Portal:Politics/Selected article/archive/2007
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This page is an archive of articles featured on the Politics Portal in 2007.
Green politics or Green ideology is the ideology of the Green Parties, mainly informed by environmentalism, ecology and sustainable economics and aimed at developing a sustainable society. It is considered by its advocates to be an alternative to socialism, conservatism, and liberalism, although adherents of the traditional ideologies tend to view Greens as representing "one of the others." Certainly it is true that Green parties advocate measures that appear to conventional politicians different from those grouped into labour and capital by economic interests. Even so, Green Parties are, in general, modern left-wing parties, and most Greens see themselves as being more leftist than the social democratic parties.
Cumulative voting (also accumulation voting or weighted voting) is a multiple-winner voting system intended to promote proportional representation while also being simple to understand.
A cumulative voting election elects the top vote-getters, just as with a simple plurality election. However, voters are allowed to concentrate their full share of votes on fewer candidates than seats -- unlike bloc voting, where a voter can only award one vote per candidate, up to the number of candidates as seats. With cumulative voting, voters are permitted to not split their votes and instead concentrate them on a single candidate at full value.
A dominant-party system, or one party dominant system, is a party system where only one political party can realistically become the government, by itself or in a coalition government. Under what has been referred to as "electoralism" or "soft authoritarianism", opposition parties are legally allowed to operate, but are considered too weak or ineffective to seriously take power. Dominant-party systems have been criticized because corruption and insensitivity to public demands tend to arise for lack of an effective opposition.
In contrast to single-party systems, which tend to be authoritarian, dominant-party systems can occur within a context of a democratic system. In a single-party system other parties are banned, but in dominant-party systems other political parties are tolerated, but do not have a realistic chance of winning.
In some states opposition parties are subject to varying degrees of official harassment and most often deal with restrictions on free speech, rules and electoral systems (such as gerrymandering of electoral districts) designed to put them at a disadvantage. In some cases outright electoral fraud keep the oppositon from power. On the other hand, some dominant-party system occur in countries that are widely seen, both by their citizens and outside observers, to be textbook examples of democracy. The reasons why a dominant-party system may form in such a country are often debated: Supporters of the dominant party tend to argue that their party is simply doing a good job in government and the opposition continuously proposes unrealistic or unpopular changes, while supporters of the opposition tend to argue that the electoral system disfavors them (for example because it is based on the principle of first past the post), or that the dominant party receives a disproportionate amount of funding from various sources and is therefore able to mount more persuasive campaigns.
A city-state is a region controlled exclusively by a city, and usually having sovereignty. Historically, city-states have often been part of larger cultural areas, as in the city-states of ancient Greece and Phoenicia, the Aztecs and Mayans of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, along the Silk Road in Central Asia, or the city-states of Renaissance Italy.
City-states were common in ancient times. Though sovereign, many such cities joined in formal or informal leagues under a high king. In some cases historical empires or leagues were formed by the right of conquest (e.g., Mycenae, or Rome), but many were formed under peaceful alliances or for mutual protection (e.g., the Peloponnesian League).
In the Middle Ages, city-states were particularly a feature of what are now Germany, Italy and Russia. A number of them formed the Hanseatic League, which was a significant force in trade for a number of centuries.
Political economy was the original term for the study of production, the acts of buying and selling, and their relationships to laws, customs and government. It developed in the 18th century as the study of the economies of states (also known as polities, hence the word "political" in "political economy"). In contradistinction to the theory of the Physiocrats, in which land was seen as the source of all wealth, some political economists proposed the labour theory of value (first introduced by John Locke, developed by Adam Smith and later Karl Marx), according to which labour is the real source of value. Many political economists also attracted attention to the accelerating development of technology, whose role in economic and social relationships grew ever more important.
In late 19th century, the term "political economy" was generally superseded by the term economics, which was used by those seeking to place the study of economy on a mathematical and axiomatic basis, rather than studying the structural relationships within production and consumption. (See marginalism, Alfred Marshall)
In the present, political economy refers to a variety of different, but related, approaches to studying economic and political behavior, which range from combining economics with other fields, to using different fundamental assumptions which challenge those of orthodox economics.
Civil society is composed of the totality of voluntary civic and social organizations and institutions that form the basis of a functioning society as opposed to the force-backed structures of a state (regardless of that state's political system) and commercial institutions.
The modern usage of the term is often traced to Adam Ferguson, who saw the development of a "commercial state" as a way to change the corrupt feudal order and strengthen the liberty of the individual. While Ferguson did not draw a line between the state and the society, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, a German philosopher, made this distinction in his Elements of the Philosophy of Right. In this work, civil society (Hegel used the term "buergerliche Gesellschaft" though it is now referred to as Zivilgesellschaft in German to emphasize a more inclusive community) was a stage on the dialectical relationship between Hegel's perceived opposites, the macro-community of the state and the micro-community of the family. Broadly speaking, the term was split, like Hegel's followers, to the political left and right. On the left, it became the foundation for Karl Marx's bourgeois society; to the right it became a description for all non-state aspects of society, expanding out of the economic rigidity of Marxism into culture, society and politics.
