unit 4

• Political Executives and Leadership

  Core of government, 1/3 branches of government, Contestation over its form and significance
• Separation of powers/trias politica


  Separation of specific functions, duties and responsibilities to distinctive institutions with defined areas of competence and jurisdiction. Separation of public institutions (legislature, executive and judiciary) and of public functions, i.e. the making of law, law application and execution, and dispute resolution.
• Reasons for the separation of powers

  • Protects against the concentration of power in one institution
  • Functional distribution leads to specialization which leads to efficiency
  • Enhances accountability
  • More likely to result in good governance and serve the public good
• The executive


  The branch of government that is responsible for the execution or implementation of policy. Political executives vs Bureaucratic executive. Pyramidal. Parliamentary vs Presidential executives. Head of State vs Head of Government
• Define the concept of the executive

  The executive oversees direction and coordination of government policy. They do not necessarily create government policy, though they are certainly capable of influencing it. Political Executive: based on elections and appointments. Bureaucratic Executive: civil servants whose jobs remain no matter who is in charge of the government. Different types: Parliamentary executive – An executive typically composed of a prime minister and cabinet, that is drawn from and accountable to the parliament, and is formed through parliamentary elections. Presidential executive – An executive that is headed by a separately elected president who enjoys political and constitutional independence from the parliament. Cabinets – Have responsibility that range from sharing of policy-making power in the form of collective leadership to offering advice and the broader coordination of policy.
• The functions of political executives

  • Ceremonial Leadership
  • Policy-Making Leadership
  • Popular Leadership
  • Bureaucratic Leadership
  • Crisis Leadership
• Prime ministers


  Head of the government only. Prime minister drawn from the Assembly. PM accountable to Assembly, not the people. Head of the majority party/Head of the largest party in a coalition government. Possesses the control of patronage: People will not be promoted in a parliamentary system without the approval of the prime minister. Powers of a prime minister increasing in the last few decades - media increasingly focuses on the personalities of the government not the debates. The prime minister uses clout to persuade members of the assembly of the expectations that the people have of them.
• Presidents


  Amount of power that a president possesses depends on a variety of factors. Constitutional president: roles and responsibilities of the president tend to be ceremonial. Executive president: possesses executive powers and is not merely a figurehead. Limited powers: restrictions on what the president is allowed to do. Unlimited powers: no restrictions, usually found in totalitarian states. Directly accountable to the people (on account that the people vote for the president, not the assembly). Powers of the president provided for by in the Constitution, e.g.: head of state, chief executive (the president is in command of all the bureaucracy), commander-in-chief (all military structures report to the president), chief diplomat (it is the president's branch that engages in diplomatic ties with other nations), powers of patronage (it is the president that nominates people for positions within the judiciary and bureaucratic departments) and veto power (the president can prevent certain bills from passing into law, but this power is limited).
• Assemblies


  Describe and analyse the role of assemblies. Distinguish between parliamentary, presidential and semi-presidential systems. Discuss the functions of assemblies. Describe the structure of assemblies.
• Parliamentary, presidential and semi-presidential systems

  Parliamentary: The government governs in and through the assembly or parliament, thereby 'fusing' the legislative and executive branches. Chief features: Governments are formed as a result of assembly elections, Personnel of government drawn from assembly, Government rests on the assembly's confidence and can be removed if it loses that confidence, Gov can dissolve assembly, Parliamentary executives are generally collective. Presidential: Strict adherence to the principle of separation of powers, Assemblies and executives separate from each other and separately elected, Network of checks and balances to constrain all branches powers. Semi-presidential: Hybrid system with dual executive, Separately elected president works in conjunction with a prime minister and cabinet drawn from and responsible to the National Assembly.
• Functions of assemblies


  • Legislation: Proposed laws openly discussed and debated, As members represent the people, laws are made by the people
  • Representation: Provide important link between government and the people, who elect the officials who sit in assemblies
  • Scrutiny: Constrain or check executive power through questioning of ministers, oversight committees/standing committees and interpellation
  • Political recruitment: Provide pool of talent from which leading decision-makers emerge
  • Legitimacy: Encourage people to see the system of rule as rightful, through mobilization of consent and educational functions
• Structure of assemblies


  Unicameral: The principle or practice of having an assembly composed of a single legislative chamber, More streamlined & effective than bicameral ones, in terms of responding to the needs of small and relatively cohesive societies. Bicameral: The principle or practice of fragmenting legislative power through the establishment of two (in theory, co-equal) chambers in the assembly, Strengthens checks and balances within assemblies and between executives and assemblies, Representative advantages of bicameralism are NB in federal states, where the sharing of sovereignty creates a constant danger of irreconcilable conflict between the centre and the periphery. Committee: Carry out detailed consideration of legislative measures and financial proposals, Set up to scrutinize government administration and oversee the exercise of executive power, Such committees must be permanent and specialized to be effective, They have to rival the executive in terms of detailed knowledge and expertise, Ad hoc committees may investigate matters of public concern.
• Specialization


  Functional distribution of power among different branches or institutions of government, leading to specialization, efficiency, and accountability
• Generalization


  A hypothetical situation where a single institution or branch of government has too much power and authority, potentially leading to issues with accountability and the protection against the concentration of power
• The state


  Encapsulates all human activity – from education to economic management and social welfare
• Regime


  A set of arrangements and procedures for government, outlining the location of authority and the nature of the policy process
• Why classify regimes?


