nominal chief of state.(Cambodia, Bhutan, israel, india) **b. Presidential government**- the state makes the executive constitutionally independent of the legislature as regards his tenure and to a large extent as regards his policies and acts. (US, Indonesia, Mexico, Philippines, south korea) **GOVERNANCE** governance is defined as **the process of decision-making and the process by which decisions are implemented**. At present, the terms government and governance are also used with confusion to a large extent. As an institution, it is the government which concretizes the policies and addresses the problems of the state. Good governance spring up when the government involves the people in its agenda and in the process of policy making. The extent, therefore, to which democratic participation is encouraged determines whether governance exists. According to UNESCO for Asia and the Pacific, the following are the **characteristics of good governance: participation, rule of law, transparency, responsiveness, consensus oriented, effectiveness and efficiency, and accountability**. The citizens' satisfaction with their government is a determinant of governance. Governance demands both the political will of policy officials and the participation of citizens. This only means that you are also part of governance. **STATE** **Concept of a State** State taken from the Latin stare (to stand). According to James Garner, the State is a community of persons more or less numerous occupying a definite portion of territory completely free of external control and possessing an organized government to which a great body of inhabitants render habitual obedience. **Elements of a State** **1. People** - also known as population or inhabitants. **2. Territory** - refers to the portion of the earth which composed of *[aerial]* (air space above), *[fluvia]*l (waters around and connecting the islands of the archipelago) and the *[terrestrial]* (landmass) domains. **3. Sovereignty** - refers to supreme and absolute power within its territorial boundaries. **4. Government** -- refers to the institution or agency or instrumentalities through which the state maintains social order, provide public services, and enforces binding decisions. International recognition, e.g. by the UN. **NATION** **Concept of Nation** Nation (Anderson 1991, Poggi 2008) is the social construction of a collective identity. It is an imagined political community that is imagined as both inherently limited and sovereign. It is also defined as **a group of people who share the same territory, geography, language, customs and sometimes religion.** **What is Nation-State?** A type of **state that joins the political entity of a state to the cultural entity of a nation,** from which it aims to derive its potentially its status as a sovereign state if one accepts the declarative theory of statehood as opposed to the constitutive theory. State Nation ------------------------------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Exited not only at present but also in the ancient period. Modern phenomenon. It is legal political. It is racial cultural People organized for law within a definite territory. People psychologically joined together with common will to live together. A state must be sovereign. People continue as a nation even if they do not remain sovereign. Inhabited by heterogeneous groups of people Inhabited by homogenous groups of people.