Stalinism is the political and economic system named after Joseph Stalin, who implemented it in the Soviet Union. It includes an extensive use of propaganda to establish a personality cult around an absolute dictator, extensive use of the secret police to maintain social submission, and most notably, the promotion of communism as the highest political and economic ideal.
The term "Stalinism" was coined by Lazar Kaganovich and was never used by Joseph Stalin who described himself as a Marxist-Leninist and a "pupil of Lenin" although he tolerated the use of the term by associates.
Like many other "-isms" it can be used as a pejorative term when referring to nation-states, political parties, or the ideological stance(s) of individuals, particularly those exhibiting bureaucratic collectivism.
Head of state or chief of state is the generic term for the individual or collective office that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchic or republican nation-state, federation, commonwealth or any other political state. His or her role generally includes personifying the continuity and legitimacy of the state and exercising the political powers, functions and duties granted the head of state in the country's constitution.
Charles de Gaulle described the role he envisaged for the French president when he wrote the modern French constitution. He said the head of state should embody "the spirit of the nation" for the nation itself and the world: une certaine idée de la France (a certain idea about France). Today many countries expect their head of state to embody national values in a similar fashion.
Anti-communism refers to opposition to communism. Historically, the word "communism" has been used to refer to several types of communal social organization and their supporters, but, since the mid-19th century, the dominant school of communism in the world has been Marxism. Marxist communism drew far more supporters and opponents than any other form of communism. As such, the term anti-communism is most often employed to refer to opposition to Marxist communism.
Marxism, and the form of communism associated with it, rose to prominence in the 20th century. Organized anti-communism developed in reaction to the growing popularity of the communist movement, and took on many forms as the 20th century unfolded. Conservative monarchists in Europe fought against the first wave of communist revolutions from 1917 to 1922. Fascism and Nazism were based on a violent brand of anti-communism, they incited fear of a communist revolution in order to gain political power, and they aimed to destroy communism in World War II. Nationalists fought against communists in numerous civil wars across the globe. Liberalism shaped much of the anti-communist foreign policy of the Western powers, and dominated anti-communist intellectual thought in the second half of the 20th century.
The English noun Commonwealth dates originally from the fifteenth century. The original phrase "common wealth" or "the common weal" comes from the old meaning of "wealth" which is "well-being". The term literally meant "common well-being". Thus commonwealth originally meant a state governed for the common good as opposed to an authoritarian state governed for the benefit of a given class of owners.
Today the term is more general and means a political community.
The type of community indicated by the term commonwealth varies. For instance, in different contexts it might indicate:
- a political unit founded in law by agreement of the people for the common good;
- a federated union of constituent states;
- a community of sovereign states;
- a republic;
- a democratic constitutional monarchy;
A governor or governour (archaic) is a governing official, usually the executive (at least nominally, to different degrees also politically and administratively) of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the Head of state; furthermore the title applies to officials with a similar mandate as representatives of a chartered company which has been granted exercise of sovereignty, even with its own armed forces, in a colonial area, often both colonizing and exploiting, sometimes a major state within the state, such as the British HEIC or the Dutch VOC.
In federations a governor can be the title of each appointed or (as in the US) elected politician who governs a constitutive state. Most countries in the world have some sort of official known or rendered as "governor," though in some countries the heads of the constitutive states, provinces, communities and regions may have a different title. This is particularly common in European nations and many of their former colonies, with titles such as President of the Regional Council in France and minister-president in Germany. Other countries using different titles for sub-national units include Spain, Italy and Switzerland.
There can also be non-political governors: high ranking officials in private or similar governance such as commercial and non-profit management, styled governor(s), who simply govern an institution, such as a corporation or a bank. For example, in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries there are prison governors ("warden" in the United States), school governors and bank governors.
The Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) is proposed United States legislation which aims to "amend the National Labor Relations Act to establish an efficient system to enable employees to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to provide for mandatory injunctions for unfair labor practices during organizing efforts, and for other purposes."[1] If it becomes law, the Act would require the U.S. National Labor Relations Board to certify a union as the exclusive representative of employees without an election where "a majority of the employees in a unit appropriate for bargaining has signed valid authorizations." In addition, the Act would require parties who cannot agree upon the terms of a first collective bargaining contract within 120 days to submit the issues to an arbitration board, which would be empowered to settle the dispute. Finally, the Act would provide for liquidated damages of two times back pay for certain unfair labor practices.
On March 1, 2007, the House of Representatives passed the act by a vote of 241 - 185. The bill is likely to face stiff opposition in the Senate and a veto by President Bush. [2] (more...)
[edit] References
- ^ H.R. 800
- ^ "House Passes Employee Free Choice Act" via AFLCIO.org
President is a title held by many leaders of organizations, companies, trade unions, universities, and countries. Etymologically, a "president" is one who presides, who sits in leadership (from Latin prae- "before" + sedere "to sit"; giving the term praeses). Originally, the term referred to the presiding officer of a ceremony or meeting (i.e. chairman); but today it most commonly refers to an official with executive powers.
Among other things, president today is a common title for the head of state of most republics, whether popularly elected, chosen by the legislature or a special electoral college. It is also often adopted by dictators.
