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Lecture 4: COMPARATIVE

POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS

SOSC 152

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Key Topics

A. ROLE OF INSTITUTIONS

B. POLITICAL PARTIES

C. DISTRIBUTIONS OF POWER

D. BUREAUCRACY

E. MILITARY

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Distribution of Political Values in Bimodal or Multi-modal, Unimodal Political Culture

Left Right

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A. THE ROLE OF INSTITUTIONS 1. What are Institutions?

key government and non-government organizations, as well as rules and norms which govern the political system.

2. What do they do?determine the distribution of formal and informal power, the locus of formal political power, and the relations among political actors.shape the formal politics of a political system by determining which institutions have legal authority to make rules and wield power.create incentives for political action as politicians try to control and use them to advance their political interests.aggregate political interests of the population and society

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3. Why study them?

key political institutions affect political and economic decisions

allocation of wealth and power in the political system.

how they function affects nature of political systems,

which types of institutions have authority determines whether the system is democratic or authoritarianism

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B. POLITICAL PARTIES - fulfill the function of interest aggregation 1. HISTORICAL ROOTS OF POLITICAL PARTIES

some developed within parliaments, representing competing interests, such as landlords, bourgeoise (middle class)rise of new social classes can lead to new parties, such as rise of working class parties parties of immigrants to new countriesethnic ties or religious groups form parties to protect interestsrevolutionary organizations or movements become partiesparties can evolve out of factions in former communist systems, as in Hungary

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2. PARTIES AND “INTEREST AGGREGATION”

Interest Aggregation occurs in FOUR places:a. within parties, as they put forward political platforms for elections.

- voters made aware of different goals and plans of parties

- parties try to create platforms or programs that will increase their votes.

b. through voters expressing preferences through elections.

- voters chose which party with which policies and representing what interests will form government

c. bargaining among parties over policies in the legislature

- less "electoral aggregation"

d. bargaining among branches of government after elections.

- presidents versus legislatures

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3. TYPES OF PARTY SYSTEMS

no party system,

1-party authoritarian system,

1- party dominant democratic system,

2-party system,

multi-party system.

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4. TYPES OF ELECTORAL SYSTEMS AFFECTS PARTY POLITICS

 The type of electoral system can determine the number of

parties and level of political stability of a system. 

a. Single Member District Plurality System - SMDP 

"first past the post"--winner takes all--systemtends to squeeze out smaller parties which cannot gain seatslikely to be two party systemextremist views must move into "big tent" politicstends to push parties to the centre, especially when political attitudes in populace are distributed "normally," as each party adjusts its program to attract more voters.see Economic Theory of Democracy, Figure 1

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An Economic Theory of Democracy, I

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b. Proportional Representation System - PRS

number of seats based on the proportion of the vote received by each party, which is translated into seats in the legislature according to an agreed formula, (See table)

 

usually found in conflictual and polarized political culture, where attitudes have bi-modal or multi-modal distribution.

See Figure: Types of Electoral Systems and Party Systems

allows many viewpoints to be represented in legislature, and gives minority groups a voice;more representative, as but less stable, but without it, excluded minorities could come violent

 

But leads leads to multiparty system as there is no pressure for parties to unify different ideologies in the same partyeach ideology can get a number of seats, and then they form alliances in the parliament

 

leads to coalition or minority governments, which are unstablesmall radical parties can have major influence on public policySee Figure 6.1: Interest Aggregation by Competitive Parties and Voter

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How Elections work for a Proportional Representation (PR) System

                   

Step 1. Parties make Party List, with a list of names of top candidates in the party.

  * list could contain as many names as there are seats in the legislature

                   

Step 2. Voters go to polls but only have one vote for the party they prefer. Party List

 

* they do not vote for individual candidates, but only for the list or slate of candidates proposed

    by the party.            

                   

Step 3.Let us assume that there are 300 seats in the parliament and 5 parties competing in the elections

   

* so voters go and vote for whichever of the 5 parties they prefer.    

                   

  Party 1.   Party 2   Party 3  

Party 4   Party 5

No. of candidates 80 names   100 names 120 names

30 names   40 names

percent of votes 20%   30%   35%   12%   3%No. of seats/party 60   90   105   36   0*

                   

Note:* Usually a party needs a minimum of 5% of the total vote to get any seats in the parliament

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Types of Electoral Systems and Party Systems

Two-party systems

TYPE of PARTY SYSTEM Multiparty systems

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Interest Aggregation by Competitive Parties and Voter

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C. DISTRIBUTION OF POWER 1. TERRITORIAL DISTRIBUTIONS OF POWER: WHERE

DOES POWER LIE?

a. Geographical Distribution: Unitary, Federation, ConfederationUnitary: one level of government controls resources and decision making on most issues

China, Egypt, France, South Korea

Federation: - two levels of authority with formal powers distributed

centralized versus peripheral federalismdegree of central versus regional power varies over timeCanada, with distribution of power among central government in Ottawa and in the 11 provinces. 

