POL 202 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Presidential System, Divided Differences, Indirect Election
16 Nov 2016
School
Department
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Ch 10
Tuesday, November 1, 2016
1:16 PM
Executive Branch: (In)Formal Powers
• Executes or administers policies & laws, by running the bureaucracy, including the military (also
called the administration in comparative politics)
• Has influence over which laws & policies pass (type of influence depends)
• Checks the legislative branch (type of check depends); in all democracies there are also checks on
executive branch (types depend)
• Symbolizes or embodies the nation itself
• Some executives can pass executive orders (instruction to the bureaucracy on how it should
interpret the law), decrees (executive orders like laws, but not passed by legislative branch), or
declare state of emergency (exceptional conditions warranting limitation of certain rights or
constitutional provisions
• Also informal powers, partisan powers (head of political party that influences others in party), &
sometimes uses state resources for patronage or clientelism (I'll help you if you vote for me)
Presidential vs. Parliamentary Systems of Executive/Legislative Branch Relations
• Differs in 3 key ways
o Make up of executive branch
o Way executive branch gets into office
o System of checks & balances between executive branch & legislature
Make Up of Executive Branch
• Head of state role is informal powers, symbolic, not about policy, uncontroversial
• Head of government/chief executive role more about policy and executing law, fulfilling law/duty,
signing bills into laws, makes choice to sign/not sign (not just for show), has actual impact, military
decisions, promotion of act/bill
• Way these duties are divided differences
• In presidential system, president is both head of state & government, cabinet is selected by
president & act as advisors to him or her
• In parliamentary system, much more complicated
o Head of government is Prime Minister (Chancellor in German-speaking countries)
o Head of state is either a monarch or ceremonial "president"
o Prime minister is "first among equals" in cabinet; it too is accountable to the legislative
branch
o Cabinet is different, actually is executive branch too not just advisors
Way Executive Gets into Office
• Presidential System has direct election of executive; voters pick both executive & legislative
branch members in (at least 2) national elections
• Presidential System ends up with either divided government (executive & legislative branch have
different parties in power) or unified government
• Parliamentary system has indirect election of executive; voters directly elect legislative branch
which then picks prime minister & cabinet (executive branch)
• Parliamentary system always has unified government
• In parliamentary system, candidate who gets 50% + 1 vote of the seats in parliament gets chosen
as executive branch
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Parliamentary systems of executive/legislative branch relations: differs in 3 key ways, make up of executive branch, way executive branch gets into office, system of checks & balances between executive branch & legislature. In presidential system, president is both head of state & government, cabinet is selected by president & act as advisors to him or her. In parliamentary system, candidate who gets 50% + 1 vote of the seats in parliament gets chosen as executive branch. Single party government is when one party has majority 50% + 1, & they get to pick prime minister. Common types of coalitions: minimum winning coalition--as close to 50%+1 as possible, no extra parties (vegan + omnivore = 50% of the seats; other parties (cid:862)tolerate(cid:863) coalition (used when centrists are a large party or (cid:862)toleration(cid:863) parties don"t want to be in government) ex: omnivore only. Executive-legislative relations in presidential system: checks & balances: executive can check legislature by vetoing a bill.
