...complicated legislation. MPs are elected to represent their constituencies and constituents as well as pressure groups and associations. For example, the chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborn has a background in Economics and can therefore make good decisions on Britain’s economy. Direct democracy: A direct democracy is where the people often get consulted by the government on political issues. The public often get to be involved in the decision making process, which usually happens through referendums. The people therefor get a say in the decision making process instead of just leaving it to representatives. People may also take the initiative to propose change to political issues. Switzerland is known for its frequent use of referendums. Liberal democracy: A liberal democracy is where everyone is treated equally under the rule of law and that the minority is not supressed by the tyranny of the majority. The universal suffrage is important because it states that everyone ha the right to vote under one person one vote. The government is hold accountable by the people through regular elections. The government cannot exclude a party just because that does not agree on the same policies. Everyone also have the right to freedom of speech and free media. Everyone can say their opinions without it having any consequences. Also the media are allowed to prints whatever news or opinions it might have even if they are controversial. Britain is an example on a liberal democracy...
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... Legitimate or Illegitimate? ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Politics and Government of Thailand Professor: Surat Horatchaikul Jinhan (Judy) Chen 564 58220 29 ! Jinhan Chen (564 58220 29) page !2 Abstract: The definition of a coup can be defined as simply as “a sudden, violent, and illegal seizure of power from a government”(Oxford Dictionary) This paper alleges the illegitimacy throughout the 2014 military coup d’état in Thailand, given its context of a democratic judicial system. The rest of the content examines the illegitimacy through analyzing 3 main points: the true definition of democracy, Military is not the ideal institution to run a country, and a counterargument against the idea where technocratic government is in need to prevent corruption. Both corresponding and counter arguments are examined in order to establish the illegitimate conclusion ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Jinhan Chen (564 58220 29) page !3 Under the context of Thailand, military coup is defined as the seizure of power. Performed by someone with army forces at that person’s disposal, military coups are a chronic reoccurrence in Thailand due to its precedent history. These incidents include: the 1951 military coup, the 1957 coup on the ouster of Plaek Pibulsonggram, and the 2006 military coup that over threw P.M. Thaksin Shinawatra. The most recent upheaval took place in May, 2014 when Yingluck’s government was overthrown by the Thai army. Accumulatively speaking...
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...change. Westminster has devolved some of its power, an Act protecting and stating human rights has been established and a referendum is due to be held in 2014 on whether or not Scotland should have a codified constitution. While one could argue that discussions as to whether the upper house should be elected or appointed have not yet reached a decision, and it has taken over a decade for a devolved assembly to have the chance to be independent, it would appear that constitutional changes have gone as far as they are ever going to, however it ... gone far enough. Parts of the British political system were seen as undemocratic, especially during Labour’s terms in office in the late 1990’s, in particular the House of Lords (HOL). The Labour government set out to remove all hereditary peers in 1999; instead they abolished all but 92 and now promoted life peers as an alternative. Many Lords and Ladies are offered a place in the HOL either for service, such as previous MP’s, or due to their particular knowledge in a field, such as Alan Sugar as he has a vast amount of knowledge in business. However this was the last reform made, no more hereditary peers have been abolished, the question on whether or not to make the upper house elected is still on-going and previous conservative MP’s still hold more seats than any other party thus making the HOL unrepresentative and undemocratic. Therefore many argue this constitutional change has not gone far enough, although considering that the HOL...
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...Chapter 3 Ap Government Devolution revolution – The effort to slow the growth of the federal government by returning many functions to the states. Federalism – Constitutional arrangement in which power is distributed between a central government and subdivisional governments, called states in the United States. The national and the subdivisional governments both exercise direct authority over individuals. Dual federalism (layer cake federalism) – Views the Constitution as giving a limited list of powers—primarily foreign policy and national defense—to the national government, leaving the rest to the sovereign states. Each level of government is dominant within its own sphere. The Supreme Court serves as the umpire between the national government and the states in disputes over which level of government has responsibility for a particular activity. Cooperative federalism – Stresses federalism as a system of intergovernmental relations in delivering governmental goods and services to the people and calls for cooperation among various levels of government. Marble cake federalism – Conceives of federalism as a marble cake in which all levels of government are involved in a variety of issues and programs, rather than a layer cake, or dual federalism, with fixed divisions between layers or levels of government. Competitive federalism – Views the national government, 50 states, and thousands of local governments as competing with each other over ways to put together packages...