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Confederation: one level of authority, based on alliance of two semi-sovereign provinces or states.

 * See Figure: Divisions and Limitations of Governmental Authority* See Figure: Divisions and Limitations of Governmental Authority

 

Type of System determined by history and political compromises among regional or ethnic/territorial groups

 

b. Affects the type of legislature

federal system usually leads to two legislative chambers, one based on population, second based on regional interests.

in some cases, second chamber is based on ethnicity or aristocracy

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Divisions and Limitations of Governmental Authority

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2. INSTITTUTIONAL DISTRIBUTION OR AUTHORITY  

a. "SEPARATION OF POWERS" among Executive, Legislature, and Judiciary

 

b. Westminister System has dominant LegislatureExecutive is Prime Minister, whose party has most seats in legislatureimportance of "loyal opposition" and "question period" for oversightmembers of government, called Cabinet, chosen from elected members of Legislatureopposition forms “shadow cabinet” with “shadow ministers” responsible with portfolios to keep track of the minister."Parliamentary Party" insists that elected reps follow party policiesMost systems have TWO legislatures, one more powerful than other

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Physical structure of Westminister Parliamentary System

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c. Presidential System as in U.S.President is Executive, with separate election for Chief of government and the legislaturePresident proposes legislation, legislature makes laws to meet those proposalsbalance of power varies across systems as some have very dominant President (France and Russia today)members of Cabinet chosen from elites and friends of President, not necessarily from people elected to the legislature.

 

d. Socialist and Authoritarian Systemslegislature may be only "rubber stamp" true power in top levels of ruling political party or armylarge Cabinet composed of top party leaders running government ministries

 

e. Judicial Reviewcourts can declare that other levels or parts of government have exceeded authorityability to overturn government decisions varies across systems can be the key institution determining the distribution of political authority on variety of issues.

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D. BUREAUCRACY 1. Defined as "Rule By Desk,"

used to define the Civil Service 2. Formal Roles:

permanent Administrators expected to implement will of politiciansexpected to be politically neutral, applying abstract, predefined rules to every situationin theory, is not expected to have their own interests or to act on behalf of those interests

 3. Complexity of Society has increased their authority

politicians rely on them for information, ideas, strategies of policy implementationrise of technical bureaucracy, or "technocracy" in all types of political systemsplay role in "interventionist welfare state" in the 20th century, based on Keynesianism, where the state, under a capitalist regime, is actively involved in many aspects of the economy and in delivering “public goods”

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4. Bureaucracy and bureaucrats are very powerful in socialist systems

Power comes from planned economies

power also based on unclear property rights 

5. Number of positions rotated after each election affects their influence

selecting top appointees is the privilege of new government

U.S. president appoints 2,000 positions, British Prime Minister only 300

U.S. president has more influence over the bureaucracy than a Prime Minister in a parliamentary system because his appointees are much deeper in the system.

in Westminister system, the deputy minister may be a permanent bureaucrat, like Permanent Secretaries in Hong Kong

 

6. Bureaucrats can develop independent interests

important policy makers through power of policy implementation 

likely to resist efforts to cut back on size of bureaucracy

Their goal is often to expand the resources controlled by their bureau

They have values that may conflict with those of the politicians

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E. MILITARY 1. Key Actors in Unstable Political Systems 

“Coup d’etats” likely when political institutions, such as parties or parliament, are unstable or challenge military interests

military is often the only stable institution when ethnic conflict destroys parties

more likely to intervene if there is “political decay”

in Latin America, the military was the ally of the middle class against working class in "bureaucratic authoritarian regimes"

also helped suppress Marxist rebellions in Central America and helped large plantation owners keep their power.

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2. Seen as Modernizers in Developing Countries

important actor in East Asia bringing economic development (Korea, Indonesia, Thailand and Taiwan)

have the power to become important economic actors in developing countries

problem of corruption when they get involved in business, as in Indonesia, Thailand

 

3. Important role in communist systems

pressures to intervene in politics when intra-party conflicts erupt

military often “penetrated” and controlled by Communist Party