Comparing Constitutional Arrangements

Question 1

What is the structural theory:

Answer 1

-focuses on institutions and their structures
-examples include the ways in which the constitution can be amended and the powers possessed by different chambers in legislatures

Question 2

What is the rational theory?

Answer 2

-focuses on the actions and behaviour of groups
-applied to voting behaviour, methods used by pressure groups
-emphasis on the political tactics in a situation

Question 3

What is cultural theory?

Answer 3

-emphasis on history, shared values and cultural context
-applied to constitutions and their origins
-prefers natures and traditional values of political parties and the background to why legislatures and judiciaries have developed

Question 4

What are the similarities between the UK and US constitutions?

Answer 4

-both lay out the framework of democratic politics and accountable political institutions
-both seek to defend individual rights and deal with discrimination
-both have abated to the emergence of mass democracies without the need for a political and constitutional revolution (Germany and France have had new constitutions implemented)

Question 5

What are the key difference between the UK and US constitutions?

Answer 5

-UK is unmodified where as US is codified
-the UK constitution is easier to update than the US constitution
-the UK has parliamentary sovereignty, where as the US has constitutional sovereignty
-often a lack of clarity in the UK constitution can be very specific
-US has a separation of powers, where as the UK has a fusion of powers

Question 6

What are the similarities in the legislative powers of the UK and US constitutions?

Answer 6

-elected legislatures pass all national laws
-pressure groups have to focus on lobbying congress or parliament

Question 7

What are the difference in the legislative powers of the UK and US constitutions?

Answer 7

-in the UK the focus of PGs is almost entirely on the commons
-in the USA lobbyists target the house and senate

Question 8

What are the key similarities in the executive powers of the UK and US constitutions?

Answer 8

-executive plays a signifiant too in setting up the political agenda
-‘Make America Create Again’ + ‘Get Brexit Done’

Question 9

What are the differences in the executive powers of the UK and US constitution?

Answer 9

-PMs with a healthy majority can mostly get their agenda through parliament
-harder for presidents who have to negotiate with congressional leaders (Trump gaunt it difficult to secure the funding for his Mexican border wall)

Question 10

What are the similarities in the limits on executive and legislative power in the UK and US constitutions?

Answer 10

-neither President or PM can be imperial
-PM can be checked by Parliament and the President can face and uncooperative congress

Question 11

What are the differences in the limited on executive and legislative power in the UK and US constitution?

Answer 11

-checks and balances are entrenched in the US political system
-the only use is for veto, the denial of royal assent (has not been used since 1707)

Question 12

What re the similarities in the role and impact of the judiciary in the UK and US constitutions?

Answer 12

• In both the judiciary can rule against the executive and legislature (in the UK its if a bill is incompatible with ECHR).

Question 13

What are the differences in the role and impact of the judiciary in the UK and US constitution?

Answer 13

-US judiciary is more power (landmark cases are a major part of US political history)
-UK Courts do not have the power to rule Acts of Parliament as unconstitutional

-SCOTUS lobbied by interred groups with ‘amicus curiae briefs’

Question 14

What are the similarities in devolved and federal government in the UK and US constitutions?

Answer 14

-lots of decision making takes place in regional assemblies or state capitols
-means that developed bodies are an important target for pressure groups

Question 15

What are the difference in devolved and federal government in the UK and US constitutions?

Answer 15

-devolution in the UK remains less important than the federal structure in the USA
-elections to state legislates and governorship have long been heavily contested

Question 16

What are the differences in the principles of the US and UK constitutions?

Answer 16

-US constitution was set out with clear principles in mind (Republicanism and Representative Government)
-British constitution is the product of centuries of evolution (Democratisation and the expansion of the franchise)
-there remains a hereditary legacy in the British constitution with the presence of hereditary peers

Question 17

Similarities in the ways both constitutions tackle individual rights:

Answer 17

-US constitution is more explicit about the protection of individual rights, the UK also has a historic attachment to civil liberties
-Magna Carta and the Bill of Rights

Question 18

Difference between UK devolution and US federalism:

Answer 18

-Federalism is an entrenched principle of the US constitution (10th Amendment)
-Devolution in the UK was adopted by parliamentary
-devolution only applies to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

Question 19

What are there similarities between the legislatures of the UK and the US:

