12 marker USA comparative questions

• analyse how devolution differs from federalism - equal power

  • US states have equal power whereas there is power asymmetry between UK regions
  • structural theory - UK only devolved governments in regions whereas US article four sets out a symmetrical system of power between states
  • e.g. UK west Lothian question, englands power asymmetry and US, since admission of Tennessee as a state in 1796 congress has included in each states act of admission the clause on equal footing with the original states in all respects
• analyse how devolution differs from federalism - autonomy vs sovereign

  • US states wholly have autonomy whereas in the UK parliament is sovereign
  • structural theory - UKs devolution settlement creates a quasi federal agreement maintaining parliament as sovereign, whereas US separation of powers means states can use legally binding SCOTUS rulings to uphold authority
  • e.g. UK Scottish gender recognition bill 2022 and US covid 19 supreme court ruling n states favours in Jacobsen v Massachusetts allowing states to force people to be vaccinated
• analyse how devolution differs from federalism - fixed v everchanging relationships

  • US relationships between states and central gov is fixed whereas in the UK this relationship is everchanging
  • structural theory - UK constitution is uncodified so easy to change through parliament, whereas US codified constitution is inflexible with rare supermajorities required
  • e.g. UK many changes to devolution settlement per year, notably UK internal Market act 2020 which restricts the powers of the scottish gov. surrounding trade and US fixed relationship is the 10th amendment of the constitution
• analyse how united the main US and UK political parties are - internal factions and decisions

  • Equally disunited due to internal factions/divisions. Cultural theory - reflects differing groups with differing ideology. e.g. USA GOPs are fiscal, social, moderate or MAGA and Dems are liberal, blue dog or centrist. Leads to internal disagreement - blue dogs opposed the liberal policy of a $15 minimum wage. E.g., UK, divisions in the Conservative party on pro and anti-BREXIT Tories and Labour split between Corbynite and more centrist groups.
• analyse how united the main US and UK political parties are - UK parties more united due to whip system

  • UK parties more united due to the whip system.Structural theory - UK executive sits in the legislature due to the fusion of powers so easier to enforce CMR whereas, in US separation of powers allows freer voting.E.g., UK CMR (cannot publicly criticise their party). Suella Braveman could not criticise Sunak until she left the party.E.g., No whip system - AOC said 'in any other country me and Biden would not be in the same party.'
• analyse how united the main US and UK political parties are - UK more united on social issues than those in the US

  • UK parties more united on social issues than those in the US.
  • Cultural theory - policy differences are as a result of ideological differences within groups of individuals.E.g., UK parties equally in support of the NHS despite it being a left-wing policy repeatedly reflecting support of it in their manifestos.E.g., US Democrats divided on abortion rights - Manchin opposes abortion and is pro-life whereas, AOC actively supports abortion rights and advocates for pro-choice.
• analyse the differences in powers of the US and UK supreme court - only US supreme court has the power of impeachment

  • Only the US Supreme Court has the power of impeachment.Structural theory - created by the constitution meaning it has sovereignty, created by constitutional reform act 2005 so Parliament is sovereign and holds this power instead.E.g., Article III - grants SCOTUS 'Judgment in Cases of Impeachment' Trump began trial.E.g., Impeachment of members of the judiciary/executive is reserved to parliament.
• analyse the differences in powers of the US and the UK supreme court - only SCOTUS has power to strike down laws Structural theory - parliamentary sovereignty means that its the only institution that can end a law, due to the separation of powers E.g., 2023 Supreme Court found that government's Rwanda scheme was unlawful, government have preceded with the scheme under different name

  E.g., 2021 N.Y. Penal Law (a firearms law that restricts the carrying of certain firearms outside the home) was struck down as it was unconstitutional according to the 2nd amendment.
• analyse the powers of the US and UK SC - difference in how they rule against the actions of the executive branch

  • Structural theory - the US has a codified constitution so it can be used as a basis for rulings, as the UK does not, rulings are based on other factors.E.g., In the US SC can rule against the executive by declaring actions unconstitutional. In 2017, Trump's executive order banning entry to the US of citizens of seven Muslim countries, was seen unconstitutional.E.g., In the UK to rule against the executive, the court must declare 'ultra vires' . Miller case - triggering article 50
• examine different legislative powers of the UK parliament and US congress - senate and the house have equal power while in UK commons is far more powerful than lords

  • E.g., UK Lords have significantly less power than MPs Due to 1911 and 1949 Parliament acts, Lords can only delay financial bills for 30 days and other bills for up to a year.E.g., US Senators have absolute power to block bills and the House cannot get around this. 2023 $111bn supplemental security bill which included bolstering border security blocked by Senate as GOP felt it was not extreme enough.
• examine different legislative powers of UK parliament and US congress - parliament and US congress is the role and effectiveness of committees in legislative process

  • E.g., UK, Public Bill Committees have no permanent membership, so no expertise gets built up. Committees amend during the second reading and there is a time limit placed on them.E.g., US Standing Committees have more staff, average MP has 4-5 staff members, whereas, the average Congressman has 15-16. Committee stage appears earlier during the bill reading which gives them a greater influence.
• examine the differences between the US congress and UK parliament - upper houses are strikingly different

  • E.g., in the US the Senate is composed of 100 directly elected representatives (2 per state) who serve 6-year terms.E.g., in the UK the House of Lords is comprised of 800 appointed peers, who serve life terms. The link between the Lords and electorate is weak as they are unelected and do not represent a specific geographical area.
• examine the differences between the US congress and UK parliament - US has two party system whereas a wider range of parties are represented in commons

  • E.g., in the US House, there are only Republican and Democrat representatives.E.g., in the UK commons, there are currently 13 parties with representatives in parliament.
• examine the differences between the US congress and UK parliament - parliament is more effective at passing legislation

