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POLITY AND SOCIETY

Course Code: BBAHU 10101 Credit Units: 03

MODULE- II Forms of Government

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Types of Government
Democratic Autocratic

Parliamentary Form

Presidential Form

Republic

Constitutional Monarchy

Absolute Monarchy
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One-Party Rule

Military Dictatorship

Theocracy
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DEFINITION OF UNITARY GOVERNMENT : According to Dr. Garner Where the whole power of government is conferred by the constitution upon a single central organ or organs; from which the local governments derive whatever authority or autonomy they possess and indeed their very existence, we have a system of Unitary Government. It is a sovereign state governed as one single unit in which the central government is supreme and any administrative divisions (subnational units) exercise only powers that the central government chooses to delegate. Many states in the world have a unitary system of government.
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In a unitary state, subnational units are created and abolished and their powers may be broadened and narrowed, by the central government. Although political power in unitary states may be delegated through devolution to local government by statute, the central government remains supreme; it may abrogate the acts of devolved governments or curtail their powers. The United Kingdom is an example of a unitary state. Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, which along with England are the constituent countries of the United Kingdom
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Unitary form of Government-

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Merits of Unitary Government

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Strong government Less expensive Single citizenship Efficient administration Administrative uniformityPrompt decisions Most suited to the small countries More flexible-

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Demerits of the Unitary Government

Apprehension of the Central Government becoming despotic The Central Government becomes overburdened with work Lack of local autonomy More influence of Government officials Not suitable for big states

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FEDERAL FORM OF GOVERNMENT

According to Dr. Garner - Federal Government may be defined as a system of central and local government combined under a common sovereignty, both the central and local organizations being supreme within definite spheres, marked out for them by the general constitution or by the act of Parliament which creates the system Federal Government is not as is often loosely said the central government alone, but it is a system composed of the central and local governments combined.
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Federations may be multi-ethnic, or cover a large area of territory, although neither is necessarily the case. Federations are most often founded on an original agreement between a number of sovereign states based on mutual concerns or interests. The initial agreements create a stability that encourages other common interests, brings the disparate territories closer, and gives them all even more common ground. Some time this is recognized and a movement is organized to merge more closely. Other times, especially when common cultural factors are at play such as ethnicity and language, some of these steps in this pattern are expedited and compressed.
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Federal form of Government.

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MERITS

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1. Reconciliation of local autonomy with national unity 2. Division of powers between the Centre and States leads to administrative efficiency 3. People take more interest in local and regional affairs 4. It gives rise to big states5. This system is more advantageous to the smaller states 6. Citizenship of Federal Government is more dignified than that of its units 7. Distribution of powers checks the despotism of the Central Government 8. It is a model for the world state
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DEMERITS

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1. Federal Government is weaker in comparison with the Unitary Government 2. Federal Government is more expensive than the unitary type of Government 3. Provincial tendencies are very acute 4. Lack of uniformity in administration 5. Threat to national unity 6. Double citizenship 7. The constitution being rigid cannot be adjusted to the fast changing conditions
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MERITS
Unitary Central govt. is clearly accountable A single centre of power that permits coordinated and decisive state action Federal Another form of the separation of powers Encourages consensus and compromise between federal and state authorities Best suited to large states (either population or geographical area), and/or those with markedly different regions

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Confederal Permits states (or other autonomous political units) to cooperate while maintaining their sovereignty Best suited to cooperation in one sector or field of government activity economic (IMF), diplomatic (UN), defense (NATO)
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Best suited to small states, or homogeneous states with similar regions

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Unitary

Federal

Confederal Can protect the rights of territorially concentrated minorities Can maintain the unity of the country by containing regional divisions, so deflecting and defusing potentially dangerous national conflicts Encourages small-scale experiment, innovation and competition between states: the efficiency argument

Can help national integration by focusing on national politics Facilitates the equalisation of regional resources (through national tax system, for example) It is still possible to grant some areas special powers (e.g. Basque Country in Spain) Helps in the creation of a system of equal rights and duties for all citizens

May be the only form of cooperation possible DEMERIT Unstable members can withdraw easily Can be ineffective when members cannot agree
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DEMERITS
Unitary Federal

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Can result in an overpowerful central state Can result in national majorities exploiting or repressing regional minorities Can result in a rigid and hierarchical form of government Not suitable for big states Central government may get overburdened with work The people don t get much intrested.

Can result in duplication, overlap and confusion of responsibilities and accountability May lead to conflict, inefficiency, or stalemate between levels of government Can result in complex, slow and expensive forms of government Can be inherently conservative Can strengthen tendencies towards national disunity and disintegration by encouraging breakaway of territorial units Can deflect political attention from national groups and interests to geographical interests
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PARLIAMENTARY GOVERNMENT

The relation between the Executive and the Legislature is the only way to know whether the government is Parliamentary or Presidential. If the real executive is responsible to the legislature or the Parliament, the form of government is Parliamentary. It is also called Responsible or Cabinet form of Government because the Cabinet enjoys the real powers of the government and it is under the control of the Parliament.
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A parliamentary system is a system of government in which the ministers of the executive branch are drawn from the legislature and are accountable to that body, such that the executive and legislative branches are intertwined. In such a system, the head of government is both de facto chief executive and chief legislator. Parliamentary systems usually have a clear differentiation between the head of government and the head of state, with the head of government being the prime minister or premier, and the head of state often being a figurehead, often either a president (elected either popularly or by the parliament) or a hereditary monarch

