Country
The
BRITAI
NIGERI
SOVIET RUSSI
CHINA
Europea
N
A
A
UNION
n Union
Mexic
o
Iran
1993 Yeltsin
The Common
Constitutions: 1917 Constitution 1979 Constitution
Non-written: ESCC: Paris 1951 Constitutions:
Constitution
Program 1949
1960, 1963, 1979,
Acts of Parliament EEC: Rome 1957 1918, 1924,
EC: CAP-EMS- 1936, and 1977
1989, and 1999
and tradition
Legitimacy:
Legitimacy:
COREPER 1967
Legitimacy:
Constitutions:
Revolution 1910 Revolution 1979
EU: Maastricht Legitimacy:
Designed to
1954, 1975, 1978,
Legitimacy:
Legitimacy:
1991
Revolution
guarantee
citizen's
and
1982
Independence
1959
Gradual evolution
Sonoran
Islam
1917
civil rights
of Absolute
Mediation
Legitimacy:
through consent
Monarchy into
Legitimacy:
Military
of the governed, Revolution 1949
Constitutional Gradual evolution Marxismno re-election
and expansion
referendum
Monarchy
Leninism
through treaties
MarxismLeninism-Maoism
Constitution?
Unitary
(devolution)
Parliamentary
Structure:
Bicameral
Function:
Unicameral
Structure:
Confederal
Structure:
Federal
Function:
Unitary
Structure:
Unitary
Federal
Function:
Authoritarian OneUnitary
Presidential/
party State
(President
Parliamentary
Authoritarian oversees Regional
One-party
State Representatives)
Structure:
Bicameral
Presidential/
Function:
Unicameral
Federal
Federal
Unitary
Presidential system
designed to replace
the dysfunctional
post-independence
parliamentary
model
Presidential
Presidential
Bicameral
Bicameral
Bicameral
Theocracy
supervised by
Islamic Authorities
Parliamentary
Structure:
Bicameral
Function:
Unicameral
Monarch
Structure:
President
President
Structure:
Appoints PM,
calls elections
Function:
European
Function:
GeneralCommission Secretary of the
Symbol of the
CPSU
Nation, Unity of
1 member from
the
each country
Commonwealth,
nominated by
Head of the
home nation
Anglican Church
approved by
Council
5 year terms
President
2 six-year terms
(changed in 2007
from 4 year
terms)
President
President
Direct vote: must
sexenio
receive both a
(single six-year
majority of popular
term)
Function:
vote and 25% of the
Chairman/General
vote in at least 12
-Secretary of the
directly elected
states
(as an attempt
Direct vote with
CCP
with plurality
to lessen the impact
Majority, 2
of regionalism)
rounds unless
appoints the
51%
cabinet with the
Supreme Military
approval of the
Council
or Federal
Nominates PM,
Senate
Executive Council
Chairs Cabinet
(during Military
Dissolves
no vice-president
rule)
Parliament
swear allegiance
to Europe
Chief
policymaker
supervises EU
bureaucracy
Foreign Policy
puts new policy
proposals on
Council's agenda
Structure:
President
appoints regional
governors
Rule by decree
during declared
Structure:
President
2 four year terms
direct election with
run-off for top 2
candidates
Function:
Rahbar
(Grand
Ayatollah)Suprem
e Spiritual Leader
Presidential
appointed for life-powers have
with annual
weakened since
review--by the
1980s
Assembly of
Experts
veto power over all
policies and
appointments
state of
emergency
Veto power
Nominates heads
of bureaucracy,
judges
Prime Minister
serves at
discretion of
majority party in
Commons
Dominant policymaker
(more powerful
than the House of
Commons?)
