Sweden in its foundation is a monarchy as well as a democracy, and as such has a parliament which is called the Riksdag. Inside this parliament sits 349 members from various different political parties, each expressing their own opinions on the legislative matters which are discussed inside their unicameral legislature. The seats of the Riksdag are elected on a proportional basis to the amount of votes the party receives from the Swedish people in an election. This means that if a party receives 20% of Sweden’s votes, they will receive 20% of the 349 seats; the next election to be held is in September, 2014. Furthermore, there are 349 seats in order to prevent the hypothetical occurrence of an issue having an equal amount of votes for two different decisions, which would not be decisive or efficient because it would force the Riksdag to further discuss the matter and hold another vote on the same issue.
“All power proceeds from the people. This is the foundation of parliamentary democracy in Sweden. Everyone has the same rights, the same opportunity to have their say, and everyone is free to scrutinize how the politicians and public agencies exercise their power.” (“The Swedish System of Government.”)
The constitution of Sweden is made up of four fundamental laws as well as other laws that protect the democracy as well as the freedom and basic rights for its citizens; the laws outline the basic rules for all political decisions and conflicts. The guidelines for elections and how they should work are mentioned mainly in the third chapter of the Swedish constitution, “The Parliament”. Throughout this chapter the regulations about who is entitled to vote is discussed; every Swedish citizen that is currently residing i...
... middle of paper ...
...en.se/en/Members-and-parties/>.
"Sweden - Constitution." ICL. International Constitutional Law Project, n.d. Web. 9 Apr. 2014. .
"The Committees." Riksdagen. Swedish Riksdag, n.d. Web. 9 Apr. 2014. .
"The Swedish System of Government." Sweden.se. Government of Sweden, n.d. Web. 9 Apr. 2014. .
"Vår Politik." Socialdemokraterna. The Social Democratic Party, n.d. Web. 09 Apr. 2014. .
"Vår Politik - Nya Moderaterna." Moderaterna. The Moderate Party, n.d. Web. 9 Apr. 2014. .
"What Does the Riksdag Do?" Riksdagen. Swedish Riksdag, n.d. Web. 9 Apr. 2014. .
... other 299 seats are allocated to candidates elected by party lists. The party vote is critical because it determines the percentage of seats each party wins in the lower house, which in turn selects the chancellor. To share in the division of seats, a party must win 5 percent of the second type of vote or have at least three directly elected lawmakers. However, if any one party wins more seats through the direct vote than it would be allotted under the distribution based on the party vote, the system allows that party to keep the extra seats. Once the votes have been counted, the President will propose a chancellor to Parliament. That candidate needs to secure a majority of all lawmakers in the lower house to take office. If lawmakers fail to give a majority to one candidate in three tries, the president could appoint a minority government or dissolve Parliament.
In order to explain the lack of control politicians have over government, it is essential to examine the range of responsibilities politicians carry out as an elected official. In a Democratic government, the fundamental role of politicians is to create and suggest laws that reflect the needs of the public. Since politicians are the face of government they are responsible for representing and responding to constituents. Politicians generally know how to incorporate the interests of large parts of society that h...
Sweden has a parliamentary democracy. A parliamentary democracy is a system of government in which citizens elect representatives to a legislative parliament to make the necessary laws and decisions for the country. This parliament directly represents the people. In Sweden, general elections are held every four years. Around 7 million people are entitled to vote and thereby influence which political party will represent them in the Riksdag (the Swedish Parliament) county councils and municipalities. People can also influence Swedish politics in other ways like taking part in referendums, joining a political party or commenting on reports presented by the Government. The 349-member Riksdag is Sweden’s primary representative forum. The entire Riksdag is chosen by direct elections based on suffrage for all Swedish citizens aged 18 or over who live in Sweden. Since 1971, Sweden has had a unicameral (one-chamber) Riksdag. General elections to the Riksdag are held on the third Sunday of September every four years. Since September 2014 The eight parties currently represented in the Riksdag are (in order of percentage, from largest to smallest) the Social Democratic Party, the Moderate Party, the Sweden Democrats the Green Party , the Centre Party, the Left Party, the Liberal Party, and the Christian Democrats. (Parliamentary
of government. The citizens have the power to reject their government officials and replace them
The women's suffrage movement in Europe across the nineteenth and twentieth centuries was an absolutely vital role in the shaping of the Europe of today’s world. Finland was the first European nation to grant universal suffrage on July 20th, 1906, which fell in line with the typically more liberal governments in Scandinavia. Since then, all other European nations have followed suit with this crucial progressive reform. Liechtenstein, a German- speaking microstate bordering Switzerland and Austria, was the last to enact this policy on July 1st, 1984. While it may have taken 78 years to encase the entire continent, to vote is a right held by all female citizens in the European Union.