Answer 19

-both pass laws that have legislative supremacy over any state or devolved measures
-both have a representative role
-both institutions are bicameral
-political parties dominate proceedings in Congress and Parliament
-the 2 largest parties are overrepresented

Question 20

Similarities between the UK and the US legislators representative nature:

Answer 20

-both parliament and congress remain largely more male, white and older than the general population
-220 women were elected to parliament in 2019
-1/4 of congress was female in 2020

Question 21

Differences in how the legislator acts as a check on the executive in the UK and the US:

Answer 21

-UK PM must consider the power of backbenchers (confidence votes)
-in the US congress can only impeach a president (only 1 Republican Senator Mitt Romney voted to impeach Trump 2020)

Question 22

Differences in how the legislator is viewed by voters in the UK and the US:

Answer 22

-congress is historically unpopular (you have to go back to 2003 to find approval rating of more than 50%)

Question 23

What are parliaments key strengths:

Answer 23

-the ability to question members of the executive directly
-a range of parties are represented in the chamber
-government can implement policies with relative ease

Question 24

what are some criticisms of parliament:

Answer 24

-doesn’t provide an effective check on the executive
-the second chamber is weak
-its committees remain dominated by the party or relatively toothless

Question 25

What are the main strengths of congress:

Answer 25

-strong and established committee system -2 powerful chambers -several important checks on the executive (veto override and impeachment)

Question 26

What are some criticisms of Congress:

Answer 26

-congress is often a 'bastion of negotiation' (stops things from happening) -congress has become overly partisan

Question 27

Structural theory: Comparisons in the nature of the two countries constitutions

Answer 27

-US constitution is codified -British constitution is uncodified -fusion of powers in the UK contrasts with the separation of powers in the US -the US has a federal arrangement an the UK has a predominantly unitary structure

Question 28

Rational Theory: comparisons in the nature of the constitutions

Answer 28

-the key role of the SCOTUS makes it a focus for PGs and lobbyists + in the UK it is only parliament that is traditionally lobbied -in both constitutions leaders have to spend time persuading members to support their bills and policies -federalism makes states a target for lobbying

Question 29

Cultural theory: comparisons in the nature of the constitutions

Answer 29

-deep rooted attachment to states, rights in America were as in the UK there is an emphasis on parliamentary dominance -British constitution the product of evolution and gradual change (US constitution made mainly in 1 got at 1787 constitutional convention) -British constitution retains residual elements of aristocratic and church powers (e.g Lords)

Question 30

Structural theory: Comparisons between devolution and federalism in both countries

Answer 30

-10th Amendment embeds federalism into the US constitution + devolution in the UK is only granted through parliamentary statute -federalism applies uniformly across the US, where as in parts of the UK devolved powers remain relatively limited

Question 31

Rational Theory: Comparison between devolution and federalism

Answer 31

-in the USA state elections are significant and fiercely contested -US pressure groups focus their activity on state legislatures but also state Supreme Courts -in the UK devolved regions contain significant nationalist parties + by contrast succession has been off the cards for US state since 1865

Question 32

Cultural theory: comparisons between devolution and federalism

Answer 32

-state's rights are a deep rooted concept in US political history -state governors often enjoy higher approval rating than the president and congress -profile of the leaders of UK regional assemblies has risen over recent years

Question 33

Structural theory: comparisons between the 2 countries legislatures

Answer 33

-both parts of congress enjoy significant concurrent powers over legislation -US also has powerful committees (House committee can instigate impeachment and the Senate Judiciary Committee plays an important role in the confirmation of judicial nomination) -1911 Parliament Act significantly reduced the power of the Lords -the executive of the UK is found in the legislature, in the US its totally separate -States also have power in the US, meaning the congress is not the only important political arena

Question 34

Rational theory: key comparisons between legislatures

Answer 34

-both parties have a 2 party system + 3rd parties are more significant in West minster -party discipline is stronger in the UK meaning there is less of a need for party leaders to persuade MPs

Question 35

Cultural theory: comparisons between the legislatures

Answer 35

-parliament has anachronistic traditions such as the Queen's speech and the divisions system of voting -Congress also has longstanding traditions like the state of union address -in the UK the Commons and PMQs are mainstays of political theatre, direct questioning of ministers or the president is impossible in congress