STATE SYSTEMS

Hi students. Welcome to the new Unit. At the end of this unit you should be able to:

 Identify and define what a state is.

 Identify the branches of state power and state authority
 Define the concepts of democracy, socialism, autocracy, communism and nationalism
 Understand the nature of democracies vs other existing systems
 Distinguish between direct and indirect democracies
 Compare and contrast the parliamentary and presidential systems of democratic
government

According to Trevor Munroe the state may be defined as a set of institutions, offices and
officials, whose decisions are regarded as binding over all and who have supreme authority to
enforce compliance or obedience from the population of a given geographic area.

Essence of a State?

 Entity comprised of legal norms which are enforceable by government on a people within
a specified geographical boundary
 Legal fiction that is a creation of laws
 Must respect the territory and independence of other states

Authority and Power of the state is divided into three branches:

1. Legislative power – Law Making powers

2. Executive power – Executing and administrative powers

3. Judicial power – determines where and if laws are broken. Includes security force and
justice system

The State:

The following can be considered true of the state:

 It is Different from the government

 Includes government however its more complex and larger
 Includes the civil service; police, military, tax collection machinery.
 None of the state machinery changes when government changes.
 Has Sovereignty and supreme authority
 Quality of supreme authority remains,
 Technology and information access is affecting the state’s effectiveness is being
reduced,

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  Modern states have issues trying to control images which it disapprove of from reaching
its members
 The state’s ability to control the movement of people is now significantly diminished.

Government

The key features of Government are as follows:

 It is responsible for the day to day guidance of the state but it is not the state.
 That part of the state which co-ordinates policy
 Governments can and do change after elections held , whereas the state continues.

THE DRIVE TO INDEPENDENCE

Over time people have clamored for self government and as such the following is true:

 20th Century - people rejecting rule over them by other states.

 Clamor for self rule of newly independent states
 Growth in number of independent states

CLASSIFICATION

There are Three Ways to classify a State and they are listed below:

1. By population size
2. By history, economic structure, and economic organization
3. The source of authority

Authoritarian State

State where nearly total power is concentrated:

 An individual,
 A political party,
 The military,
 Religious group.

According to Trevor Munroe 2002; In this type of state there are certain characteristics regarding
the rights of the people in relation to government and in relation to one another:

1. Elections are neither fair nor free.

2. Usually only one political party that has any real chance of holding state power or
there is military dictatorship
3. Political rights are extremely restricted.
4. Police has a central role; they act under ideological or religious direction
5. Rule of law not equally distributed
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Democratic State

Munroe (2002) argues that there are approximately 60 percent of the states are classified as
democracies.

History of the word democracy is rooted in two Greek words, demos meaning people and kratia,
meaning to rule.

Democratic states:

The following are features of democratic states:

 they boasts elections are relatively free and fair.

 Their political history actually demonstrates that opposition parties do come to power by
virtue of elections.
 If power is passed from party to party, then some democracy exists in that country
 political rights practiced and recognized
 political rights includes civil liberties, such as liberties of speech, freedom of the press,
freedom to believe what you wish (freedom of conscience).

Munroe (2002) further suggests that in democratic states, political parties compete with each
other and each has some reasonable prospect of winning the competition.

The elected government must rule according to the constitutional provisions. The Judiciary
enforces

States of Emergencies and curfews may be enforced to protect freedoms whenever there is
extreme violence and unrest.

Munroe (2002) argues that a political scientist ought not to determine that a state is democratic or
undemocratic only by looking at elections in that state.

 Issues should be examined, including elections, political rights such as the right to
form associations and to organize parties, freedom of speech, freedom of
conscience, and the extent of the rule of law.
 After these are examined then some conclusion regarding the health of that
particular democratic state may be determined

THE PILLARS OF DEMOCRACY

The following can be described as the pillars of democracies.

 Sovereignty of the people.

 Government based upon consent of the governed.
 Majority rule.
 Minority rights.

