Government and Policymaking
Policymaking
• The point at which proposed policy
programs (outcomes of interest aggregation)
become law.
• What does it take for such programs to
become policy (make the transition from a
proposed course of action to the adopted
course of action?)
Decision Rules
• What are the decision rules across political
systems that move interest aggregation to adopted
policy?
• Constitutions typically contain the decision rules
– A set of rules and principles concerning decision
making, rights, and the distribution of authority in a
political system
– Can be written or based in custom, legal precedent
– A set of customs and practices
Decision Rules
• The basic rules governing the decision making
process
• Creation of offices and assignment of
responsibility and authority to these entities
• Examples:
– U.S. Congress – committee system, two houses with
differing rules, rules about reconciliation, etc.
– British House of Commons – simple majority rule,
cabinet dominance
Constitutions
• A fundamental political act
• Sets out the rules of the game
– Functional authority
– Geographic distribution of authority
• Most political systems have them, notable
exception Britain
– Highly developed set of customs and conventions
supported by ordinary statute
– Important role of political culture
European Union
• Constitutional development has not emerged
from crisis
• idea for the union originated in effort to prevent
future war)
• Decision Rules have evolved over the course
of 40 years:
• Impacts 27 countries
• 495.5 million citizens
Geographic Distribution of
Government Power
• Decision rules vary along three dimensions:
– Geographic distribution of authority
• Federal systems – “separate spheres” of authority
• Unitary systems – national authority
• Confederal systems –state authority
– Separation of powers among branches
– Executive
• Various names and duties, ceremonial, head of state, head of
government, individual or collective
– Two forms of representative government:
– Presidential and parliamentary
– Legislatures
• Bicameral, unicameral
– Limitations on government authority
Democracy vs Authoritarianism
• Policy making functions vary most dramatically
between these two types of systems
• Competitive elections bring people into policy
process
• Elites dominate the policy making process in
authoritarian systems and possibility for non-elite
access is low
• Democratic transition??
Democratic Presidential Regime
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Two separate agencies of government
Executive and legislative, separately elected
Branches selected for fixed terms
Neither may easily unseat the other
Each with specific power in the constitution
Parliamentary Regime
• Interdependent executive and legislative branches
• Only legislature directly elected
• Neither branch has a fixed term in office; both
(typically) can be voted out of office at any time
• Confidence relationship between Cabinet and
majority (eliminates divided government)
– If majority votes “no confidence” PM and cabinet resign
– PM power to dissolve legislature -- elections
• Cabinet – collective leadership of the executive
branch – derived from the legislature
– Chaired by a prime minister, head of government and
selects the other members
Mixed Systems
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Semipresidential
President and legislature separately elected
But president may dissolve legislature
Cabinet may be appointed by president but
may be dismissed by legislature
• A variety of arrangements for shared control
exist
– France, Russia
Limits on Governmental Power
• Provision of civil rights
– Protections guaranteed by government
– Rights of citizenship
• Establishment of courts
– Judicial review – judicial limitation of
governmental authority
– Independent versus non independent
• Amending procedures
Comparing Structures and
Functions
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Assemblies
Cabinets
Elite Recruitment
The Bureaucracy
– Professionalism
– Implementation and enforcement
– May also articulate and aggregate and all but form
policies
• “leave no child behind” – Donna Shalala Children’s Defense
Fund