Cabinet
(Political, not
technical)
Premier
Prime Minister
Presidium and
serves at the
the Council of discretion of the
Ministers
President
Nominated by
President,
approved by
Duma; 3X
rejection requires
dissolution
Cabinet members
may report
directly to
President
Cabinet may not
reflect party
strengths
incompatibility
clause
Premier
President
President
Elected:
predominates over
other constitutional Control of federal
State Council
President
powers
bureaucracy and
para-statal (semiserve 5 year terms
appoints and
Control of federal
autonomous
supervises cabinetbureaucracy
institutions)
-8 vice-presidents
nominated by
(appointments,
appointments
and 22 members-National Party
retirements; large
as well as local
Congress;
opportunities for State governors
administrators with
approved by
establishing patron- are elected for six
approval of Majlis
National People's client relations)
years; each state and Assembly of
Congress
has a local
Experts
State governors legislature and has
with unicameral the right to levy
puts policy
legislatures
state-wide taxes;
proposals to Majlis
subordinate to
municipal
Federal government presidents are
local elected
through oil revenue elected every
councils
under
distribution
three years
supervision of
appointed mayor
state governors
or governor and
and local mayors
religious
appoint state
authorities
bureaucracy
State governors
appointed by
President;
regional
legislatures
subordinate to
Federal
government
through revenue
distribution
State Council
members of
governors of
regions and
speakers of
regional
legislatures meet
directly with the
President once
every three
months
Symbolic power
Lords may
participate in
Cabinet
Council of
Guardians
12 members
6 clerics appointed
by Rahbar; 6
judges nominated
by Supreme Court
and approved by
Majlis
Federation
Senate
Assembly of
Senate
Structure:
Council
Structure:
Experts
Supreme
109
members
National
People's
represents
128-members
Soviet
178 members
4 year terms
national
6 year term
Congress
86 members
governments; (representatio five year terms
8 year terms
(3000
representation n from regional
increased number
96 seats are
representatives
no
formal
of states aims at elected on a firstscheduled by
and local
national list
political parties from regional and
guaranteeing
COREPER
past-the-post
soviets)
are allowed
local congresses) representation to
basis, and 32
all candidates must
smaller ethnic
rotating
nationally by
be approved by the
groups
presidency
indirect
proportional
Guardian Council
Function:
appointment:
representation
Function:
Generalformerly
reflects tensions
initiates all
House of Lords Council of the EU
700 members
(600 Life, 75
Hereditary, 25
Bishops)
Unelected:
Scrutinizes, delays
legislation
Final Court of
Appeal
legislation
(directives)
Secretary
Politburo
qualified majority
voting:
Central
population and Committee of
wealth
CPSU
unanimous vote
to overturn
rejection by
Parliament
governors of General-Secretary between the central
regions and
government and the
speakers of
states
Standing
regional
Committee of the
legislatures
Politburo
appointed
(15 members)
themselves to
these seats;
Central Committee
current law
of CCP
forbids holding
dual offices
appoints and
reconfirms Rahbar
reviews, amends,
approves, vetoes
legislation from
Majlis
approves
legislation, but
negative vote can
be overridden by
lower house with
simple majority
Confirms state of
emergency
House of
Commons
European
Parliament
Duma
House of
Representatives
Chamber of
Deputies
450 members
659 members
732 members
term at discretion
directly elected to
of Prime Minister
5 year terms
5 year maximum
FPTP plurality
elections from
party list; no
residence
term at discretion
of Prime Minister,
President
5 year maximum
was 1/2
proportional from
2 round run-off
party list with 5%
Majlis
290 members
360 members
4 year terms
500-members
3 year term
multi-member
constituency
Tradition of
voting
with 25%
300 seats are
inefficiency and
minimum
elected on a firstcorruption (patronrequirement
past-the-post basis
client relations;
and 200 by
regional interests
proportional all candidates must
prevail over
representation be approved by the
national priorities)
requirement
Sovereign policymaking power
Vote of No
Confidence
cutoff; 1/2 FPTP
from districts
as of 2007
proportional from
national party list
with 7% cutoff
and regional
membership
requirements
Initiates and
approves
legislation
Guardian Council
reviews, amends,
votes on legislation
proposed by the
President which
must then be
approved by the
Upper House, the
Council of
Guardians, and the
Rahbar
overrules upper
house with simple
majority
Vote of No
Confidence
-must be passed
2x, then President
has power to
choose to dissolve