A constitutional monarchy is a form of monarchical government established under a constitutional system which acknowledges an elected or hereditary monarch as head of state. Modern constitutional monarchies usually implement the concept of trias politica or "separation of powers", where the monarch either is the head of the executive branch or simply has a ceremonial role. Where a monarch holds absolute power, it is known as an absolute monarchy. The process of government and law within an absolute monarchy can be very different from that in a constitutional monarchy.
In representative democracies that are constitutional monarchies, like the United Kingdom, the monarch may be regarded as the head of state but the prime minister, whose power derives directly or indirectly from elections, is head of government.
Although current constitutional monarchies are mostly representative democracies (called constitutional democratic monarchies), this has not always historically been the case. There have been monarchies which have coexisted with constitutions which were fascist (or quasi-fascist), as was the case in Italy, Japan and Spain, or with military dictatorships, as is currently the case in Thailand.
Non-partisan democracy (also no-party democracy) is a system of representative government or organization such that universal and periodic elections (by secret ballot) take place without reference to political parties or even the speeches, campaigns, nominations, or other apparatus commonly associated with democracy.
A government is called nonpartisan if
- the law does not permit political parties,
- government officials are not members of political parties,
- government policies are decided by a direct democracy,
- officials are chosen in nonpartisan election, or
- no parties have arisen yet within a fledgling democracy.
Electioneering and even speaking about candidates may be discouraged, so as not to prejudice others' decisions or create an inharmonious atmosphere. Candidates to an office (or candidates to a delegate position) are instead chosen strictly by the conscience of the individuals voting for them and familiarity with all potential candidates is not seen as a necessity or even a possibility. Non-partisan democracies can also possess indirect elections whereby delegates are chosen who in turn vote for the representative(s). The system works with first past the post but is incompatible with proportional representation systems other than Single Transferable Vote.
The Government of Maryland is conducted according to the Maryland Constitution. The United States is a federation; consequently, the Government of Maryland, like the other 49 state governments, has exclusive authority over matters that lie entirely within the state's borders, except as limited by the Constitution of the United States. Power in Maryland is divided among three branches of government: executive, legislative, and judicial. Unlike most other states, significant autonomy is granted to many of Maryland's counties. Most of the business of government is done in Annapolis, the State capital. Virtually all state and county elections are held in even-numbered years not divisible by four, in which the President of the United States is not elected — this, as in other states, is intended to divide State and Federal politics.
John Locke (August 29, 1632 – October 28, 1704) was an English philosopher. In epistemology, Locke is often classified as a British Empiricist with David Hume and George Berkeley, but is equally important to social contract theory. He developed an alternative to the Hobbesian state of nature and argued that government was only legitimate if it received the consent of the people, and protected natural rights of life, liberty, and property. Locke believed consent formed the social contract of governance. If such consent was not given citizens had a right of rebellion.
Locke's ideas had enormous influence on the development of political philosophy, and is widely regarded as one of the most influential Enlightenment thinkers and contributors to liberal theory. His writings influenced Voltaire and Rousseau, many Scottish Enlightenment thinkers, as well as the American revolutionaries. This influence is reflected in the American Declaration of Independence.
Locke's theory of mind is often cited as the origin for modern conceptions of identity and "the self"; it figured prominently in the works of later philosophers such as David Hume, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Immanuel Kant. Locke was the first philosopher to define the self through a continuity of "consciousness." He also postulated that the mind was a "blank slate" or "tabula rasa"; that is, contrary to Cartesian or Christian philosophy, Locke maintained that people are born without innate ideas.
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Parliament also includes the Sovereign and the upper house, the House of Lords; the House of Commons is the dominant branch. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 646 members, who are known as "Members of Parliament" or MPs. Members are elected by the first-past-the-post system of election, holding office until Parliament is dissolved (a maximum of five years). Each member is elected by, and represents, an electoral district known as a constituency. The House of Commons is the source of the vast majority of government ministers and every Prime Minister since 1902, with the very brief exception of Sir Alec Douglas-Home in 1963, has been drawn from it (Home did actually rule from the House of Commons, however, taking a seat in the House shortly after being chosen as Prime Minister). The House of Commons evolved at some point during the 14th century and has been in continuous existence since. The House of Commons (the "lower house") was once far less powerful than the House of Lords (the "upper house"), but is now by far the dominant branch of Parliament. The House of Commons' legislative powers exceed those of the House of Lords; under the Parliament Act 1911, the Lords' power to reject most bills was reduced to a mere delaying power. Moreover, the Government of the United Kingdom is answerable to the House of Commons; the Prime Minister stays in office only as long as he or she retains the support of the lower house.
The European People's Party (EPP) is the largest transnational European political party. Founded in 1976, the EPP includes Christian Democratic and conservative parties in Europe. The EPP has 69 member-parties from 37 countries, 16 heads of government (11 EU + 5 non-EU), 9 European Commissioners (including the President), and the largest group in the European Parliament with 277 members. According to its website, the EPP is "the family of the political center-right, whose roots run deep in the history and civilization of the European continent and has pioneered the European project from its inception." It's current President is former Belgian Prime Minister Wilfried Martens. Martens was re-elected President at the March 2006 EPP Congress in Rome for a 3-year term. The EPP currently holds the Presidencies of the 3 main EU institutions: the European Council led by Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU), the European Commission led by President José Manuel Durão Barroso (PSD), and the European Parliament led by President Hans-Gert Pöttering (CDU). This will again be repeated in the first half of 2008, when the Presidency of the European Council will be led by Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša (SDS).