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...GEK2003 Politics and Governance in Singapore Name: Toh Zhi Qi Matrix no: A0111368 L Tutorial Group: E2 ESSAY QUESTION Q2: Of the many issues facing Singapore’s politics, which, in your view, is the most fatal for the PAP and if unresolved, could severely affect the PAP in the coming general elections? During the 2011 General elections, the PAP lost a GRC for the first time and the election was described as a watershed election by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. In the past 7 years, Singaporeans are getting increasingly unhappy with the ruling party despite enjoying relative peace and prosperity amid the gloomy global economic conditions. These issues ranges from foreigners influx, housing prices, transportation bottleneck, widening income gap, rising demands of citizens to the PAP governing style. Among these issues, the problem of foreigner influx is the most fatal as it is the root to many problems. The foreigner influx issue is indeed very challenging and if not tackled properly, can potentially affect the PAP adversely in the coming general elections. Firstly, the foreigners influx issue, the core of the problems. To tackle the persistent low birth rate, Singapore have experienced an overwhelming influx of foreigners especially from China and India. According to the latest statistics, our population swell to 5.39m; foreigners comprising of 1.55m, and citizens accounted for 3.31m. Singapore has loosened its immigration policy to boost her economy and maintain...
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...All unit 1 government and politics past questions: 2011 1) Explain the term turnout used in the extract. (5 marks) 2) Using your own knowledge as well as the extract, consider why some commentators have spoken of a ‘participation crises in recent years. (10 marks) 3) ‘Deciding which party to vote for is now essentially a rational exercise.’ Discuss. (25 marks) 4) Explain the term wasted votes used in the extract. (5 marks) 5) Using your own knowledge as well as the extract, consider why the first-past-the-post system disadvantages some parties. (10 marks) 6) ‘The use of referendums in the UK since 1997 has done little to strengthen democracy.’ Discuss. (25 marks) 7) Explain the term party conference used in the extract. (5 marks) 8) Using your own knowledge as well as the extract, outline the ways in which the Conservative Party and the Labour Party select their leaders. (10 marks) 9) ‘The main UK parties differ on economic policy alone.’ Discuss. (25 marks) 10) Explain the term cause groups used in the extract. (5 marks) 11) Using your own knowledge as well as the extract, consider why direct action could be said to undermine UK democracy. (10 marks) 12) ‘The most successful UK pressure groups still tend to focus on lobbying the Westminster Parliament, despite the availability of numerous other access points.’ Discuss. (25 marks) January 2012 13) Explain the term class dealignment used in the extract. (5 marks) 14) Using your own knowledge as well...
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...Burke states that human reason is not credible in politics and government due to human nature. An individual will always make decisions that will benefit them the most, despite their role to represent the people. Burke highlights it is useless addressing issues and declaring rights for society if they cannot be accomplished. Burke suggests there should be an emphasis on the delivery, obtainment and administration of rights and equality instead of only written accounts. He also expresses although the system of government may be faultless but it does not guarantee those in control will be able to maintain its success. Burke is also concerned about people in authority which inherited their position and wealth. He accentuates that these people...