Iceland is a constitutional republic; a state where the head of state and other officials are representatives of the people and must govern according to existing constitutional law that limits the government's power over all of its citizens. Iceland became a republic on June 17, 1944, when it declared total independence from Denmark. The constitution provides municipalities with the right to manage their own affairs. The constitution also guarantees equality under the law regardless of sex, race, and religion. The central Icelandic government has an executive branch, a legislative branch, and a judicial branch. The executive branch consists of the president, who does not have much executive power; the head of government, or prime minister, who, along with the cabinet has the most executive power; and the cabinet, a body selected from the parliament either by the president or political party leaders within the parliament. The president and the parliament are elected by the people. Universal suffrage permits all residents 18 years old and over to vote for the president and the Althingi. The president and Althingi members serve four-year terms. (Aronson, 2010)
Charles XII had been ruling Sweden as a divine right monarch. Absolutism brought him total power and with it responsibility. The responsibility to protect his people and strengthen the glory and greatness of Sweden, but both these responsibilities he failed to comply, and left was a poor, betrayed, miserable people with nothing but despise towards the state, and in particular absolutism as a form of government. The time of absolutism in Sweden was over, while the beginning of parliamentary reforms was taking its course.
Sweden is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary form of government. According to the Swedish Constitution, all public power derives from the people. Sweden's head of state, the King, has only ceremonial functions. The top branch of the national government is the Parliament, which has 349 members in one chamber.
The Swedish Criminal Justice System is one by comparison to other countries, a well oiled machine. Before recognizing the aspects of the criminal justice system of Sweden, there is some history that has to be brought into the light. Sweden and Finland are very similar in comparison, whether that is the close geographical position of both countries or the similarities of cultures or maybe due to the fact that they are both apart of the Nordic Welfare State. Sweden and Finland both have the world’s oldest homicide statistics, which started in the mid-1700’s. Sweden, like many other countries has been through multiple political-social changes and developments throughout the last few centuries. They did not participate in either of the World Wars,
The power structure of Norway is probably one of the few areas that are quite different from that of most other free countries. Norway is a constitutional monarchy. The king has limited authority, except as head of the military and as a symbol of continuity and stability. Executive power is vested in the prime minister, who presides over the dominant party in the country’s parliament (Storting). The 165 members of parliament are elected every four years. The Storting has an Upper Chamber (Lagting) and a Lower Chamber (Odelsting). The Labor, Center, and Conservative parties are the largest in parliament, but no party has a majority. Another similar note is that all citizens may vote at age 18. Norway also has 19 provinces (fylker). Norway enjoys a strong economy, and has one of the highest standards of living in the world.
The Divided Monarchy is a period of time, following the death of Solomon, where the Israel is divided into two kingdoms. The northern kingdom is called Israel has nineteen kings over its history of nearly two hundred years. The southern kingdom is called Judah and has twenty kings over its history of three hundred and fifty years.
The Denmark Government is a constitutional monarchy system. The government of Denmark is based on the parliamentary system and it is representative democratic. The head of government is controlled by the Prime Minister. Denmark is a multi-party system so that there is no single party since the beginning of the 20th century in Denmark. The parties members will be represent their parties in the parliament. Hence, the Danish parliament tends to be more powerful than legislatures in others countries. The constitution of the Denmark is not grant to the judiciary power of judicial review of legislation; however the courts have asserted this power with the consent of the other branches of government. Moreover, the government of Denmark has two arms, the government and the Folketing. The choice of the candidates depends on the majority votes of the person who has received from the respective constituency and also on his local connection. However, the change of political system has started when Fogh Rasmussen has won his first general election on 20 November 2001 and became the Prime Minister...
Some theorists believe that ‘power is everywhere: not because it embraces everything, but because it comes from everywhere… power is not an institution, nor a structure, nor possession. It is the name we give to a complex strategic situation in a particular society. (Foucault, 1990: 93) This is because power is present in each individual and in every relationship. It is defined as the ability of a group to get another group to take some form of desired action, usually by consensual power and sometimes by force. (Holmes, Hughes &Julian, 2007) There have been a number of differing views on ‘power over’ the many years in which it has been studied. Theorist such as Anthony Gidden in his works on structuration theory attempts to integrate basic structural analyses and agency-centred traditions. According to this, people are free to act, but they must also use and replicate fundamental structures of power by and through their own actions. Power is wielded and maintained by how one ‘makes a difference’ and based on their decisions and actions, if one fails to exercise power, that is to ‘make a difference’ then power is lost. (Giddens: 1984: 14) However, more recent theorists have revisited older conceptions including the power one has over another and within the decision-making processes, and power, as the ability to set specific, wanted agendas. To put it simply, power is the ability to get others to do something they wouldn’t otherwise do. In the political arena, therefore, power is the ability to make or influence decisions that other people are bound by.
...ol all the people all the time. But they can make fools of the people – they can make fools of themselves – for at least four years” (15). This is why changing the system is important – people are slowly being consumed by the system. It is important to have an efficient system beforehand, like the parliamentary system, because the government will play a vital role in the country and even a more central and dominant role. There will be an emanation from the executive: the initiation for policymaking, since this is basically the goal of the parliamentary system of government – to be more hands-on in making and implementing policies (24). Due to this, many countries are also debating if they will shift to a parliamentary type of government (6) since many of the first world countries today like Australia, Canada, Japan, and Singapore are using this type of system (23).
Politics is the means for attaining valued things. Although, valued things are different in every society, the means of securing those things has never changed. The competition for power, authority and influence will always be the backbone of politics. Applying power, authority and influence to the valued things that support the public good, will produce the quality of life a society desires. In the present day, citizens in the United States demand certain valued things such as welfare, education, safe streets and healthcare. Through politics, citizens can apply their power in many different ways to get the things they want. Power is the ability to get someone to do something they may or may not want to do. Through the use of or the application of coercion, persuasion, manipulation and negotiation, power is used to influence the system.