PAD170

GOVERNMENT AND
POLITICS
 GOVERNMENT AND
POLITICS
After completing this topic students should
be able to:
i. Define government
ii.Explain on the terms monarchy, autocracy
and democracy
iii.Distinguish between unitary and federal
systems
iv.Evaluate on the similarities and
differences between parliamentary and
presidential systems
 Definition of Government
A government is an institution or agency
It is one of the elements of the state
It is created to enforce rules of conduct
It is required to ensure obedience among
people
It is a machinery through which the state
realizes and expresses its will
It consists of people who run executive,
legislative and judicial bodies of the country
It is an agency through which the state
determines and carries out its policies
 Generally, Government is
defined as:

Any set of political roles, or

offices, whose occupants
assume principal responsibility
for governing within a given
social grouping

(Moten & Syed, 2008)

 Definition of the State
Man, Aristotle remarked, is by
nature a political being; it is
nature live in a polis

The state, for Plato as for

Aristotle, existed for the
purpose of seeking common
good and moral perfection.

The state was not merely a

political association but also
served as a religious
community and a socializing
agency (Plato & Aristotle)
 Cont
The state is the product of class
contradictions and class struggle
and is controlled by the
economically-dominant class (Karl
Marx,1818-1883).(bourgeois vs
proletariat)
Max Weber (1864-1920) the
state is a human community that
(successfully) claims the monopoly
of the legitimate use of physical
violence in a given territory
 Cont
The state as a collection of individuals
occupying role positions (those of
governing authority) and acting as a group
to govern (Robert Dahl,1961).
A state is a political organization whose
rule is territorially ordered and which is
able to mobilize the means of violence to
sustain that rule (Giddens, 1985).
 Differences between State and
Government
Government is one of the four elements of
the state
The scope of the government is narrow
The state is relatively more permanent than
government
All states are identical in terms of essential
elements but government differ from state
to state
The state is an abstract concept but the
concept of government is concrete
 Aristotle classification of
government
RULE BY ONE MONARCHY
RULE BY FEW ARISTOCRACY

RULE BY MANY POLITY

 Forms of government

ARISTOTLE
The forms of government
are different from one state
/ country to another
Many classifications have
been made by scholars
including Aristotle and
Plato
Aristotle based his
classification on two

O
principles the number of

PLAT
persons who exercise
supreme power and the
end they seek to serve
Sometimes the forms are
classified as democracy
and dictatorship
 Cont
Monarchy
Autocracy
Democracy
 Monarchy
Headed by a monarch / king
The monarch was elected or
hereditary
2 types absolute monarchy &
limited (constitutional) monarchy
 Absolute monarch
The source of all political authority is in the
hand of a supreme ruler (a monarch)
All the organs and officers of government
are agents of this ruler for carrying out his
will
All laws are his commands and it must be
exercised
As a bearer of sovereignty, his authority is
supreme, unlimited, and self-determined.
 Louis XIV of France
expressed his
famous phrase:
Letat, cest moi,
I AM THE STATE
What he really
meant was:
I am the Government
and what I say goes

This is Absolute
Monarchy
 Absolute monarch (cont)
The despotic monarch/king always claimed
that he got his authority direct from god,
that he was Gods vicegerent on earth,
that he ruled by divine right and that he
was answerable to none except God
In ancient China, the Emperor was
described as the son of Heaven. Same
thing goes to ancient Pharaohs of Egypt
and Monarch at the Europe and Britain (5th
-16th Century)
ABSOLUTE MONARCHY
 Merits