The rule of law is the principle that governmental authority is legitimately exercised only in accordance with written, publicly disclosed laws adopted and enforced in accordance with established procedure. The principle is intended to be a safeguard against arbitrary governance. Samuel Rutherford was one of the first modern authors to give the principle theoretical foundations, in Lex, Rex (1644), and later Montesquieu in The Spirit of the Laws (1748).
In continental European legal thinking, rule of law is associated with a Rechtsstaat. According to Anglo-American thinking, hallmarks of adherence to the rule of law commonly include a clear separation of powers, legal certainty, the principle of legitimate expectation and equality of all before the law.
The concept is not uncontroversial, and it has been said that "the phrase 'the Rule of Law' has become meaningless thanks to ideological abuse and general over-use".
The Athenian democracy (sometimes called classical democracy) was the democratic system developed in the Greek city-state of Athens (comprising the central city-state of Athens and its surrounding territory Attica). Athens was one of the very first known democracies and probably the most important in ancient times. Other Greek cities set up democracies, most but not all following an Athenian model, but none were as powerful or as stable (or as well-documented) as that of Athens. It remains a unique and intriguing experiment in direct democracy where the people do not elect representatives to vote on their behalf but vote on legislation and executive bills in their own right. Participation was by no means open to all inhabitants of Attica, but the in-group of participants was constituted with no reference to economic class and they participated on a scale that was truly phenomenal. Never before had so many people spent so much of their time in governing themselves.
Politics of Kuwait takes place in a framework of a parliamentary constitutional monarchy, whereby the Emir is the head of government. The State of Kuwait (Dawlat al Kuwayt) has been ruled by the al-Sabah dynasty since approximately 1752. The constitution, approved and promulgated on November 11, 1962, calls for direct elections to a unicameral parliament (the National Assembly). Despite the regular holding of relatively free and fair elections to the National Assembly, Kuwait is not a democracy by the usual definition of the term because the prime minister is not responsible to parliament. Nonetheless, Kuwaitis enjoy more civil and political freedoms than the citizens of most non-democratic states. Kuwait's parliament is the strongest of those found in the monarchies of the Gulf. Kuwaitis take some pride in the rarity of political violence in their country, especially given the frequently high levels of violence found in neighboring states and elsewhere in the Arab world.
A republic is a form of government maintained by a state or country whose sovereignty is based on popular consent and whose governance is based on popular representation and control. Several definitions stress the importance of the rule of law as among the requirements for a republic.
Often "republics" and monarchies are described as mutually exclusive. Defining a republic as a non-monarchy, a common short definition, is based on this idea. Although largely covering what is usually understood by a republic such definition has borderline issues, for example while the distinction between monarchy and republic was not always made as it is in modern times, while oligarchies are traditionally considered neither monarchy nor republic, and while such definition depends very much on the monarch concept, which has various definitions, not making clear which of these is used for defining republic.
Conservatism is a relative term used to describe political philosophies that favor traditional values, where "tradition" refers to religious, cultural, or nationally defined beliefs and customs. The term is derived from the Latin, conservāre, to conserve; "to keep, guard, observe". Since different cultures have different established values, conservatives in different cultures have different goals. Some conservatives seek to preserve the status quo, while others seek to return to the values of an earlier time, the status quo ante.
Samuel Francis defined authentic conservatism as “the survival and enhancement of a particular people and its institutionalized cultural expressions.”Roger Scruton calls it “maintenance of the social ecology” and “the politics of delay, the purpose of which is to maintain in being, for as long as possible, the life and health of a social organism.”
The politics of North Korea take place within a nominally democratic framework; in practice, North Korea functions as a single-party state. It is widely considered to be a totalitarian dictatorship. North Korea's political system is built upon the principle of centralization. While the the constitution guarantees the protection of human rights and democratic government, most power is within the hands of a ruling elite dominated by Kim Jong-il, the de facto leader of the country. The ruling party is the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), which is thought to allow some slight inner-party democracy (see Democratic centralism). The WPK has ruled since North Korea's independence in 1948. Two minor political parties exist but are legally bound to accept the ruling role of the WPK. Elections occur only in single-candidate races where the candidate has been selected by the WPK beforehand. Kim Il-sung served as General Secretary and President of North Korea from 1948 until his death in July 1994. He was given the posthumous title of Eternal President, symbolizing that he forever holds the position of President, which is formally vacant. Most analysts believe the title a product of the cult of personality he cultivated during his life. The government is highly controlling and severely limits freedom of expression and participation of its citizens in government (see Human rights in North Korea).
North Korea is widely considered a Communist state in the Western world, but the government has formally replaced references to Marxism-Leninism in its constitution with the locally developed concept of Juche, or self-reliance. The constitution of North Korea declares that "the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea shall, by carrying out a thorough cultural revolution, train all the people to be builders of socialism and communism". Most of its policies resemble those of Communist regimes before the fall of the Soviet Union.
