Article XXV: Political Systems in Today’s World
Democratic Governments
Today political scientists call countries like the Unite States with well-established democratic Governments Consolidated Democracies.
Parliamentary Systems
One of the most widespread is Parliamentary Government.
British Parliament
In Great Britain, Parliament, thee national legislature, holds almost all the governmental authority
The House of Commons is the British legislative body of elected representatives
The House of Lords has historically been an aristocratic body
The House of Lords is now dominated by about 540 Life Peers, people who have been awarded a title for outstanding service or achievement.
The Prime Minister
The leader of the majority party in the House of Commons becomes the Prime Minister and chooses other ministers to head executive departments and serve as cabinet members.
Japanese Diet
Japan has a parliament of two houses, call the National Diet.
Function of the Cabinet
In Parliamentary government, members, of the cabinet preside over departments, or ministries.
Dissolving the Government
In Great Britain and other parliamentary systems, the prime minister and cabinet together are referred to as the government, a word equivalent to the American use of the word administration.
Presidential Government
Another Way to organize democracy is by Presidential Government.
The Essay on Government House Britain Queen
British government is democratic government. So, too, is American government; it roots are buried deep in English political and social history. Yet there are important differences between the two systems of government. Most of those differences grow out of this important point: Unlike government in the United State, government in Great Britain is unitary and and parliamentary in form and rests ...
French Presidents
France’s 1958 constitution helped transform the office of president into the most powerful position in the French government.
Working with the Assembly
(Premier is the French word for “first” and is the name given to the French equivalent of a prime minister.)
Emerging Democracies
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Since the collapse of communism, a process that began in 1989, many of the countries of eastern Europe have been working to establish democratic governments.
Constitutional Government in Poland
In 1889 the people of Poland, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria threw out the Communist governments that were imposed on them at the end of World War ll.
Poland led the way in these revolutions when a trade union called Solidarity emerged from an underground resistance movement to sweep the movement to sweep the first democratic elections since World War ll.
Chapter Vll of the 1997 Polish constitution addressed the need to strengthen local governments. The constitution states:
“Local governments preform public duties
That are not reserved by the Constitution or
Legislation for the agencies of other public
Authorities…. Local governments are
Legal entities…. The autonomy of local
Governments is protected by the courts.”
Civil Rights in South Africa
Starting in 1948 South Africa followed a policy of Apartheid, or strict segregation of the races enforced by the government.
In response, black nationalist groups such as the African National Congress (ANC) pressed for reforms, but the government repeatedly crushed the resistance.
In the 1980s the United States and the European Economic Community ordered economic Sanctions, or imposing restrictions and withholding aid, against the South African government.
Political Parties in Mexico
In 1917 Mexico adopted a constitution that divided the national government into three branches: Executive, Legislative, and Judicial.
The Essay on Federal Government Constitution Commonwealth State
Explain and evaluate both the limits placed on Commonwealth power under the Constitution and the extension of that power through international law and elements of the Constitution. In the year 2001, The Australian nation will celebrate the reaching of a significant milestone one hundred years of government under our present constitution. As the anniversary approaches, it is important for all ...
The 1917 constitution also provided for a variety of individual, social, and economic rights. One political scientist described the 1917 constitution as the “Most advanced labor code in the world at its time.”
Authoritarian governments
While the number of democratic nations around the world is increasing, many authoritarian governments still exist as well. Governments such as those in the People’s Republic of China, Cuba, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, and Iran present stark contrast to democracies.
The People’s Republic of China
Modern China is a study in contrasts.
Political History
China was ruled by emperors until the late 1800s.
In 1911 an uprising overthrew the last emperor, and China became a republic a year later. Rival Factions divided the new republic until 1929.
Communist Party Government
National policy is made by the party’s Political Bureau the Politburo.
Civil Liberties
The government has, for example, ruthlessly suppressed the Falon Gong, a spiritual movement that combines physical exercise with Buddhism and Taoism.
Relations with the United States
The United States ended official diplomatic relations with China in 1949 when the Communists gained control of the mainland.
Communism in Cuba
In January in 1959, Fidel Castro led Cubans in a revolt that ousted dictator Fulgencio Batista
In 1961 anti-Castro exiles, trained by the United States, invaded Cuba at the Bay of Pigs
Economic Crisis
The end of the cold war in the early 1990s left Cuba isolated.
Cuba’s Future
Castro has ruled Cuba for nearly 50 years while grooming a new generation of Communist leaders.
North Korea
After World war ll, the Korean peninsula was divided into North and South Korea.
Cult of Personality
Today, North Korea’s totalitarian government centers on unquestioning loyalty to Kim Jong Il.
Tension with the United States
The first concern of totalitarian leaders is their own survival in power.
Islamic Governments
Islam is a religion spread by the prophet Muhammad, who lived from A.D.570 to 632.
Muhammad claimed that he received the teachings were written in the Quran.
The Essay on Owned Enterprises China State Trade
40% which is comparable to the rest of the world. Family income distribution is measured using the Gini index and China's value is 40 which is relatively good compared to the rest of the world but has been a decrease when compared to China's recent history. Official figures put unemployment as being 3. 1% but realistically urban unemployment is estimated to be 10% in 2002, in the rural areas there ...
A Muslim, or follower of Islam, is “one who submits” to Allah and the instructions of the Quran.
Religion and Government
In modern times, Islamic countries view the relationship between religion and the state differently that do most western democracies.
Two Views of Islam
Some muslims, often called secularists, believe that religious doctrine and Secular (nonreligious) law can and should be kept separate.
They look to specially trained Islamic religious leaders called Mullahs, who interpret and uphold traditional Islamic teachings.
Revolution in Iran
The Iranian Shah, or king, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, led this effort, strengthening economic and cultural ties to the west.
Saudi Arabia
The Al Aud Family established the country in 1932 and have ruled as absolute monarchs ever since.
The discovery of oil in the 1950s transformed Saudi Arabia from an isolated desert nation to a wealthy urban one with thousands of foreign workers and a large middle class.
International Organizations
There are two types of such organizations. Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs) are made up of individuals and group outside the scope of government.
The second and most well-known type of international organization is one composed of members of national governments. This type is called an Intergovernmental organization(IGO).
The United Nations
In 1945 the United States and other nations established the United Nations to provide a forum to allow nations to settle their disputes peacefully.
Structure of The UN
The General Assembly is at the Heart of the UN.
The Security Council is a kind of executive board for the General Assembly.
The Secretariat does the UN’s day-to-day business with a staff of about 9,000 people who work under the direction of the Secretary General.