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  Guarantee of basic human rights.
 Free and fair elections.
 Equality before the law.
 Due process of law.
 Constitutional limits on government.
 Social, economic, and political pluralism.
 Values of tolerance, pragmatism, cooperation, and compromise.

WELFARE AND MINIMALIST STATES

Munroe (2002) suggest that minimalist states relates to the position of the “free market” or the
position of the private sector compared to the state in a democracy.

Munroe (2003) further argues that in a welfare state the market and the government have a
different relationship to one another-than that between the market and the government in a
minimalist state.

 In the welfare state the government and the public sector play a big and active role in the
economy and the society.
 Government and the public sector play a role as owner of means of production. Not only
do they own public utilities, in some cases they own enterprises of one sort or another,
airlines for example.
 state is provider of social insurance, such as unemployment benefits and a national health
service. The welfare state also acts as a regulator and provides the framework for the
market to operate.

Minimalist state:

The following is true about minimalist states according to Trevor Munroe (2002)

 The government owns little or nothing.

 The government provides little and restricts its activity and responsibility
 Facilitates private enterprise and of market activities
 Ensures basic requirements such as law and order and education.
 Northern Europe, particularly Sweden and Denmark are examples
 Significant proportion of national resources is spent on social security, including pension
benefits.
 Primary concern is with equality.
 Gap between the top and the bottom should not be too wide

Why Governments Regulate?

Motives for regulating can be distinguished from technical justifications for regulating.
Governments may regulate for a number of motives-for example they may be influenced by the
economically powerful and may act in the interests of the regulated industry or they may see a
particular regulatory stance as a means to re-election. Different commentators may analyze such
motives in different ways and a variety of approaches to such analysis will be discussed.
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To begin, though, we should consider the technical justifications for regulating that may be given
by a government that is assumed to be acting in pursuit of the public interest. Many of the
rationales for regulating can be described as instances of market failure'. Regulation in such
cases is argued to be justified because the uncontrolled market place will, for some reason, fail to
produce behaviour or results in accordance with the public interest. In some sectors or
circumstances there may also be 'market absence'-there may be no effective market-because, for
example, households cannot buy clean air or peace and quiet in their localities.

Role of the State

 Governments worldwide engage in three main activities: they tax they spend and they
regulate:

Rationale for state regulation:

Rationale Main aims of regulation Example

Monopolies and natural Counter tendency to raise Utilities
monopolies prices and lower output.
Harness benefits of scale
economies. Identify areas
genuinely monopolistic
Windfall profits Transfer benefits of windfalls Firm discovers unusually cheap
from firms to consumer or source of supply
taxpayers
Externalities Compel producer or Pollution of river by factory
consumer to bear full costs of
production rather than pass
on to the third parties or
society
Information inadequacies Inform consumers to allow Pharmaceuticals. Food and
market to operate drinks labeling
Continuity and availability of Ensure socially desired (or Transport service to remote
service protect minimal) level of region
‘essential’ service
Anti-competitive and Prevent anti-competitive Below-cost pricing in transport
behaviour predatory pricing behaviour
Public goods and moral hazard Share costs where benefits of Defense and security services.
activity are shared but free- Health services
rider problems exist
Unequal bargaining power Protect vulnerable interests, Health and safety at work.
scarcity and rationing where market fails to do so. Petrol shortage
Public interest allocation of
scarce commodities
Distribution justice and social Distribution according to Victim protection.

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policy
Rationalization and
coordination. Planning
public interest. Prevent
undesirable behaviour or
results
Protect interests of future
generations. Coordinate
altruistic intentions
Discrimination
Disparate production in
agriculture and fisheries.
Environment

DIRECT AND INDIRECT DEMOCRACY

Direct and indirect democracy may be distinguished according to how the people exercise their
power or their rule in the democratic state. However, as with authoritarian and democratic states,
these types do not exist in pure form.

