Superficial Comparison of the Liberal Democratic Systems of the United States
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Not all democracies are the same. Even superficial comparison of the liberal democratic systems of the United States and the United Kingdom reveals huge differences between their respective institutions, in the organisations of powers and functions of government, elections, and law-making procedures. Richard Rose (1974: 131, cited in Lijphart, 2012:9) writes that, âwith confidence born of continental isolation, Americans have come to assume that their institutionsâŠ.are the prototype of what should be adopted elsewhereâ; Lijphart adds that âpolitical scientists⊠have tended to hold the British system of government in equally high esteemâ (Lijphart, 2012:9).So which system is âbetterâ? In this essay, you will need to think about the question from the point of view of democracy. Is it possible to say that presidential systems of government, or the US system of government in particular is more âdemocraticâ than that of the parliamentary systems like that of the UK? And what exactly does it mean when we say that one system is more democratic than another? Is this even a useful claim for a political scientist to make?
Is the United Statesâ system of government more âdemocraticâ than that of the United Kingdom? Compare and critically evaluate presidential and parliamentary systems of democratic government.
Notes
Not all democracies are the same. Even superficial comparison of the liberal democratic systems of the United States and the United Kingdom reveals huge differences between their respective institutions, in the organisations of powers and functions of government, elections, and law-making procedures. Richard Rose (1974: 131, cited in Lijphart, 2012:9) writes that, âwith confidence born of continental isolation, Americans have come to assume that their institutionsâŠ.are the prototype of what should be adopted elsewhereâ; Lijphart adds that âpolitical scientists⊠have tended to hold the British system of government in equally high esteemâ (Lijphart, 2012:9).So which system is âbetterâ? In this essay, you will need to think about the question from the point of view of democracy. Is it possible to say that presidential systems of government, or the US system of government in particular is more âdemocraticâ than that of the parliamentary systems like that of the UK? And what exactly does it mean when we say that one system is more democratic than another? Is this even a useful claim for a political scientist to make?
In the essay, you might want to address some of the following questions (note that this is not an âessay structureâ: these are suggested themes or problems that should help focus your research and writing).
What is democracy, and how should we measure âlevelsâ of democracy, or the âqualityâ of democracy? INTRO
What is a âpresidentialâ system? What are its main institutional features? PG1
How does the US presidential system work? Are there special features of the US system of government that are not included in the term âpresidential systemâ? PG1
What is a parliamentary system? What are its main institutional features? PG2
How does the UK parliamentary system work? Are there special features of the UK system of government that are not included in the term âparliamentary systemâ? PG2
What are the main differences and similarities between parliamentary and presidential systems? What are the main differences and similarities between the UK and US systems of government? PG3
Which of these systems is more âdemocraticâ? [NOTE: How you answer this question depends on how you define democracy, and how you measure levels or the quality of democracy]. PG4
COCNCLUSION
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