The United States of America, United Kingdom, and Russia all have different ways of controlling their country. There are three models of democracy: parliamentary, presidential and semipresidential systems (O’Neil, 2007). A presidential system represents the minority of democratic systems around the world. Parliamentary systems can be found in a majority of democracies around globally (O’Neil, 2007). Lastly, there is a semipresidential system. The semipresidential system is a hybrid between parliamentary and presidential systems that has become more widespread over the past fifty years (O’Neil, 2007). Executive, legislative, and judicial institutions can vary dramatically across democracies in their construction and degree of power. We will revise these institutions, and examine the main differences on how they can be constructed in relation to one another. This paper will compare and contrast the primary structures of the United States’ presidential system and the British parliamentary system, and glance into the political system of Russia.
The President of the United States serves as both head of state and head of government (O’Neil, 2007). The basic process of selecting the President of the United States is spelled out in the U.S. constitution. However, there are a couple things one must need in order to be eligible to run for president. The candidate must be at least 35 years of age, a native-born citizen, and must have been a resident of the United States for at least 14 years (O’Neil, 2007).
The president is indirectly elected by the Electoral College to a fixed four year term and is limited to only two terms in office (O’Neil, 2007). The President has a lead role in foreign policy and is the commander in chief of the mil...
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...ited States of America has a presidential system, the United Kingdom has a parliament system, and Russia has a semipresidential system. For the presidential system, as mentioned before, the main feature is the establishment of the separation of powers. In the Parliamentary system, legislative and executive powers are fused together; same people-same institution. The conflict of lack of clarity among the prime minister and president in the semipresidential system has in occasions created opportunities for more judicial scope (O’Neil, 2007). The United States of America, the United Kingdom, and Russia have systems that make their political aspects different. However the similarities make it easier to understand the institutions and their duties. This analysis in using compare and contrast is necessary in being able to understand political structures among the nations.
The President of the United States is instrumental in the running of the country. He serves as the chief executive, chief diplomat, commander in chief, chief legislator, chief of state, judicial powers, and head of party. Article II of the Constitution states that the President is responsible for the execution and enforcement of the laws created by Congress. He also is tasked with the authority to appoint fifteen leaders of the executive departments which will be a part of the President’s cabinet. He or she is also responsible for speaking with the leaders the CIA and other agencies that are not part of his cabinet because these agencies play a key role in the protection of the US. The President also appoints the heads of more than 50 independent
The Executive Branch refers to the Presidential seat in both governments. The Presidency is a paramount institution, not only of the Mexican Government but of the US Government as well. The Countries entire political system is positioned around the presidency. In the United States the President also serves as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. The President appoints the cabinet and oversees the various agencies and departments of the Federal Government. The Executive Branch is checked by Congress which would be the Legislative Branch. In order for someone to become President, he or she must be a natural -born citizen of the United States. He or she must be at least 35 years of age and must have resided in the US for at least fourteen years. Once elected, the President must serve a term of four years, and may be re-elected only once. Now, the Executive Branch of the Mexican government is very similar to that of its neighbors, but there are some pivotal differences in the institution. Presidents are elected by a majority of registered voters in the thirty-one states and the Federal District. The President holds the formal titles of chief of state, head of government, and commander in chief of armed forces. The candidates must also be at least thirty-five years of age by election day.
Debating which constitutional form of government best serves democratic nations is discussed by political scientist Juan Linz in his essay “The Perils of Presidentialism”. Linz compares parliamentary systems with presidential systems as they govern democracies. As the title of Linz’s essay implies, he sees Presidentialism as potentially dangerous. Linz points out the flaws as presidentialism as he sees them and sites rigidity of fixed terms, the zero-sum game and political legitimacy coupled with lack of incentive to form alliances as issues to support his theory that the parliamentary system is superior to presidentialism.
Every four years our nation votes for the next leader of our nation; however, it is not really the citizens of our nation but rather the Electoral College who chooses the President of the United States. The Electoral College, which is the group of people who formally elect the President and Vice-President of the United States, has been part of our nation since its inception. There are 538 electors in the Electoral College, which comes from the number of House representatives and the two Senators each state has. To win the presidency, a candidate needs 270 of those electors. It is an indirect election since the people are not directly voting for the president but rather the people of voting for their elector. The electors meet in the Capital
The American presidency has done a total three sixty from the time of George Washington’s reign to Barack Obama. This is due to how our society has evolved in good and bad ways. Our government has become much more democratic and voters are more involved then they have ever been. Our Country formed a democracy so that not one family or ruler could take over the United States. This decision was formed when the U.S. Constitution was formed. The president of the United States has the title of the chief executive office of the country. “In the United States the president is vested with great authority and is arguably the most powerful elected official in the world” (Britannica). The significance of the American Presidency comes in all shapes and
First, “To be able to become president of the United States, you need to meet just three simple requirements: You must be at least 35 years old, have lived in the U.S. for at least 14 years and be a natural-born citizen.” These are just some of the basic requirements of becoming a president and the first steps to getting your foot in the door.after the first steps of becoming president it becomes a lot harder to get the approval from the rest of the high above people. Another fact,“Due to the Electoral College, voters cast their ballots not for a candidate, but for a slate
The two countries I have chosen to compare are China and Canada. Their systems of government are very different and have different powers and rolls in their country. Canada has a system of government very similar to our own. While china's government appears to be similar as well, but it is quite different. Canada's government democratic and is parliamentary in form but, very much like our own. Like all large governments it is representative democracy.
