Nov 22nd - Dec 5th
**The rules of electoral systems reflect party and legislative control and level of democratization.**
TOPIC 4.1 Electoral Systems & Rules
Describe electoral systems and election rules among course countries.
In some regimes, electoral rules and systems are structured to allow for the competitive selection of representatives, while in other regimes rules are frequently changed to advance different political interests.
Describe electoral systems and election rules among course countries.
In some regimes, electoral rules and systems are structured to allow for the competitive selection of representatives, while in other regimes rules are frequently changed to advance different political interests.
- a. The National People’s Congress of China selects members indirectly through a series of local and regional elections.
- b. Iran’s Majles members are directly elected in single-member and multi-member districts, which sometimes requires a second round of voting; candidates are vetted by the Guardian Council, and the legislative body lacks formal political party structures; a small number of the 290 seats in the Majles are reserved for non-Muslim minorities, such as Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians.
- c. Mexico’s Congress of the Union has two chambers: the Chamber of Deputies, which has 300 members directly elected in single-member districts by plurality and an additional 200 members elected by a proportional representation, party list system; and the Chamber of Senators, which has 96 members elected in three-seat constituencies and 32 by proportional representation; gender quotas in the party list system have helped increase female representation in the legislature.
- d. Members of the Nigerian House of Representatives are directly elected in single-member districts with representatives from each of Nigeria’s states; the number of representatives elected from each state is based on population size, whereas the Senate has three members directly elected from each of Nigeria’s 36 states; two major parties have alternated control of the National Assembly.
- e. Changes to state Duma elections in Russia have returned it to a system in which half of the representatives are directly elected from single-member districts and the other half are chosen through elections that use proportional representation with a threshold.
- f. The United Kingdom’s House of Commons members are directly elected under single member district, first-past-the-post rules.
TOPIC 4.2 Objectives of Election Rules
Explain how election rules serve different regime objectives regarding ballot access, election wins, and constituency accountability.
Explain how election rules serve different regime objectives regarding ballot access, election wins, and constituency accountability.
- Proportional representation can result in an increase in the number of political parties represented in national legislatures, as well as an increase in the election of minority and women candidates.
- Single-member district plurality systems tend to promote two-party systems. They provide voters with strong constituency service and accountability because there is a single representative per district, and they ensure geographic representation.
- Different presidential election systems have different rules for determining election winners; some systems employ second-round or runoff elections to obtain a majority vote, while others decide elections based on a plurality of most votes cast among candidates in the race.
- a. Mexico’s president is elected by a plurality of the national popular vote, not an absolute majority.
- b. Presidential candidates in Nigeria must win the most votes and secure at least 25 percent of the vote in two-thirds of Nigeria’s states, reflecting the federal characteristic of this regime.
- c. Presidential candidates in Iran and Russia must win an absolute majority of the popular vote in either the first or second round of national voting. If no candidate wins an absolute majority in the first round, the second round is conducted between the top two vote earners in the first round.
- d. Majoritarian rules in Iran, Nigeria, and Russia provide the winners with a national mandate.
- Different political systems use electoral regulatory organizations to set various rules about ballot access and competition.
- a. Iran’s Guardian Council excludes reform minded candidates or those who do not support Islamic values from the ballot, which limits the number of candidates and reduces electoral competition and representation.
- b. As part of their democratic transition, Mexico and Nigeria have created independent election commissions that attempt to reduce voter fraud and manipulation and enhance electoral competition.
- Some regimes use an appointment system for membership in legislative bodies to promote a diversity of viewpoints, while other regimes use it to advance the political agenda of governing elites.
- a. Appointments for the United Kingdom’s House of Lords are approved by the monarch with recommendations made by the prime minister and an independent commission.
- b. Half of Iran’s Guardian Council members are selected by the Supreme Leader, and half are nominees from the judiciary with Majles approval.
- c. The appointment process for positions in Russia’s Federation Council is done by regional governors and the regional legislature. The creation of nine federal districts (with the annexation of Crimea) has reasserted federal power under the Russian president by allowing him to appoint presidential envoys to the districts, and allowing regional legislatures to forgo elections and appoint a governor from a list of candidates approved by the president.
- a. Appointments for the United Kingdom’s House of Lords are approved by the monarch with recommendations made by the prime minister and an independent commission.
- Election rule changes affect the representation of different religious, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups.
- The timing of legislative elections across the six countries can vary among systems based on term-limit policies.
**The power, influence, and strength of political parties and the degree of competition between parties reflect the values of the regime or type of government.**
TOPIC 4.3 Political Party Systems
Describe characteristics of political party systems and party membership.
Describe characteristics of political party systems and party membership.
- Party systems and membership differ among course countries, ranging from dominant party systems to multiparty systems.
