State Institutions and Political Values
Building National Unity and Understanding Variance within Regime Types
Role of Constitutions
Relationship between the state and its citizens
Define citizenship Political rights & civil liberties
Relationships of power among state institutions
Executive/legislative Judiciary Bureaucracy Military
Does changing a constitution indicate regime change?
Yes: when fundamental changes in the relationship between the state and society are implemented
Example: South Africa, 1996
No: when changes are limited to relationships among state institutions
Example: France, 1958
Degree of Centralized Power: Unitary & Federal States
Unitary state: Central (national) government holds ultimate authority over local administrative units
Federal state: Combines a relatively strong central government with meaningful (autonomous) authority granted to local governments
United States: A Federal State
Article 1, Section 9: Limits on Congressional power
Article 4, Section 1: Recognition of the power and autonomy of states over federal government Amendment 10:
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
Amendment 14: Limits states on restricting federallymandated individual rights
Uzbekistan: A Unitary State
Article 15:
Mandates the unconditional supremacy of the Constitution and national state
Article 78:
Parliament can abolish any region at any time
Article 102:
Governors of the regions are appointed and dismissed by the President
Institutionalizing Executive Functions
Head of State
Primarily ceremonial office Some (very) limited powers Serves as a symbol of national unity
Head of Government
Chief political officer--sets political agenda Often commands armed forces
Executive-Legislative Arrangements
Parliamentary system
Presidential system Semi-presidential/ hybrid system
Parliamentary Arrangements
United Kingdom
Queen of England (hereditarynot elected) Prime Minister (Queen appoints, Parliament ratifies) No separation of powers
Italy
President (appointed by Parliament) Prime Minister (President appoints, Parliament ratifies) No separation of powers
Presidential Arrangements
United States
US President (elected by Electoral College) Serves as both head of state and head of government Separation of powers employed
Semi-Presidential Arrangements (Dual Executive)
France
French President (directly elected by people) Prime Minister (appointed by President, ratified by parliament) Separation of powers depends on electoral outcomes
Power of the Civil Service
Distance of civil service heads to chief political officers varies among countries
US President: 10,000+ appointments (6,500 directly)
UK Prime Minister appoints fewer than 1,000 offices
Instability in government increases bureaucratic power
Japan under the LDP (1950-93) Argentina under the junta (1966-73)
Size of Bureaucracy as an Indicator of Power
As percentage of labor force
Denmark and Sweden (just over 30%) UK and France (approximately 20%) US and Germany (approximately 15%) Japan (approximately 6%)
When does the military become an active, autonomous actor?
Circumstances:
Weak institutions allowing for personal ambition Severe social divisions present within society
Vehicles:
Active role for the military institutionalized through the constitution Active role based on cultural understandings of traditional authority
Examples: Turkey and Pakistan
Defining a Nation
Political community, imagined as both limited and sovereign (Anderson 1991)
State institutions give our imaginations structure Emotional/ psychological components: past, present, future
Multinational States are the Norm
Japan (99% Japanese)
Russia (79.8% Russian)
Belgium
58% Fleming 31% Walloon 11% Mixed or other
Bosnia-Herzegovina
48% Bosnian/ Muslim 37% Serb/ Orthodox 14% Croat/ Catholic
Three Hypotheses on Ethnic Conflict
The more homogeneous a states citizens, the less likely ethnic conflict will occur
Ethnic conflict is more likely in states with polarized (as opposed to cross-cutting) social cleavage structures
Ethnic conflict is more likely to occur in new democracies rather than in consolidated democracies OR undemocratic regimes
Lijpharts Hypothesis on Divided Societies
Assumption: ethnic conflict can only be overcome through a democratic regime Constitutional choices are causally related to the level of conflict in divided societies
Lijpharts Recommendations
Electoral System
How votes are translated into seats Recommends Proportional Representation
Parliamentary Organization of the Executive Local governing authority (federalism or special autonomy zones) Power-sharing outside Cabinet & Parliament
Political Values & Procedure: Majoritarian Model
Institutions consolidate majority power
strong executive few political parties few restrictions on civil society multiple access points for participation
Compatible with cross-cutting cleavages
Parliamentary Systems may also advance majoritarian values
1. Electoral laws that favor two-party competition (regularly return a majority government)
2. Prime minister independence with appointments 3. Difficult vote of confidence rules
United Kingdom follows (1) and (2) while Germany follows (1) and (3)
Political Values & Procedure: Consociational Model
Institutions designed for power-sharing
divided or weaken executive incentives for multiple parties regulated civil society few access points for participation
Compatible with polarizing cleavages
Presidential Systems may also advance consociational values
1. Electoral laws that favor multi-party systems
2. Special provisions for minority parties/ voices
3. Divided head of government office
Bosnia-Herzegovina follows all three while Switzerland follows (1) and (3)
Presidential-Parliamentary Systems
Allows fluctuation between the two sets of values
IF parliament reflects a majority of presidents party: majoritarian IF parliament reflects a majority not of the presidents party: consociational
IF no majority sits in parliament, political process ensues and determines values