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...Nationalism The nature of the nation and the differences between nations and states. - A nation can be defined as a group of people who consider themselves to have common circumstances at birth. These common circumstances are strong enough for them to adopt collective goals based on their national identity. Nationalism is therefore an emotional phenomenon felt by the people. - There are a number of typical circumstances of birth that may give rise to nationhood including having a single common ancestor, a common historical experience, common culture, ethnic identity, geographical proximity, religion, attachment to territory. - A state is a political reality. It either exists or it doesn’t. In contrast to the concept of nation, it does not convey a people’s state of mind or emotion. A state is a defined territory within which there is a centre of sovereignty that is, more or less, in control of the territory. Differences between nationalism and racialism -Racialism is where the basis of nationhood is founded on ethnic identity, which leads to a synthesis between racialism and nationalism. In extreme cases, the two terms become synonymous. Many nations based on race also adopt Darwinist views of the world. -Racialist philosophers theorised that races were arranged in a hierarchy. In the struggle for superiority, those nations who showed the strongest unity would prevail. - This differs from cultural nationalism as it attempts to protect minority cultures being threatened...
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...Political science is governed by five myths: that it studies politics; that it is scientific; that it is possible to study politics separated off from economics, sociology, and history; that the state in our democratic capitalist society is politically neutral, that is available as a set of institutions and mechanisms to whatever group wins the election; and that political science, as a discipline, advances the cause of democracy.1 Politics, in the broadest sense, is the activity through which people make, preserve and amend the general rules under which they live. Politics is the process of who gets what, when, and how. Lastly, politics is a process of allocating scarce values.2 Various theorists and concepts define what the role of politics is in order to help us get a better understanding of how the study of politics is useful. Politics help us to understand the relationship between the government and the state’s minority citizens. Plato, the student of Socrates, defined politics in his own way. The ideal government proposed by Plato was the adherence of each individual to “universally valid principles” aimed at improving the lives of all the citizens instead of increasing power, prestige, or material wealth of a select few. Plato believed that this ideal government would be ran by individuals ho were full of wisdom and virtue instead of charisma and cunning. This is because in Athenian democracy, leaders were irrationally chosen based on irrelevant details such as family...
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...Claim: In any field—business, politics, education, government—those in power should step down after five years. Reason: The surest path to success for any enterprise is revitalization through new leadership. Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the claim and the reason on which that claim is based. With the emphasis on the importance of revitalization to an enterprise in any field, the statement claim that changing leadership every five years will help an enterprise to achieve success. Well, revitalization is indeed essential to a successful enterprise; but the success of an enterprise is determined not only by revitalization, perseverance and consistency are also important. Besides, to make revitalization, new leadership sometimes is not a good resort; willingness to accept new ideas is the key. From these perspectives, simply changing leadership every five years is not a good way to ensure success of an enterprise. To any field, revitalization is crucial to an enterprise’s continuous booming. Through revitalization, we break former restrains on our mind and try different approaches to reach our goals. Good ideas and significant discoveries are always reaped in these new attempts. Before Columbus’ time, the only sea route from Europe to Asia was the one that bypass Africa. But Columbus dared to try a totally different way. As a result, he inadvertently discovered a new continent full of promising opportunities. We see here...
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...Exploring The Role Of Government Watchdogs In Canada And Its Influence On Society, Economics, And Politics Introduction In our increasingly neoliberalized and privatized society, the concept of governance and ethical conduct has been falling from the grips of public dialogue and discussion. Self-regulation has become a “mantra for both governments and private industry in the neoliberal era (Burch et al., 2013, p. 259). Given the onset of recent environmental disasters related to the oil and gas industry, the oligarchic telecommunications industry, and our crippling health care system, the role for government watchdogs becomes ever more so important. Thus for any type of change to occur, effective governance is important as it must also progress with any changes in society (Marin, 2009). For this to occur, this requires an ombudsman - also known as a watchdog, or adjudicator who has the “power to set standards and apply sanctions” (Burch et al., 2013, p. 259). The ombudsman or watchdog acts as a “moral compass and societal conscience,” making it even more relevant in today’s 21st century (Marin, 2009). However, in the event that the ombudsman/watchdog model is unable to help with any type of meaningful reform or provide justice, it starts to experience public criticism. Therefore, the focus of this paper will be to explore the role of government watchdogs in Canada and their decreasing influence on public and private sector institutions. In doing so, it will be understood...