Electoral fraud is illegal interference with the process of an election. Acts of fraud tend to involve affecting vote counts to bring about a desired election outcome, whether by increasing the vote share of the favored candidate, depressing the vote share of the rival candidates, or both.
Election fraud is probably as old as elections themselves. The first suspicion dates back to 471 BC in the Athenian democracy. Archaeologists found 190 pieces of broken pottery used then as ballots with only 14 different handwritings.
A look at some narrow elections with a margin of less than 0.1% shows that sometimes there would not be much fraud needed to change the outcome.
Extreme examples of election fraud are sham elections that are a common event in dictatorial regimes that still feel the need to establish some element of public legitimacy, some even showing 100% of eligible voters voting on behalf of the régime. Most people only call a regime democratic as long as electoral fraud is rare, isolated, and small, or that electoral fraud by opposing groups roughly cancels the effects.
Electoral fraud is not limited to political polls and can happen in any kind of election where the potential gain is worth the risk for the cheater, as in elections for labor union officials, student councils, sports judging, and the awarding of merit to books, films, music, or television programming.
A multi-party system is a system in which three or more political parties have the capacity to gain control of government separately or in coalition.
Unlike a single-party system (or a non-partisan democracy), it encourages the general constituency to form multiple distinct, officially recognized groups, generally called political parties. Each party competes for votes from the enfranchised constituents (those allowed to vote). A multi-party system is essential for representative democracies, because it prevents the leadership of a single party from setting policy without challenge.
If the government includes an elected Congress or Parliament the parties may share power according to Proportional Representation or the First-past-the-post system. In Proportional Representation, each party wins a number of seats proportional to the number of votes it receives. In first-past-the-post, the electorate is divided into a number of districts, each of which selects one person to fill one seat by majority (or plurality) vote. First-past-the-post is not conducive to a proliferation of parties, and naturally gravitates toward a two-party system, in which only two parties have a real chance of electing their candidates to office. (This effect is known as Duverger's law.) Proportional Representation, on the other hand, does not have this tendency, and allows multiple major parties to arise.
This difference is not without implications. A two-party system requires voters to align themselves in large blocs, sometimes so large that they cannot agree on any overarching principles. Along this line of thought, some theories argue that this allows centrists to gain control. On the other hand, if there are three major parties, each with substantially less than a majority of the vote, two of them may find it necessary to compete for the support of the third. Some argue that this gives the third party inordinate political leverage.
Canada, Germany, Australia, and Israel are examples of nations that have used a multi-party system effectively in their democracies. In these nations, multiple political parties have sometimes formed coalitions for the purpose of developing power blocks for governing.
A minister for foreign affairs, or foreign minister, is a governmental cabinet minister who helps form the foreign policy of a sovereign nation. The ministry for foreign affairs is often regarded as the most senior ministerial position below that of the head of government (prime minister or president); it is often granted to the deputy prime minister in coalition governments. In some nations, the foreign minister is referred to as the minister for external affairs. The current foreign minister of New Zealand, however, is not a member of the Cabinet, but rather sits in the Opposition, as part of a complex system of coalition agreements entered into by the Labour Party and its multiple allies.
A foreign minister's powers can vary from government to government. In a classic parliamentary system, a foreign minister can potentially exert significant influence in forming foreign policy but when the government is dominated by a strong prime minister the foreign minister may be limited to playing a more marginal or subsidiary role in determining policy. Similarly, the political powers invested in the foreign minister are often more limited in presidential governments with a strong executive. Since the end of World War II, it has been common for both the foreign minister and defense minister to be part of an inner cabinet (commonly known as a National Security Council) in order to coordinate defence and diplomatic policy. Although the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries saw many heads of government assume the foreign ministry, this practice has since become uncommon in most developed nations.
The 2007 Finnish parliamentary election was held on March 18, 2007. Early voting was possible from 7th to 13th of March. Two hundred MPs were elected from 15 constituencies.
Election themes included a reduction of income tax and VAT on food. A proposal for a guaranteed minimum income has been introduced by some parties. The election debates were characterized by the high economic growth in Finland in recent years, which means that the government will probably have extra money to use on welfare services and transfer payments.
Altogether, 2,004 candidates were nominated, 799 of whom were women. About three quarters of the candidates were nominated by parties currently represented in Parliament. The number of female MPs rose as 84 women were elected (formerly 75), now representing a record 42% of the 200 MPs.
According to the newspaper Helsingin Sanomat, the number of advance voters rose by comparison with the previous election in 2003. After the Tuesday before the Sunday election, when the advance voting ended, the voter turnout had already reached 29.2%, which is more than at the same point in the 2003 elections. Total voter turnout, at 67.8%, fell short of the 2003 figure, 69.7%, reaching a new low since the 1939 elections.
Early voting, is the process which voters can cast their vote on a single or series of days prior to an election. Early voting can take place remotely, such as by mail, or in person, usually in designated early voting polling stations. The availability and time periods for early voting vary based on jurisdiction and type of election. The goal of early voting is usually to increase participation and relieve congestion of polling stations on Election Day.
An advance poll (also "advance voting") is held in some elections to allow participation by voters who may not be able to vote on the set election day(s). This may include people who will be out of the polling area during the election period, poll workers, campaign workers, people with medical procedures scheduled for that time, among others.