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In a parliamentary form of government Prime Minister is the Head of the government elected by the members of the parliament for a specified period usually, leader of the party that wins the majority seats in the election. Parliamentary systems are characterized by no clear-cut separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches, leading to a different set of checks and balances compared to those found in presidential systems.
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A Parliamentary system may consist of two styles of Chambers of Parliament one with two chambers (or houses): an elected lower house, and an upper house or Senate which may be appointed or elected by a different mechanism from the lower house. This style of two houses is called bicameral system. Legislatures with only one house are known as unicameral system
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MERITS

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Cooperation between Parliament and the Cabinet is generally available in this system Responsible government The government does not become autocratic Adjustable according to the changing circumstances Head of the State gives impartial advice Parliamentary Government is responsive to the public opinion It has changed the absolute monarchy into democracy This system provides for an alternate Government

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DEMERITS

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1. There is the apprehension of the dictatorship of the cabinet. 2. The Government becomes unstable if the ruling party does not command a clear or absolute majority in the legislature. 3. Frequency in the change of Government leads to uncertainty of policy. 4. Formation of the Government becomes difficult in a multi party system. 5. This system leads to perpetual conflicts. 6. National interest are sacrificed sometimes at the altar of party interests. 7. In Parliamentary Government much time is wasted in discussion during war and emergency. 8. Ministers pay more attention to the politics than the administration.
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PRESIDENTIAL GOVERNMENT
According to Dr. Garner, Presidential Government is that system in which the Executive( including both the Head of state and his ministers ) is constitutionally independent of the legislature in respect to the duration of his or their tenure and irresponsible to it for his or their political policies. The President is usually directly elected by a majority vote in a universal general election. Examples of presidential democracy include France, Mexico, USA etc.
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Presidential governments make no distinction between the positions of head of state and head of government, both of which are held by the president . In such a system the chief of state is not merely the title executive but he is the real executive and actually exercises the powers which the constitution and Laws confer upon him. In such a system the President enjoys real powers of the government. He is not responsible to the legislature for his administration and policies .
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Many parliamentary governments have a symbolic head of state in the form of a president or monarch (Again, some Monarchs maintain active Reserve Powers). That person is responsible for the formalities of state functions, or in the case of Monarchs with Reserve Powers, the "hands off" ensuing of a functional Parliament, while the constitutional prerogatives of head of government are generally exercised by the prime minister. The figurehead presidents tend to be elected in a much less direct manner than active presidentialsystem presidents, for example, by a vote of the legislature. A few nations, such as Ireland and Portugal, do have a popularly elected ceremonial president.
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Features of presidential systems

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Direct mandate in a presidential system, the president is often elected directly by the people. To some, this makes the president's power more legitimate than that of a leader appointed indirectly. Separation of powers a presidential system establishes the presidency and the legislature as two parallel structures. This arrangement allows each structure to supervise the other, preventing abuses. Speed and decisiveness some argue that a president with strong powers can usually enact changes quickly. However, others argue that the separation of powers slows the system down. Stability a president, by virtue of a fixed term, may provide more stability than a prime minister who can be dismissed at any time.
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Merits of the Presidential Government

1. It ensures stable government 2. This system of government is most suitable for emergencies 3. It leads to the efficiency in administration 4. Less influence of parties 5. This type of government is based on the theory of Separation of Powers 6. Most suitable for multi party system

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Demerits of Presidential Government

1. In this system of Government the President enjoys wide powers and he can have his own way in many matters. 2. Since the Constitution is very rigid, it becomes very difficult to make amendments in it according to the changing times.

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MERITS

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Presidential

Parliamentary
Responsible govt./Most of the world s stable democracies are parliamentary systems Fusion of executive and legislative can create strong and effective government Direct chain of accountability from voters to parliament to cabinet to prime minister/ cooperation Govt. is not autocratic but democratic

Semi-presidential

The USA is a model/ ensures stable govt. Separation of the executive and legislative institutions of government according to classical democratic theory Direct election of the president means direct accountability of the president to the people Less influence of parties

In theory combines the best of presidential and parliamentary government The president can be a symbol of the nation, and a focus of national unity, while the prime minister can run the day-to-day business of the government

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DEMERITS

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Presidential
Conflict between executive and legislation may be chronic, leading to deadlock

Parliamentary

Semi-presidential
Conflict and power struggles between prime minister and cabinet, and between prime minister and president are not unusual Confusion of accountability between president and prime minister

The fusion of the executive and legislative, and a large legislative majority, combined with tight party discipline, can produce leaders with too much Weak and ineffective presidents have sometimes Power/Dictatorship tried to make their office Parliamentary systems much stronger without a legislative majority can be weak and Few presidential systems Unstable/ uncertain policy have survived long Government not responsible to the Parliament Leads to conflicts/ Bureaucracy Acquires influence Party interests supreme/ More politics than administration

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