Direct Democracy

Sometimes termed participatory democracy, is a state in which the people themselves play a
more direct role in running the state, in making laws and taking decisions. The country that most
typifies a direct or participatory democracy, is the small European state of Switzerland.
Switzerland is about three times the size of Jamaica in terms of population and almost four times
in terms of area. In Switzerland, consistent with being a more direct or participatory democracy,
most of the important decisions are taken not by elected representatives but by the people
themselves voting on issues in what is called a referendum.

Modern direct democracy is characterized by three pillars:

 Initiative
 Referendum including binding referenda
 Recall

Indirect Democracy

An indirect or representative democratic state is one in which the people play a limited role in
making decisions, such as in the passing of laws, between elections. Between elections the
politicians rule, not in any absolute sense because they too have limitations, but they have a more
active and direct role than the people.

Increasingly, in indirect democracies, there is a modern tendency for the use of the referendum to
make decisions on certain issues. For example, Jamaica in 1961 was to decide whether to remain
within the West Indian Federation. The decision was made by the people in a vote and the
majority of the people voted to withdraw from the federation.

THE AMERICAN PRESIDENTIAL SYSTEM AND THE BRITISH PARLIAMENTARY

SYSTEM

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United States Presidential System

 Born out of revolutionary war against British colonial power.

 Tried to break ties
 On the revolutionary agenda two things were of importance:

1. Removal of the British colonial power

2. new system should not allow slaves; poorer people, laborers and small farmers,
to overturn them.

 A new state was established with a new constitution in 1789. There fore, the American
Constitution and the American state legitimately claim the distinction of being the oldest
constitutional democracy.

British parliamentary democracy

 developed as a result of evolution, of gradual change, and not from the overthrow of a
previously existing system.
 The rule of the monarch and aristocracy was gradually undermined over a number of
centuries.
 The gradual nature of the change meant that the old structures and institutions were never
cast aside.
 king or queen existed 500 years ago; today there is a queen.
 structures and institutions remained, their functions and their powers were significantly
changed. Therefore, the king of 1500 had immense, almost total, power but today the
monarch has little power and her role is mainly symbolic.

A parliamentary system

Munroe (2002) argues that parliamentary systems are also known as parliamentarianism (and
parliamentarism in U.S. English), is distinguished by the executive branch of government being
dependent on the direct or indirect support of the parliament, often expressed through a vote of
confidence.

No clear-cut separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches, leading to
criticism from some that they lack checks and balances found in a presidential republic.

The features of a parliamentary system are as follows:

 The executive branch of a parliamentary government is typically a cabinet, and headed by a

prime minister who is considered the head of government,
 The prime minister and the ministers of the cabinet typically have their background in the
parliament and may remain members thereof while serving in cabinet.
 The leader of the leading party or group of parties, in the parliament is often appointed as the
prime minister.

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 In many countries, the cabinet, or single members thereof, can be removed by the parliament
through a vote of no confidence.
 executive can often dissolve the parliament and call extraordinary elections.
 head of state and head of government are more or less separated. I
 n most parliamentary systems, the head of state is primarily a ceremonial position, often a
monarch or president, retaining duties that aren't politically divisive, such as appointments of
civil servants. In many parliamentary systems, the head of state may have reserve powers
which are usable in a crisis. In most cases however, such powers are (either by convention or
by constitutional rule) only exercised upon the advice and approval of the head of
government.
 Because the executive is directly related to the legislature, some argue the executive is
actually more accountable than many fixed term presidential systems, as the executive, being
linked to the legislative, can face an early election in the face of the aforementioned 'vote of
no confidence'.
 executive is beholden to the legislature, so it faces more direct questioning by opposition
politicians than an executive would in a presidential system.
 It can also be argued that it's relatively easier to pass legislation within a parliamentary system
since the executive and the legislature are always controlled by the same party and since the
executive has a greater ability to "snap the whip" and force wavering party members into
alignment. Within presidential systems, the executive is often chosen independently from the
legislature. If the executive is of a different party from those leading the legislature, then
legislative activity can grind to a halt.
 Parliamentary systems vary as to the degree to which they have a formal written constitution
and the degree to which that constitution describes the day to day working of the government.
Also, depending upon the voting system, they vary as to the number of parties within the
system and the dynamics between the parties. Relations between the central government and
local governments vary in parliamentary systems; they may be federal or unitary states.