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005. In it the Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, with a reduced overall majority of 66 Members of Parliament (MPs).
The general election took place in 646 constituencies across the United Kingdom, for seats in the House of Commons. All but one constituency polled on 5 May; the South Staffordshire vote was postponed and took place on 23 June due to the death of a candidate.
The election was held under the first-past-the-post system. Local elections in parts of England and in Northern Ireland were held on the same day. The polls were open for 15 hours, from 07:00 to 22:00 BST (06:00 to 21:00 UTC). The election came just over three weeks after the dissolution of Parliament on 11 April by Queen Elizabeth II, at the request of the Prime Minister, Tony Blair.
A Member of the European Parliament (English abbreviation MEP) is a member of the European Union's directly-elected legislative body, the European Parliament. MEPs are the European Union's equivalents of a country's national legislators, known in the United Kingdom as MPs, hence the term Euro-MP is used colloquially in English. Another term is Euro-deputy, more common in countries like France, Italy, Spain or Portugal. For a list of the current members see Members of the European Parliament 2004-2009.
When Parliament was first established, MEPs were appointed by member states in national delegations. Since 1979, however, MEPs have been elected by direct universal suffrage. Each country establishes their own way of electing their MEPs.
The 2007 Hong Kong Chief Executive election was held on 25 March 2007 to select the Chief Executive of Hong Kong. It was a "small circle election" which took place at the AsiaWorld-Expo convention centre in which only the 800 member Election Committee (EC) could vote. The EC is elected by 3% of the population in Hong Kong, and the result was a foregone conclusion.
As the first contested election for the office brought on by the successful nomination of a credible democratic challenger, Alan Leong (梁家傑), against the incumbent, Donald Tsang (曾蔭權), by creating a new election culture. Two debates were held between the candidates before the election marked a new page in the history of Hong Kong.
Outgoing Chief Executive Donald Tsang was re-elected with 649 votes to the pro-democracy candidate Alan Leong's 123. There were also 5 invalid votes.
A referendum (plural: 'referendums' or 'referenda') or plebiscite (from Latin plebiscita, originally a decree of the Concilium Plebis) is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may be the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. The referendum or plebiscite is a form of direct democracy.
In the United States, the term "referendum" typically refers to a popular vote to overturn legislation already passed at the state or local levels (mainly in the western United States). By contrast, "initiatives" and "legislative referrals" consist of newly drafted legislation submitted directly to a popular vote as an alternative to adoption by a legislature. Collectively, referendums and initiatives in the United States are commonly referred to as ballot measures, initiatives or propositions.
Direct democracy, classically termed pure democracy, comprises a form of democracy and theory of civics wherein sovereignty is lodged in the assembly of all citizens who choose to participate. Depending on the particular system, this assembly might pass executive motions (decrees), make law, elect and dismiss officials and conduct trials. Where the assembly elected officials, these were executive agents or direct representatives (bound to the will of the people). In a representative democracy sovereignty is exercised by a subset of the people, elected periodically, but otherwise free to advance their own agendas.
Representative democracy is a form of government founded on the principles of popular sovereignty by the people's representatives. The representatives are charged with the responsibility of acting in the people's interest, but not as their proxy representatives—i.e., not necessarily always according to their wishes, but with enough authority to exercise swift and resolute initiative in the face of changing circumstances. It is often contrasted with direct democracy, where representatives are absent or are limited in power as proxy representatives.
The representatives are chosen by the majority of the voters (as opposed to the majority of the population/eligible voters) in elections. While existing representative democracies hold such elections to choose representatives, in theory other methods, such as sortition (more closely aligned with direct democracy), could be used instead. Also, representatives sometimes hold the power to select other representatives, presidents, or other officers of government (indirect representation).
A representative democracy that also protects liberties is called a liberal democracy. One that does not is an illiberal democracy. There is no necessity that individual liberties are respected in a representative democracy. For example, the Communist states were technically representative democracies who regularly held elections, but did not respect real liberties.
An amendment is a change to the constitution of a nation or a state. In jurisdictions with "rigid" or "entrenched" constitutions amendments require a special procedure different from that used for enacting ordinary laws. Many countries have their own rules, laws, and rights that apply to their national (or government's) constitution.
In addition, many constitutions require that an amendment receive the votes of a minimum absolute number of members, rather than simply the support of those present at a meeting of the legislature which is in quorum. For example, the German "Basic Law" may be amended with the consent of a majority of two-thirds in both the Bundestag and Bundesrat. The constitution of Brazil may be amended with the consent of both houses of Congress by a majority of three-fifths (60%).
Dictator is originally the title of a magistrate in ancient Rome appointed by the Senate to rule the state in times of emergency. In modern usage, it refers to an absolutist or autocratic ruler who assumes sole power over the state (though the term is normally not applied to an absolute monarch). Like the term tyrant, originally a respectable Ancient Greek title, and to a lesser degree autocrat, it came to be used almost exclusively as a non-titular term for oppressive, even abusive rule, yet had rare modern titular uses.
The next general election for the Parliament of Australia is expected to take place in late 2007, although technically it can be held as late as 19 January 2008.