Discussions of which constitutional form of government best serves the growing number of democratic nation’s are being debated around the world. In the essay “The Perils of Presidentialism”, political scientist, Juan Linz compares the parliamentary with presidential systems as they govern democracies. As the title of Linz’s essay implies, he sees Presidentialism as potentially dangerous and sites fixed terms, the zero-sum game and legitimacy issues to support his theory. According to Linz, the parliamentary system is the superior form of democratic government because Prime Minister cannot appeal to the people without going through the Parliament creating a more cohesive form of government. By contrast, a President is elected directly by the
Within parliamentary systems, the government i.e. the legislature consist of the political party with the most popularly elected Members of Parliament (MPs) in the main legislative parliament e.g. the House of Commons in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister is appointed by the party to lead as the executive decision-maker, and the legislature work to support and carry out their will (Fish, 2006). In presidential systems, the President is directly elected with the support of their political party, with the legislative being separately elected and, in the case of the United States, being made up of representatives from different states (BIIP, 2004). This essay will provide examples to suggest that Presidents are generally more powerful than Prime Ministers. As two of the oldest forms of parliamentary and presidential governments (Mainwaring and Shugart, 1997), the United Kingdom and the United States will be the main focus of this essay, but other parliamentary and presidential countries will be mentioned.
he executive branch appears to maintain considerable power. In analyzing the political cultures and institutions of France and Britain, nothing became more evident that these two countries, due to their unique political culture, have some similarities, but mainly many differences in the 6 political institutions. To fully understand the significance, and why it is necessary that every political system must have each political structure, it's necessary to compare and contrast the elements which create the different structures. Political
The most important role of being the president is being the Commander of Chief. Commander in Chief services are to defend the country during any war. All of the military leaders report to and take orders from the Commander. The president is the commander for the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and the Coast Guard and sometimes other countries. His orders can’t be disobeyed by anyone in the military. Commander in Chief can decide when troops are deployed in a disaster. As chief of state, the president presides over honors of war heroes, and attends funerals of world leaders. Commander In Chief is responsible for keeping the country safe.
For years, countries have had different legislatures bicameral and unicameral. The features of each legislatures are distinct from one another. It even accounts to various vices and virtues. Both legislatures exist in various countries in the world. The reason to which varies in each place. Legislatures are essential for a society to perform politically well. However, the political structure of every nations varies thus, there exist no simple generalization. The structural arrangements of different legislatures are distinct in relation to their number of chambers available. (Danziger, J. N. (1996))
Every country differs in their preference of political system to govern their countries. For democratic countries, two possible choices of governing are the presidential system and the parliamentary system. Since both the presidential and the parliamentary systems have their own strengths and weaknesses, many scholars have examined these two forms of government, and debate on which political system is more successful in governance. In this paper, I will first provide a detailed analysis of both the parliamentary and the presidential system. I will also evaluate each system’s strengths and weaknesses, addressing any differences as well as any commonalities. Finally, I will conclude by using historical examples to analyze and support the presidential system, which would be a more desirable system for a democratic government.
There are many steps in running for president. Running for president is said to be one of the longest campaigns. Running for President consists of mainly two different parties and which consist of: the presidential primary campaign and the general electoral campaign that follow the party’s national convention. Generally both campaigns take place within the first 10 months of the election year. The primary campaign was mainly used for opening the nomination process to ordinary party members and to delay and postpone the influence of party bosses. During this time there is a process where the candidates go through a “beauty contest” where they are competing for popular votes; however the “popular” votes do not have
Democracies are often classified according to the form of government that they have, which are Parliamentary, Presidential, and Semi-Presidential systems. In Presidential systems there is a division of powers, such as Judicial, Legislative, and Executive. These three powers or branches are dependent on each other. The President in a Presidential system is the Head of State and also the Head of Government. Some advantages of a Presidential system would be constancy and strength. A set term presidency is more stable than a prime minister who can be dismissed at any time. A prime minister is only in office for as long as he has the support of his own party, he can be dismissed without reference to the voters. Another advantage would be direct consent where in a Presidential system; the president is often elected directly by the people. A major disadvantage to Presidential systems would be that the separation of powers in the presidential form of governance shows an incomplete level of responsibility and the legislature and executive branches end up blaming each other. An example of a Presidential system is the United States along with most of Latin America, many African countries, and some Asian countries.