Term
| What is the best model of majoritarian democracy? What are two other good examples? |
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Definition
| Westminster government in UK; New Zealand and Babados. |
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Term
| Westminster as a majoritarian model: Concentration of executive power in one-party and bare-majority cabinets. |
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Definition
| Composed of the members of the majority party; winning party rules with narrow majority not representing many of the constituency; most recent coalition was 1940-1945; minority government in 1974; |
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Term
| Westminster as a majoritarian model: Cabinet dominance. |
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Definition
| Cabinet is dependent on confidence of Parliament but in reality, the Cabinet is stronger because the party is relavitely cohesive and can count on votes. |
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Term
| What is the unwritten rule with regard to the vote of no confidence? |
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Definition
| If the HOC votes down an important bill or makes a vote of no confidence, the PM resigns (Thatcher). |
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Term
| What gives the executive in Westminster so much power with regard to the cabinet dominence aspect of majoritarianism? |
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Definition
| The disciplined two-party system (p.12). |
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Term
| Westminster as a majoritarian model: Two-Party system. |
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Definition
| Conservative and Labour (replaced Liberals during interwar years). |
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Term
| Two-party systems usually differ on one main trait. What is it? |
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Definition
| Socioeconomic issues; left and working-class vs. right and middle-class. |
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Term
| What is the one issue that divides both parties in the UK two-party system? |
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Definition
| European Community memebership. |
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Term
| Westminster as a majoritarian model: Majoritarian and disproportional system of elections. |
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Definition
| SMD according to the plurality method (FPTP); the candidate with the majority (or if there is no majority, the most votes) wins = disproportional results. |
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Term
| How many seats are there in the HOC? |
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Definition
| Roughly 625 (1950) to 659 (1997). |
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Term
| From 1979 to 1997, the winning party in the UK elections has never had more than ____% of the vote. |
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Definition
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Term
| What is a "manufactured majority"? |
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Definition
| A majority that is artifically created by the electoral system out of mere pluralities of the vote. (Note: All elections since 1945 have been decided by manufactured majorities). |
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Term
| What changes in UK politics would suggest Westminster's switching to PR? What prevents it? |
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Definition
| The adoption of PR by Northern Ireland in all elections except the HOC, with Scottish and Welsh Assemblies, and with British elections to the European Union. UPR is far too advantageous to the two main parties. |
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Term
| Westminster as a majoritarian model: Interest Group Pluralism. |
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Definition
| Competitive free-for-all pluralism among interest groups; a large number of groups exerting pressure on the government in and uncoordinated and competitive manner; lack of integrations of unions and management into policy-making and the apparent preference to be confrontational by both sides. |
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Term
| Westminster as a majoritarian model: Unitary and centralised government. |
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Definition
| Local governments only do small things the central government tells them to do, rights to governance are not guaranteed by constitution and is financially supported by the center. |
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Term
| What (has and) does threaten(ed)the UK's unitary status? |
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Definition
| N. Ireland from 1921-1972; Devolution to Scotland and Wales. |
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Term
| Westminster as a majoritarian model: Concentration of legislative power in a unicameral legislature. |
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Definition
| Deviates because of two houses, but in practice, the power is asymmetrical and only the HOC really counts. |
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Term
| Westminster as a majoritarian model: Constitutional flexbility. |
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Definition
| Unwritten; Magna Carta (1215), Bill of Rights (1689), Parliament Acts (1911, 1949); |
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Term
| Why is the absense of a constitution good and bad for the UK? |
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Definition
| It makes it easier to pass important policy as quickly as other laws (e.g. no 2/3 maj needed). It doesn't provide a codified set of rules to run government by (running instead by convention and political realities) such as judical review; transparency in government is absent; It makes parliament the ultimate authority. |
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Term
| What is one institution that overrides the Parliament's sovereignty? |
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Definition
| The EU; 1973 signed into European Community which passed authority on several issues to EU. |
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Term
| How does judicial review exsist in the UK? |
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Definition
| The codified rules set down by the EU on certain issues (used in European as well as British courts); Human Rights Act (1951). [p. 20] |
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Term
| Westminster as a majoritarian model: Central Bank controlled by the executive. |
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Definition
| Bank highly controlled by the executive until 1997 when Brown (Exchequer) gave it the right to set interest rates. |
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Term
| New Zealand would be a near perfect example of majoritarianism except for what? |
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Definition
| It moved away from PR in 1996 (and therefore all the changes that come with that--plurality, multi-parties, etc). |