The opposition centre-left Australian Labor Party, currently led by Kevin Rudd and deputy leader Julia Gillard, will be the main challenger to the incumbent centre-right coalition government in power since the 1996 election, currently led by the Prime Minister and leader of the Liberal Party of Australia, John Howard, and his coalition partner the Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the National Party of Australia, Mark Vaile.
Following the 2004 election outcome, Labor with 60 seats require 16 additional seats in the 150-member House of Representatives to form a majority government.
The Australian Greens, Family First Party, and the Australian Democrats amongst other parties and candidates will be vying for the balance of power in the Senate.
In the current politics of South Africa, the African National Congress is the ruling party at a national level, and in most provinces, having received 69.7% of the vote during the 2004 general election and 66.3% of the vote in the 2006 municipal election. The main challenger to the ANC's rule is the Democratic Alliance party, which received 12.4% of the vote in the 2004 election and 14.8% in the 2006 election. The leader of this party is Helen Zille. Other major political parties represented in Parliament are the Inkatha Freedom Party, which mainly represents Zulu voters, with 6.97%; and the Independent Democrats with 1.7% in the 2004 election. The formerly dominant New National Party, who introduced apartheid through its predecessor the National Party, received very few votes and disbanded on 9 April 2005 to merge with the ANC. The current South African president is Thabo Mbeki.
Political philosophy is the study of fundamental questions about the state, government, politics, liberty, justice, property, rights, law and the enforcement of a legal code by authority: what they are, why (or even if) they are needed, what makes a government legitimate, what rights and freedoms it should protect and why, what form it should take and why, what the law is, and what duties citizens owe to a legitimate government, if any, and when it may be legitimately overthrown—if ever. In a vernacular sense, the term "political philosophy" often refers to a general view, or specific ethic, belief or attitude, about politics that does not necessarily belong to the technical discipline of philosophy.
Three central concerns of political philosophy have been the political economy by which property rights are defined and access to capital is regulated, the demands of justice in distribution and punishment, and the rules of truth and evidence that determine judgments in the law.
Bureaucracy is the structure and set of regulations in place to control activity, usually in large organizations and government. It is characterized by standardized procedure (rule-following), formal division of responsibility, hierarchy, and impersonal relationships. In practice the interpretation and execution of policy can lead to informal influence.
Bureaucracy is a concept in sociology and political science referring to the way that the administrative execution and enforcement of legal rules are socially organized. Four structural concepts are central to any definition of bureaucracy: a well-defined division of administrative labor among persons and offices, a personnel system with consistent patterns of recruitment and stable linear careers, a hierarchy among offices, such that the authority and status are differentially distributed among actors, and formal and informal networks that connect organizational actors to one another through flows of information and patterns of cooperation.
A cabinet is a body of high-ranking members of government, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council or an Executive Committee.
In some countries, particularly those under Westminster system, the cabinet collectively decides the government's policy and tactical direction, especially in regard to legislation passed by the parliament. In countries with a presidential system, such as the United States, the cabinet does not function as a collective legislative influence; rather, their primary role is as an unofficial advisory council to the head of government, consisting of the heads of the executive departments they are appointed to lead. In some countries, cabinets are required to be appointed from sitting members of the legislature while in others, such as the United States, cabinet members may not be sitting legislators; they must resign their legislative office if they accept a cabinet appointment.
A European Union member state is any one of the twenty-seven countries that have joined the European Union (EU) since its inception in 1958 as the European Economic Community (EEC). From an original membership of six states, there have been five successive enlargements, the largest occurring on 1 May 2004, when ten member states joined.
Following the addition of Romania and Bulgaria in 2007, the EU's membership now stands at twenty-seven. Negotiations are also under way with a number of other states. The process of enlargement is sometimes referred to as European integration. However, this term is also used to refer to the intensification of cooperation between EU member states as national governments allow for the gradual centralising of power within European institutions. Before being allowed to join the European Union, a state must fulfil the economic and political conditions generally known as the Copenhagen criteria: these basically require that a candidate member state must enjoy a secular, democratic system of government, together with the corresponding freedoms and institutions, and respect the rule of law. Under the terms of the Treaty on European Union, enlargement of the Union is conditional upon the agreement of each existing member state as well as approval by the European Parliament.
Politics of Egypt takes place in the framework of a semi-presidential republic, whereby the President of Egypt is de facto both head of state and head of government, and of a system dominated by the National Democratic Party. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of parliament, the People’s Assembly and the Shura Council.
Totalitarianism is a term employed by some political scientists, especially those in the field of comparative politics, to describe modern regimes in which the state regulates nearly every aspect of public and private behavior.
The most influential scholars of totalitarianism, such as Karl Popper, Hannah Arendt, Carl Friedrich, and Juan Linz have each described totalitarianism in a slightly different way. Common to all definitions is the attempt to mobilize entire populations in support of the official state ideology, and the intolerance of activities which are not directed towards the goals of the state, entailing repression or state control of business, labour unions, churches or political parties. Totalitarian regimes or movements maintain themselves in political power by means of secret police, propaganda disseminated through the state-controlled mass media, personality cult, regulation and restriction of free discussion and criticism, single-party state, the use of mass surveillance, and widespread use of terror tactics.