The monarch will be able to keep a

greater uniformity of purpose in state
as the J, E and L concentrated on
him.
Stable and consistent policy (His
Majestys will)
The monarch will takes a very high
view of his duties
 Demerits
Absolutism leads to despotic
Absolute monarch dare not allow
liberty and rights of his subjects
Firmly establish his authority and
remains unquestionable
 Limited / Constitutional
monarch
Is a constitutional government
The authority of the Monarch is limited
either by a prescription of a written
constitution or by certain fundamental
conventions
The monarch has a nominal executive
power (head of the state)
Its principle is like a Republican
government
 Merits
The limited monarchs show the essence of a
democratic government
Monarch can consulted and did not exercise real
authority
The real tasks carried out by his ministers
(representation of the majority in the legislature)
People can actively participate in public affairs
and election of edministrators of the country
(people are the ultimate sovereign)
Monarch gains mature administrative experience
to guide his/her ministers (unifying, dignifying
and stabilising influence)
CONSTITUTIONAL
MONARCHY
 Autocracy
Differ from monarch and democracy
It does not allow or encourage mass political
participation through political party, voluntary
organisation or pressure groups.
It does not possess sufficiently effective means of
mass control that able to regulate social life
effectively or to direct a centrally controlled
economy
Lack of concern for civil liberties and its
restrictions on political competition and criticisms
Eg. Ethiopia, Nepal, Algeria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia
and Pakistan
 Absence of a dominating political ideology,
it lays great stress on nationalism but in a
vague and generally rather ineffectual way
In the absence of the ideology, they use
force and coercion to enforce political
obedience
Political power is less institutionalised
(founded either in a traditional, political
elite or armed forces)
Weak in civil liberties
Government controlled the mass media
and judiciary
 Lack in industrial and economic
development
A transitory regimes either towards
liberal democracies or totalitarian
systems
 Democracy
This term is derived from Greek words,
demos (people) and kratos (power)
Democracy means power of the people
However, various definitions have been
given to this term based on its content and
application
2 types:- a) pure or direct democracy
b) representative or indirect
 Pure / Direct democracy
People rule themselves directly without any
intermediaries
Main principle the perfect expression of
popular sovereignty
3 main features:- 1) popular participation;
2) majority rule;
3) political equality
 Indirect / Representative
democracy
Is a system of government in which citizens
elect their representative to run the
government on their behalf
Ordinary citizens do not make
governmental decisions themselves but by
elected public official
Elected representatives act on behalf of
voters
Free competitive elections at all or most
levels of government as a symbol of the
sovereignty of the people
 Cont
Election as an efficient and effective
ways of organizing political
succession
Examples: Malaysia, United kingdom,
the United States, Singapore
 Another Forms of

Government...
Unitary government
Federal government
 Unitary government
Is a single integrated system of
government for the exercise of all powers
The sovereign power resides in the central
or national government
The smaller units of government
(states/provinces) exist but they do not
have the authority to make independent
decisions
 Cont..
All units of government below the national
levels are merely subdivisions
It involves delegation of authority to local /
regional units through an ordinary statute
enacted by national legislature (as a
supreme law not by the constitution)
Examples: Britain, France, Italy, Belgium,
Japan
UNITARY GOVERNMENT
 Federal government
Power of the government are divided
between a government of the whole country
and government for parts of the country
Neither is subordinate to the other both
are coordinate
There exist 2 sets of government national
govt. & constituents units (states, provinces,
regions or cantons)
 Cont
The division of powers between these
governments is specified in the
constitution
The constitution is rigid
Examples: Malaysia, the United
States of America
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
 Parliamentary system
Is a system where a clear distinction is
made between the head of the State (King
or President) and the head of government
(Prime Minister)
The government is constituted from
majority party or a combination of parties
(coalition in the legislature)
There is a sharp distinction between a
Cabinet and a Ministry
 Cont
The Cabinet/Council of Ministers is
headed by the Prime Minister
There is no clear separation between
the executive and the legislature
Examples : Canada, Malaysia, Great
Britain
 Characteristics of
Parliamentary system
The executive is divided into two parts: dignified
(ceremonial) leadership and efficient (real) leadership
The head of state appoints the head of government
The head of government appoints the ministers
The system is based upon the principle of fusion of powers
(concentrated in the Parliament)
Ministers are (usually) members of parliament
The head of government may advise the head of state to
dissolve parliament
The government is a collective body and is responsible to the
assembly
The government as a whole is only indirectly responsible to
the electorate
 Presidential System
Is a system organised according to the principle
of separation of powers (between legislative and
executive powers);
The responsibilities of leadership is vested in the
chief executive;
The President is both the chief executive and the
head of state; and
The President is elected for a fixed term and
independent of the legislature.
Examples : the United States of America,
Indonesia, Philippines
Characteristics of Presidential
system
The executive is a president elected by the people
for a fixed term (four to five/six years
The head of government is the head of state;
The president appoints heads of departments who
are responsible to the president the president
cannot dissolve or coerce the assembly;
The assembly is ultimately supreme over the other
branches of the government;
The system is based on the principle of separation of
powers;
The executive is directly responsible to the
electorate; and
There is no focus of power in the political system.
Differences between parliamentary and
presidential systems
The differences between these forms of
government can be seen from the following:-
Separations of powers;
Powers head of state and head of government;
Responsibilities to the electorate;
Appointment of cabinet members;
Merits:
presidential system
parliamentary
Drawbacks:
presidential system
parliamentary
 Reflections
1. Discuss the merits and demerits of absolute monarchy
2. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of constitutional monarchy.
3. Differentiate between the Constitutional Monarch and the President of
a Republic.
4. Discuss on Article 32, Article 33, Article 34 and Article 40 (Malaysian
Constitution).
5. Outline six requisites of democracy.
6. Evaluate the merits and drawbacks of democracy.
7. Outline and explain the four main features of the unitary government.
8. Identify and explain any five main features of federal government.
9. Identify and explain the advantages and disadvantages of
parliamentary system.
10. Evaluate the merits and demerits of presidential system.
11. Explain the features of government from Islamic perspective.