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Term
| New Zealand as a majoritarian model: Concentration of executive power in one-party and bare-majority cabinets. |
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Definition
| Single-party majority cabinets (1935-1995); Labour and National Party; coalitions (1915-1919), (1931-1935), (1993-change to non-Westminster). |
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Term
| New Zealand as a majoritarian model: Cabinet dominance. |
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Definition
| Just like in UK, a strong two-party discipline keeps the Cabinet strong. |
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Term
| New Zealand as a majoritarian model: Two-party system. |
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Definition
| Labour and National from '35-mid nineties; socioeconomic issues divide them like UK (leftLabour, rightNational); unlike UK, third party rarely gets ANY seats. [p.22] |
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Term
| New Zealand as a majoritarian model: Majoritarian and disproportional system of elections. |
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Definition
| House of Representatives elected by plurality; disproportional results [p.23 for examples]; all from 1954 have been manufactured majorities. |
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Term
| New Zealand as a majoritarian model: Interest group pluralism. |
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Definition
| Plural; high strike levels (sign of confrontation rather than direct diplomacy); more so than UK. |
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Term
| New Zealand as a majoritarian model: Unitary and centralised government. |
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Definition
| The "Act to Grant a Representative Constitution to te Colony of New Zealand" (1852) abolished in 1875; NZ is now unitary which fits as it's only inhabited by 4 million people. |
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Term
| New Zealand as a majoritarian model: Constitutional flexibility. |
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Definition
| Unwritten; Constitution Acts (1852, 1986), Electoral Acts (1956, 1993), Bill of Rights Act (1990); Some acts dictate a 3/4 maj is needed to change bills, but even that rule can be changed by simple majority; therefore Parliament is sovereign. |
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Term
| New Zealand as a majoritarian model: Judicial review. |
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Definition
| NO judicial review; Parliament has last word of constitutionality through legislation (more than UK because of lack of EU Acts and Human Rights Act). |
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Term
| New Zealand as a majoritarian model: Central bank controlled by the executive. |
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Definition
| Until Reserve Bank Act of 1989 (gives bank responsibility of not exceeding inflation rate set down by bank and minister of finance) bank was hugely central. |
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Term
| What are the two exceptions to New Zealand being a better representation of the Westminster model than Britain? |
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Definition
| The reserve of seats for minority (Maori) and the Reserve Bank Act of 1989. |
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Term
| Why did New Zealand have to adopt PR? |
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Definition
| Labour won popular majority and plurality majority in elections '78 and '81 but didnt win majority in cabinet; they proposed to change it when coming to power but then shyed away (pushing it on a Parliamentary committee that of course voted no); National Party made a big deal, won majority and then HAD to change it; went to referendum and passed. |
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Term
| PR adopted by New Zealand followed what? |
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Definition
| German system; 65 members elected by plurality in SMD (including 5 special Maori districts) and 55 members from party lists (given to parties in a way that enforces proportionality) - MMP (Mixed Member Proportional). |
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Term
| What are changes in New Zealand because of the implementation of PR? |
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Definition
| Far more proportional(NP won 33.8% of votes and 36.7% of seats); more parties (6); no party won majority of seats; ethnic dimension added (NZ First Party headed by Maori) |
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Term
| What trait makes Barbados a good candidate for majoritarianism? |
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Definition
| A highly homogeneous society. |
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Term
| Barbados as a majoritarian model: Concentration of executive power in one-party and bare-majority cabinets. |
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Definition
| Since independence (1966) it has had single-party majority cabinets; two major parties are competitive and interchange in power. |
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Term
| Barbados as a majoritarian model: Cabinet dominance. |
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Definition
| House of Assembly only has 27 members today, therefore 1/3 of HOA is in cabinet and pretty much barred from not voting policy through. |
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Term
| Barbados as a majoritarian model: Two-party system. |
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Definition
| Democtatic Labour Party and Barbados Labour Party; have always ruled, third parties rarely get seats; divided socioeconomically (DLPleft; BLPright). |
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Term
| Barbados as a majoritarian model: Majoritarian and disproportional system of elections. |
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Definition
| 1966 used plurality and 2MD; 1971- plurality and SMD but still disproportional, of course (1971 DLP won 57.4% of vote and 3/4 of seats); 4 manufactured, 3 not; never a majority of seats with minority of popular vote. |
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Term
| Barbados as a majoritarian model: Interest group pluralism. |
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Definition
| Pluralistic except that in recent years they worked with unions and business leaders together on wages/prices and later formed a tripartite pact. |
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Term
| Barbados as a majoritarian model: (6-10) The second (federal-unitary) dimension. |
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Definition
| It is unitary because it's so small, but doesn't fit the other characteristics: asymmetrical bicameral (HOA and Senate-can delay, but not veto); written constitution (2/3 vote in both houses); constitution gives right of judicial review; central bank has charter that gives it a medium degree of autonomy. |
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