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...The Russo-Japanese war undoubtedly had a large significance and effect on Russian government and politics in the early 20th century. A report by Stalin on the war in 1905 states that the “Unbearable conditions” of the war are causing “unrest and discontent among the troops” - further suggesting that the soldiers blamed their superiors, and therefore the government for their treatment during the war through the soldiers “no longer blindly obeying the orders of their superiors”. Through this, it could be suggested that the soldiers were becoming dissatisfied with a regime that they saw did not help them at all (as shown through the poor organization of the war effort - lack of food, proper medical care, decent housing and clothing). Morison agrees with this view, further suggesting that the regime was “branded as incompetent and unworthy” because of how badly the war was going. This in itself would suggest war had a major significance on Russian government as the people were beginning to become unsatisfied with the current regime through its attitude towards the war, and thus would be more likely at this point to push for a new regime that they believed would be more suitable for the Russian people. Furthermore, military defeats at Port Arthur highlighted the weaknesses of the army to the common people, and when Russia was apparently losing the war the people held the government accountable for the massive defeat. This suggestion is supported by Hughes, in that he argues that the...
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...Issue 1 As people rely more and more on technology to solve problems, the ability of humans to think for themselves will surely deteriorate. Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should consider ways in which the statement might or might not hold true and explain how these considerations shape your position. ANSWER With the development of science and technology made through out the human history, especially the past one hundred years or so, people these days are spending more time relying on technology to solve various types of problems. Does the ability of humans to think for themselves really deteriorate as they rely more and more on technology? Admittedly, the improvement of technology and its concomitant contribution to a more convenient daily life does to certain extent obviate the necessity of many traditional tasks, subtly affecting the humans’ ability of thinking. Nevertheless, as a whole effect in general, technology progress improves working efficiency and labor safety, and frees humans from low-level repeated physical work to high-level decision-making intellectual work. In addition, technology proposes brand-new problems as well which challenges the humans’ thinking ability to an even unexpected extent. It is true that in many situations, the requirement for thinking seems less demanding than before due to...
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...Is new leadership going to revitalize an organization, thus bringing success to it? Leadership to an organization is rudder to a ship, without too much emphasizing on the importance of leadership, I agree that those in power need to step down for better leadership when necessary. If leaders are making big mistakes, they need to step down anytime necessary. But if current leaders are leading their organizations to make significant progress, they need to stay in power for the sake of their organizations’ continuous progress. New leaders can bring new ideas, innovation and other important resources to their organizations, which are important for the success of organizations. By the 1980s, Haier Group had debt of over CNY ¥1.4 million and suffered from dilapidated infrastructure, poor management, and lack of quality control. The company was on the verge of bankruptcy. Zhangruimin, the saver of Haier Group, introduced the sense of quality to its members by smashing 76 faulty refrigerators in front of everybody. The company started turning around in late 1980s with Zhangruimin’s disciplined management. As an avid reader of western and Japanese business, he brought Haier into international competition after cooperating with Germany Liebherr Group. This has been one of the most told stories where a new innovative leader saves an almost bankrupted company. Under some extreme circumstances, those in power might need to step down before the end of their due time. Chairman...
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...how to write A* Government and Politics Questions and Answers Your first task is to write the indicative content for each of the questions below on a separate sheet of paper A) Explain the term constituency parties B) Explain why the threat of losing the party whip will usually persuade MPs to “toe the party line” C) Permanent, politically neutral and anonymous” How far does the British Civil Service still reflect these key features? Planning how to write A* Government and Politics Questions and Answers Your first task is to write the indicative content for each of the questions below on a separate sheet of paper A) Explain the term political leaders B) Outline the different roles performed by the annual party conference held by the major UK parties C) Discuss the view that modern British Prime Ministers are not too strong, but too weak Planning how to write A* Government and Politics Questions and Answers Your first task is to write the indicative content for each of the questions below on a separate sheet of paper A) Explain the term Prime Ministers Questions B) Identify and explain two reasons why the Prime Minister’s power to influence policy making is limited C) “The House of Commons is too dominant within the Westminster Parliament” Discuss Planning how to write A* Government and Politics Questions and Answers ...
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