or appoint new
Prime Minister
Supreme Court Supreme People's
U.S.-inspired
European Court
Under the
U.S.-inspired
Public Court
independent
of Justice
control of the
independent
System Supreme
Court
judiciary
Common Law
19 judges
-one member
Executive
judiciary
Court; appeals
appointed for life
Under the control
appointed by
by President with
Common Law
Cannot override
of the Executive
Civil Code system Revolutionary
State
each member
approval
of
acts of Parliament
Prosecutor;
Court system
country for up to
Senate
Supreme Court can,
attempted creation
There
are
68
in theory, challenge
House of Lords
Conservative
3 6-year terms
show Trials
ex-post facto
Courts of First People's Courts
privilege of Prime
Instance
Minister
Gulags
Court of Auditors
(finances)
Civil Code
Constitutional
Court
Arbitrates
between
Legislative and
Executive
of Civil Code
system
the Executive. In district courts and
practice, it has not
a series of
appellate courts
with a Supreme
State Prosecutor;
Court; federal
show Trials
legal system, with
states enjoying
People's Courts
significant
authority
Xia-feng
amparos
Examinations and
Elite Educational
Institutions
Specialized
Insulated from
politics
resist policy
initiatives
QUANGOs
COREPER
EU Bureaucracy
Secretariat
Power Ministries
Secretariat
Lack of experience; Federal Election
poorly trained
Commission
no appeals
Clerical Court
system
no appeals
Shari'a
all courts
appointed and
supervised by
Rahbar
highly educated
professional
bureaucracy
increasingly
subject to the
clergy
Cooption
Nomenklatura Cooption through
through
Bureaucratic
large
holdovers: siloviki Nomenklatura
Nomenklatura
recruitment based opportunities for
on ethnicity
establishing
Self-serving
"shock treatment"
patron-client
Self-serving
Foreign presence relations at local,
Patron-client
(currently, IMF state, and federal
Expediency
Patron-client
levels
officials in Central
Council
Corrupt
Bank)
resolves
conflicts
Corrupt
between Majlis
and Guardian
Council
Military
Revolutionary
Guard
all are appointed
by and responsible
to the Rahbar
Labour
European
People's Party
Conservative
Liberal
Democratic
Alliance
European
Democrats
Party of European
Socialists
Communist
Party of the
Soviet Union
United Russia
Party
Chinese
Multi-party system
Communist Party (affiliation mostly
determined along
Communist Party 'Red' vs 'Expert' ethnic and religious
of the Russian
factionalism
lines)
Federation
Rodina
Liberal
Democratic Party
Yabloko
Union of Right
Forces
PDP
(SouthWest)
ANPP
(North)
APGA
(SouthEast)
PAN
PRI
PRD
no official party
affiliation is
allowed in political
campaigns, but
factionalism
remains:
Second of Khordad
(Reformers)
Servants of the
Reconstruction
(Moderates)
Followers of the
Imam
(Conservative)
consociational
groups:
intelligensia
oligarchs
PLA
The Military
siloviki
CAC
nomenklatura
CMC
Dominated by
Northern groups
(Hausa-Fulani)
military
Falun Gong
youth movements
Student
Democracy
Movement
TUC
CBI
disorganized
pluralist
organizations
Despite internal
divisions, it is the
most cohesive
political group in
Nigeria
increasing
City Mosques
lobbying with
strengthening of autonomous semipublic
legislature
institutionssuch as
the Foundation of
CTM
the Oppressed
CNC
the Liberation
Movement
CNOP
the National Front
Dominated by
rising wealthy
patron-client
class
relations between
(Three Represents) higher and lower
ranking officials
Communist Youth
League
Fifth and Sixth
generation of
Leadership
Zapatisitas
the Tudeh
Worker's
House/Islamic
Labor Party
Office of Student
Solidarity
Islamic Women's
Association
European Union
deepening and
broadening
immigration
immigration
constitutional
reform
Northern Ireland
international
"vertical power" agricultural reform Dispute of Sharia-corruption
fundamentalist
pressures from
corruption
Chiapas
relationship with
national security
Islamic law in North
former Soviet
issues
countries
income inequity Rampant corruption emigration/border
control with
gender equality
Chechnya
United States
Taiwan
inequitable
distribution of oil
demographic
corruption and Market-Leninism
criminal violence
growing
oligarchs
nationalism
Tony Blair
Valéry Giscard
d'Estaing
Gordon Brown
Vladimir Putin
Jiang Zemin
Dmitri Medvedev
Hu Jintao
Yuri Luzkhov
Wen Jiabao
Vladimir
Zhirinovsky
Xi Jinping
Nicholas Sarkozy
David Cameron
Lord Mandelson
Dominique de
Villepin
Segolene Royal
revenue
income inequity
Olesegun Obasanjo Andre Obrador
Muhammadu
Buhari
Chukwuemeka
Ojukwu
Atiku Abubakar
Ibrahim Babangida
issues: age
Grand Ayatollah
Ali Khameini
Felipe Calderon
Roberto Madrazo
Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad
Commandante
Zero
Imam Mohammad
Khatami
Ayatollah Hashemi
Rafsanjani
Ayatollah Ahmad
Jannati