- China has rules that allow only one party, the Communist Party of China, to control governing power to maintain the values of centralism and order, while allowing eight other parties to exist to broaden discussion and consultation.
- Rules ensuring one-party dominance in Russia include increasing party registration requirements, allowing only legally registered parties to run for office, using selective court decisions to disqualify candidates, limiting the ability of political opposition to present their viewpoints in the media, increasing threshold rules to limit party access to the ballot, and eliminating gubernatorial elections.
- Rules that facilitate Mexico’s transition away from one-party dominance include eliminating el dedazo, privatizing state-owned corporations to decrease patronage, decentralizing and reducing one-party power at the subnational level, and establishing and strengthening the National Electoral Institute (IFE).
- The degree of competition within multiparty systems can influence representation and formal political participation by citizens.
- a. Nigeria’s multiparty system includes 30 registered political parties, with two strong parties, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress of Nigeria (APC), and a third party having a degree of electoral success.
- b. The United Kingdom’s party system features competition primarily between two major parties, the Conservative and Labour parties, which control the legislature and executive (with first-past-the-post election rules favoring the major parties). But minor parties with regional representation are also able to win some legislative representation.
- Catch-all political parties can earn support from groups with different characteristics, attracting popular support with ideologically diverse platforms.
- Some legislatures, such as the United Kingdom’s House of Commons, are highly organized by political parties, with voting based on strict party discipline that influences policy making.
TOPIC 4.4 Role of Political Party Systems
Explain how political party systems and memberships link citizen participation to policy making.
Explain how political party systems and memberships link citizen participation to policy making.
- Party systems vary across the course countries in terms of rules governing elections, party structure, and laws regulating political parties, as represented by:
- a. In China, one party (Communist Party of China) has controlled the government (and military) since 1949, while minor parties have limited power to fill minor political offices.
- b. Iran lacks formal political party structures; parties operate as loosely formed political alliances with questionable linkage to constituents.
- c. In Mexico, a multiparty system is dominated by National Action Party (PAN), the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), and the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI); parties are allowed to form coalitions to nominate candidates for any particular election.
- d. In Nigeria, multiple parties with ethnic quotas affect representation in the country’s federal legislature.
- e. In Russia, one party has been dominating recent elections; diminished representation of smaller parties occurs because of changing threshold rules; the elimination and then reinstatement of single-member districts has affected regional parties and the representation of independent candidates.
- f. In the United Kingdom, two large parties (Labour and Conservative) dominate the House of Commons.
- g. In the United Kingdom, single-member district plurality elections diminish minor party representation.
- h. In the United Kingdom, single-member districts allow regional parties to win legislative seats.
- Party systems across the course countries vary in how they affect and are affected by citizen participation.
**Strong and varied citizen organizations and movements foster and are reinforced by democratization.**
TOPIC 4.5 Impact of Social Movements & Interest Groups
Explain how social movements and interest groups affect social and political change.
Explain how social movements and interest groups affect social and political change.
- Social movements involve large groups of people pushing collectively for significant political or social change.
- Interest groups are explicitly organized to represent and advocate for a specific interest or policy issue, while social movements represent multiple groups and individuals advocating for broad social change.
- Social movements across course countries have put pressure on the state to promote indigenous civil rights, redistribute revenues from key exports such as oil, conduct fair and transparent elections, and ensure fair treatment of citizens of different sexual orientations, including:
- a. The Green Movement in Iran that protested corruption in the 2009 election
- b. Zapatistas or Chiapas uprising in Mexico in response to socioeconomic inequality and the negative impact of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
- c. Movements in Nigeria (often militant), including the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) and the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), which have emerged to advocate for the rights of an ethnic minority or protest against unjust methods of extraction and distribution of oil in the Niger Delta region
- d. The Boko Haram movement attempting to establish an Islamic state in northern Nigeria
- e. Domestic protests over Russian state Duma’s passage of legislation against same-sex couples
- Grassroots social movements exert their power up from the local level to the regional, national, or international level.
- With limited organizational hierarchies, such movements are difficult for state-run military or law enforcement to suppress, but some social movements also have difficulty in attracting and mobilizing support among fellow citizens or negotiating with governmental representatives.
TOPIC 4.6 Pluralist & Corporatist Interests
Describe pluralist and corporatist interest group systems.
Describe pluralist and corporatist interest group systems.
- Pluralism and corporatism are systems of interest group representation.
- Pluralist systems promote competition among autonomous groups not linked to the state, whereas in a corporatist system the government controls access to policy making by relying on state-sanctioned groups or single peak associations (SPAs) to represent labor, business, and agricultural sectors.
- The state retains more control over citizen input in a corporatist system than it does in a pluralist system.
- Interest group systems can change over time, as represented by Mexico’s moving from a corporatist system toward a pluralist system.