Advantages of a parliamentary system

 Easier to pass legislation within a parliamentary system as the executive branch is dependent
upon the direct or indirect support of the legislative branch and often includes members of the
legislature.
 Has attractive features for nations that are ethnically, racially, or ideologically divided.

Criticisms of parliamentarianism

 Head of government cannot be directly voted on.

 Lack of separation with the relationship between the executive and legislative branches.
Leading to the belief that the legislature or judiciary have little scope to administer checks or
balances on the executive.

A presidential system

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 A presidential system, or a congressional system, is a system of government of a republic
where the executive branch is elected separately from the legislative. Such systems generally
have some combination of historical and/or cultural ties to the former Roman Republic and
later Roman Empire and, more commonly, to the United States of America. The Constitution
of the United States is credited by some people with being the oldest document constituting a
government still in existence, and the presidential system of government is widely accepted as
having originated from it.

The defining characteristic of a presidential government is how the executive is elected, but
nearly all presidential systems share the following features:

 The president is both head of state and head of government.

 The president has no formal relationship with the legislature. He is not a voting member, nor
can he introduce bills (with the exception of Puerto Rico, where he can introduce a bill).
 United States- the President has the power to veto acts of the legislature, and in turn a
supermajority of legislators may act to override the veto.
 The president has a fixed term of office.
 Elections are held at scheduled times, and cannot be triggered by a vote of confidence or other
such parliamentary procedures. However, many presidential systems incorporate provisions
for the president's trial and subsequent removal from office by the legislature if he or she is
found to have committed a crime.
 The executive branch is unipersonal. Members of the Cabinet serve at the pleasure of the
president and must carry out the policies of the executive and legislative branches.

 The president often has the power to pardon or commute sentences of convicted criminals,

Perceived advantages of presidential systems

Supporters generally claim four basic advantages for presidential systems:

 Direct mandate
 Separation of powers
 Speed and decisiveness
 Stability

Perceived disadvantages of presidential systems

Critics generally claim three basic disadvantages for presidential systems:

 Tendency towards authoritarianism —Fred Riggs political scientists argues that,

presidentialism has fallen into authoritarianism in every country it has been attempted, except
the United States. Winning the presidency is a winner-take-all, zero-sum prize —
 Separation of powers — can create undesirable gridlock, and that it reduces accountability
by allowing the president and the legislature to shift blame to each other.

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 Impediments to leadership change —difficult to remove a president from office early. Even
if a president is "proved to be inefficient, even if he becomes unpopular, even if his policy is
unacceptable to the majority of his countrymen, he and his methods must be endured till the
moment comes for a new election."

Differences from a cabinet system

A number of key theoretical differences exist between a presidential and a cabinet system:

 In a presidential system, the central principle is that the legislative and executive branches of
government should be separate. By contrast, in parliamentarism, the executive branch is led
by a council of ministers, headed by a Prime Minister, who are directly accountable to the
legislature and often have their background in the legislature (regardless of whether it is called
a "parliament", a "diet", a "chamber").
 As with the president's set term of office, the legislature also exists for a set term of office and
cannot be dissolved ahead of schedule. By contrast, in parliamentary systems, the legislature
can typically be dissolved at any stage during its life by the head of state, usually on the
advice of either Prime Minister alone, by the Prime Minister and cabinet, or by the cabinet.
 Presidential systems also have less ideological parties than parliamentary systems

While there are differences. In real terms:

Elements of both systems overlap.

 Both govern on behalf of the people

DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISM AND COMMUNISM

Democratic socialism

 Combines aspects of democracy and socialism.