  • E.g., Separation of Powers means, unlike in the UK, the executive has no discipline in Congress, so party discipline is weak. Even in times of trifecta, there is no guarantee legislation will pass.E.g., Parliamentary democracy means government dominated legislative agenda and party whips usually command a majority of MPs in commons. Whilst the Lords can delay legislation, this is only for up to a year.
• examine the differences between the US senate and the UK house of lords - differing shares of power compared to other chamber

  • E.g., UK Lords have significantly less power than MPs . Due to 1911 and 1949 Parliament acts, Lords can only delay financial bills for 30 days and other bills for up to a year.E.g., US Senators have absolute power to block bills and the House cannot get around this. 2023 $111bn supplemental security bill which included bolstering border security blocked by Senate as GOP felt it was not extreme enough.
• examine the differences between the US senate and the UK house of lords - senators have a much stronger link to the electorate

  • E.g., US Senate is composed of 100 elected representatives (2 per state). 6-year terms keep them responsive to electorate to ensure re-election., e.g. UK House of Lords is comprised of 800 appointed peers, who serve life terms. The link between the Lords and electorate is weak as they are unelected and do not represent a specific geographical area.
• examine the differences between the US senate and the UK house of lords - senate is a two party system

  • E.g., US Senate 48D, 49R, 3I. There is always a majority of Democrats or GOPs.E.g., There is officially 12 sitting parties in Lords and no party majority. These parties include Non-affiliated and Crossbench highlighting Lords is much less partisan.
• examine the differences in the power of the executives in the US and the UK - prime minister has more power over legislation than the president

  • E.g., President has less influence over congress due to separation of powers and limited patronage. Difficult to pass through Congress during divided government, more likely to see budgets defeated in Congress resulting in shutdown (e.g., 2018-19 Trump shutdown).E.g., PM from majority party can use their leadership position, patronage (recommend supporters for life peerages - Baron William Hague) and whip system to ensure legislation is passed.
• examine the differences in the power of the executives in the US and the UK - the president and PM's military powers

  • E.g., President is commander-in-chief of armed forces but in theory can't declare war alone (Article I, Section 8 lists as a power of Congress 'to declare War'), recently has bypassed this with executive orders, E.g., Obama and Libya.E.g., UK monarch is commander-in-chief. UK PM can declare war using royal prerogative, however, increasing pattern of seeking parliament approval, Government agreed to a parliamentary vote before the Iraq war in 2003.
• examine the differences in the power of the executives in the US and the UK - president has greater executive power than the PM

  • E.g., President is a singular executive (leads the branch), as explained in Article II. Greater powers - executive orders (Trump signed more in first 100 days than any post-WW2 president), agreements and signing statements (Obama and NDAA).E.g., System of cabinet government means PM is primus inter pares (first among equals) in a collective executive - due to being unelected. Theresa May lost authority when her cabinet rejected her deal with the EU over Brexit.
• examine the differences in the ways civil rights are protected in the UK and the US - much better protected in US due to codified constitution

  • E.g., US civil rights are entrenched in the 14th amendment and this codified constitution is very hard to change (only has been 27 amendments). Amendments need 2/3 congress (even more rare in age of hyper-partisanship).E.g., UK constitution is uncodified and very flexible, BBR has been proposed in two leaders' manifestos and could be implemented easily through changing statute law (whip system would make a 'yes' vote easy).
• examine the differences in the ways civil rights are protected in the UK and the US - due to the current age of judicial activism, they have been better protected by the UK supreme court

  • E.g., Vague constitution allows judges to alter rights as they please (good or bad) Dobbs vs Jackson decided that women do not have the constitutional right to an abortion by 14th amendment despite this not being explicitly stated.E.g., UK gov more strict to precedent 'doctrine of precedent' so unlikely to reverse a decision of previous courts that would weaken rights.
• examine the differences in the ways civil rights are protected in the UK - pressure groups are more effective at protecting rights in the US

  • E.g., Frequent (2-6 years) and expensive (senate seat cost $10m in 2016) elections. EMILYs list (superPAC) donated $55000 to Sykes' pro-choice campaign who preceded to vote in support of women's rights.E.g., Due to parliamentary sovereignty and regulated campaign finance, pressure groups are less successful at protecting rights. Conservative gov (2015) was determined to introduce a 7-day NHS, so the BMA campaigns against this have been unsuccessful.
• examine the different natures of the US and the UK constitutions - US constitutions are entrenched

  • E.g., UK constitution is unentrenched with many sources, eg. Parliament Acts of 1911 and 1949. Major constitutional change (e.g., BREXIT) simply required an Act of Parliament.E.g., US Constitution is entrenched into one document. Very hard to alter, with only 27 amendments — ten of which happened straight away in the Bill of Rights.
• examine the different natures of the US and the UK constitutions - dissimilar in their power sharing agreements

  • E.g., The UK's uncodified constitution sets out a power-sharing agreement of devolution. Regions have unequal powers compared to the central government. Scotland - health, education and other powers, Wales and NI - less political autonomy.E.g., US States' rights are protected in Article IV and the 10th Amendment of the Constitution, so all states have equal power. States can set laws on key issues, e.g., California marijuana fully legalised, Kansas marijuana fully illegal.
• examine the different natures of the US and the UK constitutions - separation of powers

  • E.g., UK has fusion of powers, PM is part of the legislature and executive. Ex-PM Boris Johnson was MP for South Ruislip and Uxbridge.E.g., US has separation of powers. E.g., when Kamala Harris became vice president, she had to resign her post as a California senator. AOC introduced Green New Deal to the House, (Biden campaign promise) because as president, he couldn't do this himself.