  • To understand politics and government through a process of comparison. Highlighting similarities or differences helps us distinguish between what is significant and meaningful, and what is not
  • To facilitate evaluation rather than analysis. A search for an 'ideal' system of rule
• Politics


  Usually understood as being the study of the state
• Classical Typologies


  Categorizing all governments by two questions: Who rules? Who benefits from rule?
• What is the state?

  • Collection of institutions
  • Territorial unit
  • Philosophical idea
  • Instrument of coercion and oppression
• Aristotle determined the 'best' type of regime as Polity, where the many rule for the benefit of all
• State institutions


  • They are public – they are responsible for the collective organization of communal life – they are funded at the public's expense
• Aristotle's Six forms of Government

  • Tyranny (One person rules for the few)
  • Oligarchy (The few rule for the few)
  • Democracy (The many rule for the many)
  • Monarchy (One person rules for all)
  • Aristocracy (The few rule for all)
  • Polity (The many rule for all)
• State


  Encompasses all institutions of government, including nationalized industries (ESKOM, SABC, SA Airways) and the security system (armed forces, police)
• Parameters of Modern Regime Classification

  • Who rules?
  • How is compliance achieved?
  • Is government power centralised or fragmented?
  • How is government power acquired and transferred?
  • What is the balance between the state and the individual?
  • What is the level of material development?
  • How is economic life organised?
  • How stable is a regime?
• Idealist Approach


  Hegel's three 'moments' of social existence: family, civil society & the state
• Regime Types of the Modern World

  • Western Liberal Democracies
  • Illiberal Democracies
  • East Asian Regimes
  • Islamic Regimes
  • Military Regimes
• Family


  Type of altruism / selflessness that encourages people to work together and put aside their own interests for the good of the children and/or elderly
• Western Liberal Democracies


  • Also known as 'polyarchies', evolved through democratisation and liberalisation
  • Some favour centralisation and majority rule, others fragmentation and pluralism
  • Majority democracies work according to 'Westminster model' (found in UK)
  • Consensual/Pluralistic democracies for societies that are very diverse (US)
• Civil Society


  'Universal egoism' where individuals place their own interests above those of others
• Illiberal Democracies


  • Hybrid regimes – blending democracy with authoritarianism
  • Democratically elected, but ignoring constitutional restrictions on power
  • Regular elections
  • Personalised leadership, strong state, weak opposition
  • Political and civil rights are oppressed (especially towards the media)
  • Leaning towards majoritarianism. Hostile towards ethnic, cultural or religious minorities
• The State (Hegel)


  An ethical community underpinned by mutual sympathy
• East Asian Regimes


  • Elections, economies and constitutions operate different in the Asian context
  • Evolve around economic goals rather than political goals
  • Support for a 'strong' government. General respect for the state, no welfare state, acceptance that the state is a 'father figure' guiding public and private life
  • Respect for leaders based on loyalty, discipline and duty (Confucianism)
• Idealism


  Tends to creates an uncritical idea of the state and defines the state in ethical terms
• Islamic Regimes


  • Islam is not only a religion – an entire way of life, defining political, moral and economic behaviour
  • Political Islam aims the construction of a Theocracy where political affairs are structured according to religious principles
  • Not all Islamic regimes are Fundamentalist. Some operate with pluralistic characteristics (Malaysia)
  • A form of 'guided' democracy is practiced. The leader is both the religious leader as well as the head of state
• Idealism


  Does not define between institutions within the state and those outside the state
• Military Regimes


  • Belong to the category of a dictatorship
  • Leading posts in government are filled on the basis on someone's position within the military chain of command
  • Opposition in the form of assemblies, free press are either weakened or abolished
  • If armed forces assume direct control of the government, this is a military junta. Combination of the army, navy and air force
  • Or, a military-backed personal dictatorship, a single, usually charismatic person gains control
  • The loyalty of the armed forces upholds the regime
• Functionalist Approach


  Focus on the role and the purpose of state institutions
• Constitution


  The supreme law of the land that defines how government will be organized, establishes the duties, powers and functions of various institutions of government, regulates the relationship between them, and defines the relationship between the state and individual
• Functionalist Approach


  States need to maintain social order