 Politically Committed to popular, constitutional rule and the protection of basic rights.
 Economically- fosters equitable distribution of the community’s wealth.
 Democratic socialists maintain that key aspects of economic life must be publicly owned or
socially controlled to ensure this equitable distribution.
 Socially, democratic socialism involves the belief that all human beings, in a cooperative
community, should have the opportunity to fulfill their good and creative potential.
 There are many sources of democratic socialism, including the Judaic-Christian tradition’s
concern for the poor, the nineteenth-century utopians, Marxist thought, revisionists of Marxist
thought, the Fabian socialists in England, and the trade union movement.

According to Trevour Munroe Critics of democratic socialism argue that sooner or later the
demand for equality will lead to a loss of liberty and that socialism is inherently inefficient. To
its defenders, democratic socialism constitutes a brave attempt to advance social justice for those
who have been least free in society. Pragmatically, its defenders argue that it offers a sane middle
ground between capitalism and communism.

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Communism

 political ideology that seeks to establish a future classless, stateless social organization based
upon common ownership of the means of production.

 powerful critique of capitalism,

 The key ideals of communism include a vision of a better world, which pointedly appeals to
the oppressed worker and the exploited, and a philosophy of history.
 Communism purports to explain the evolution and structure of all human society. It describes
the historical development of society as a clash of material and economic forces.
 communism is a strategy of revolutionary action for overthrowing capitalism.
 The key sources of communist thought are Karl Marx, who provided much of its economic
theory, V. I. Lenin, who was a master revolutionary, Joseph Stalin, who built up communism
in the Soviet Union, and Mao Zedong, who took communism to Asia and into a very
agricultural society.

Munroe 2002 postulates that to its critics, communism is too utopian, potentially totalitarian,
and a failed theory of economics. To its defenders, communism remains a truly liberating
philosophy that offers the only theory of politics and economics to truly appreciate the force
of history and the power of economics.

Communism

FEATURE OF COMMUNISM

According to Trevour Munroe (2002); The feature of the structure of government and of the
communist state and economy have four significant defining features:

• The constitution provides that the state should be ruled by a single communist party.
• The economy is predominantly state-owned and controlled. referred to as a command
economy
• Interest groups and civic organizations (trade unions, youth groups and student association)
are all under the directives of the communist party
• Each of these states subscribe to an ‘official’ ideology. The official ideology was Marxism.

ASPECTS OF POLITICAL CULTURE

The political culture is a mixture of values and attitudes that predated communism and

those that the communist states tried to introduce are as follows:

 Dependence on government and state as provider.

 Prior to communism in most of the communist states, the people had a deep attachment to
religion and to their particular ethnic group, defined on the basis of common language,
history, and culture.
 There is great value placed on equality.

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 The communist system succeeded in large measure in persuading the people that social and
economic rights were more important than political rights.

Reasons for the Collapse of Communism

 The ideals imagined by the original communists were never realized.

 Communist party leaders ruled with absolute power.
 Workers did not become more prosperous as they had expected.
 Workers treated harshly and punished cruelly.
 Discontent and unrest were problems in communist societies from the start
 Not enough products were being made, and not enough food was being grown.
 People could not buy the things that they needed.
 The situation went from bad to worse.

Post Communist state is characterized by the following:

 Dismantling of the state dominated command economy.

 Post communist states moved from being command economies to market economies.
 States no longer owned the means of production but played a regulatory role
 New investments were permitted and modernization evolved

The immediate consequences of these changes were as follows:

• Violent crimes grew and corruption increased

• Greater inequality: state tried to keep gap between social strata from growing too much
(though officials at the top looked after themselves
• Cost of living increased
• Unemployment grew: artificially created jobs were removed
• Economic decline: gap was left by closing businesses GDP fell: Life expectancy fell:

Munroe 2002 argues that Democratic socialism and communism remain important political
forces. They will remain so as long as economic and social conditions create significant
inequalities. The demand for some kind of egalitarian politics will not disappear, although it
might appear under different names and in different guises. No matter what name it appears
under, we can be sure that traditions of criticism developed by socialists and communists will
contribute to any new ideology devoted to making people politically equal.

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