Most critics of the concept say that the term lacks explanatory power. They argue that governments that may be classified as totalitarian often lack characteristics said to be associated with the term. They may not be as monolithic as they appear from the outside, if they incorporate several groups, such as the army, political leaders, and industrialists, which compete for power and influence. In this sense, these regimes may exhibit pluralism through the involvement of several groups in the political process.
A single-party state or one-party system or single-party system is a type of party system government in which a single political party forms the government and no other parties are permitted to run candidates for election. Sometimes de facto single-party state is used about a dominant-party system where unfair laws or practices prevent the opposition from legally getting power. Some single party states only outlaw opposition parties, subordinate allied parties can exist as part of a popular front. Such dominant parties are usually referred to in their specific contexts as the Party.
A one-party system should not be confused with a non-partisan democracy which prohibits all political parties. Also, some one-party states may allow non-party members to run for legislative seats, as was the case with Taiwan's Tangwai movement in the 1970s and 1980s.
In most cases, single-party states have arisen from fascist, socialist, or nationalist ideologies, particularly in the wake of independence from colonial rule. One-party systems often arise from decolonization because one party has had an overwhelmingly dominant role in liberation or in independence struggles.
Theocracy is a form of government in which God or a deity is recognized as the supreme civil ruler. For believers, theocracy is a form of government in which divine power governs an earthly human state, either in a personal incarnation or, more often, via religious institutional representatives (i.e.: a church), replacing or dominating civil government. Theocratic governments enact theonomic laws.
Theocracy should be distinguished from other secular forms of government that have a state religion, are influenced by theological concepts, and monarchies held "By the Grace of God". A theocracy may be monist in form, where the administrative hierarchy of the government is identical with the administrative hierarchy of the religion, or it may have two 'arms,' but with the state administrative hierarchy subordinate to the religious hierarchy. Some democratic political parties and other organizations advocate reconstruction of governments as theocracies. See the article on the Islamic party. Other alleged examples include the Unification Church and Christian Reconstructionism. Since theocracies are considered oppressive in democratic societies, states or political parties are sometimes called theocracies for rhetorical or propaganda purposes. For example, the book American Theocracy alleges that the United States is a theocracy.
The Politics of the Netherlands take place within the framework of a parliamentary representative democracy, a constitutional monarchy and a decentralised unitary state. The Netherlands is described as a consociational state. Dutch politics and governance are characterised by a common strife for broad consensus on important issues, within both the political community and society as a whole.
Politics of Belgium takes place in a framework of a federal parliamentary representative democratic monarchy, whereby the King of the Belgians is the Head of State and the Prime Minister of Belgium is the head of government in a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Federal legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of parliament, the Senate and the Chamber of Representatives. The federation is made up of (cultural/political) communities and (territorial) regions.
Belgium's political institutions are complex; most political power is organised around the need to represent the main cultural (and political) communities. Since around 1970, the significant national Belgian political parties have split into distinct representations for each communities' interests besides defenders of their ideologies. These parties belong to three main political families, though close to the centre: the right-wing Liberals, the social conservative Christian Democrats, and Socialists forming the left-wing. Other important younger parties are the Green parties and, nowadays mainly in Flanders, the nationalist and far-right parties. Politics is influenced by lobby groups, such as trade unions and employers' organizations such as the Federation of Belgian Enterprises. Majority rule is often superseded by a de facto confederal decision making process where the minority (the French-speakers) enjoy important protections through specialty majorities (2/3 overall and majority in each of the 2 main communities).
A unitary state is a state or country whose three organs of state are governed constitutionally as one single unit, with one constitutionally created legislature. The political power of government in such states may well be transferred to lower levels, to regionally or locally elected assemblies, governors and mayors ("devolved government"), but the central government retains the principal right to recall such delegated power.
In a unitary state, any sub-governmental units can be created or abolished, and have their powers varied, by the central government. The process in which sub-government units and/or regional parliaments are created by a central government is known as devolution. A unitary state can broaden and narrow the functions of such devolved (sub-)governments without formal agreement from the affected bodies. In federal systems, by contrast, assemblies in those states composing the federation have a constitutional existence and a set of constitutional functions which cannot be unilaterally changed by the central government. In some such cases, such as in the United States, it is the federal government that has only those powers expressly delegated to it.
The politics of Poland take place in the framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister of Poland is the head of government and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of parliament, the Sejm and the Senate. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
Executive power is exercised by the government, which consists of a council of ministers led by the Prime Minister. Its members are typically chosen from a majority coalition in the lower house of parliament (the Sejm), although exceptions to this rule are not uncommon. The government is formally announced by the president, and must pass a motion of confidence in the Sejm within two weeks. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of parliament, Sejm and Senate. Members of parliament are elected by proportional representation, with the proviso that non-ethnic-minority parties must gain at least 5% of the national vote to enter the lower house. Currently six parties are represented. Parliamentary elections occur at least every four years.
The president, as the head of state, has the power to veto legislation passed by parliament, but otherwise has a mostly representative role. Presidential elections occur every 5 years. The political system is defined in the Polish Constitution, which also guarantees a wide range of individual freedoms. The judicial branch plays a minor role in politics, apart from the Constitutional Tribunal, which can annul laws that violate the freedoms guaranteed in the constitution.
