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Class : BALLB III A, B, C

Paper Code : BALLB 209

Subject : POLITICAL SCIENCE-II

Faculty Name : Ms. Kiffi Aggarwal

Unit 1: TYPES OF GOVERNMENT

Government is institutionalized authority, organized to direct the larger society towards goals
devised by the political actors. Accordingly, there are various forms of governments, which have
played vital roles in their existence.

A) DEMOCRACY

Democracy has directly originated from the French democratic, but its real origin is Greek. In
Greek there are two words—demos and kratos. The former means people while the latter rule
and what we mean by democracy in English is rule of the people.

David Held, a renowned authority on the concept, defines the term as “Democracy means a form
of government in which, in contradistinction monarchies and aristocracies, the people rule.
Democracy entails a political community in which there is some form of political equality among
the people”. Precisely stated, democracy is the rule by the people. Of all the definitions of
democracy perhaps the best and most popular definition is the following: It is called “the
government of the people, by the people and for the people”.
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The former U.S. President Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) is the author of this definition. Lincoln
uttered this definition in his Gettysburg Address delivered in 1864. The sixties of the nineteenth
century witnessed the height of the American Civil War between the Northern and Southern
states. However, all the definitions have been found to contain the following Elements:
1. Democracy is a form of government in which people’s participation is of primary importance.

2. People may participate either directly or indirectly.

3. It is a form of government in which people have equal opportunity and this type of
government is based on individual merit and no place of hereditary privilege is to be found in
democracy.
4. Distribution of opportunities is adopted for reduction or removal of inequalities.

5. Democracy recognizes that all the sections of the community will receive their due shares.

6. Interests of the minorities will be duly protected and state makes arrangements for that.

7. All the public offices and opportunities are opened to everyone and to fill the posts public
examinations are held. There is also open competition on in which every eligible citizen has the
right to participate.
8. It is a system of government which does not make any discrimination on the basis of
caste,religion, sex, birth etc.

9. In democracy all must have the scope to govern or to be a member of government.

10. Rulers are to be accountable to the ruled and forms of accountability are many.

11. Rules are to be chosen by the ruled.

12. People shall have the right to decide who would rule them.
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Types of Democracy

Following are two types of democracy

1. Direct Democracy

Under this system the people take direct in the affairs of the state. The people themselves are the
rulers and they are the ruled at the same time. They themselves make the laws, enforce them and
decide cases according to these laws. Such a democracy existed in City States of ancient Greece
and Rome. Some practices of direct democracy are still observed in Switzerland and in some
states of the USA.

2. Indirect or Representative Democracy

After the creation of large nation states, it became impossible for all the people directly to
participate in the affairs of the state. Under this form of government, the people elect a small
number of representatives or delegation and give them the authority to run the government. Since
the people rule through these representatives, we give the system the name of indirect or
representative democracy. Today in almost all the countries of the world there is indirect or
representative democracy.

B) Federal form of Government

A federal government is a system of dividing up power between a central national government
and local state governments that are connected to one another by the national government.
A federal system of government is one that divides the powers of government between the
national (federal) government and state and local governments. The Constitution of the United
States established the federal system, also known as federalism. Under federalism, each level of
government has sovereignty in some areas and shares powers in other areas. For example: both
the federal and state governments have the power to tax. Only the federal government can
declare war.
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Features of Federal Government

Federalism has the following characteristics of its own as these characteristics distinguish it
from Unitarianism.
a) In a federal state there are two sets of governments, one is called federal or central
government, the other is provincial or Unit governments. The union of these two sets of
governments makes what is called federation. Each government are independent of the other in
its own jurisdiction. The central and unit governments are constitutionally equal in status and
position: on s superior to other.
b) In a federation governmental powers are essentially distributed by the constitution between
the Central government on the one hand and the unit government on the other. The details of
division vary in different federations. But the principle followed in the division is that all matters
which are primarily of common interest and require uniformity of regulation throughout the
country such as foreign affairs, defense, currency and coinage are placed under the central
government, and the rest is left to the Unit governments.
c) Federal system essentially implies the supremacy of constitution. A federal state derives its
existence from the constitution; powers of both central and unit governments are delegated by
the constitution. Very power whether of central or Unit governments is subordinate to, and
controlled by, the constitution. For instance, in the united states neither the president nor the
Congress nor the governor of New York nor its legislature can legally exercise a single power
which is inconsistent with the articles of the constitution. Every legislature existing under a
federal constitution is merely a subordinate law-making body, whose laws are valid while within
authority conferred on it by the constitution, invalid if they go beyond the limits of such
authority.
d) To maintain in practice, the supremacy of the constitution every federal state must have a
supreme courrt. It interprets the constitution, decides disputes between center and province or
provinces, or between different organs of government. It puts them in check, keeps them
withintheir constitutional limits.
e) The federal constitution being a complicated contract and the supreme law of the land is
essentially a written and rigid one.
f) In a federal state there exists some sort of double citizenship and allegiance. This means that
acitizen has to show allegiance both to the provincial and federal governments,
g) The central legislature under federal system is generally found bicameral on that age old
ground that the lower house enshrines the national idea and represents the nation as a whole
andthe upper house is enshrining federal idea and to represent the units as such.
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Merits
(1) Reconciliation of local autonomy with national unity:

The main advantage of a federal government is that in a country where there are many diversities
and the establishment of a unitary government is not possible, a political organization can be
established through this form of Government. In this type of government, local self-government,
regional autonomy and national unity are possible.
Moreover, in this type of government some rights are given to the central government and the
rest to the states or the provinces. In this way cultural and administrative autonomy is given to
different nationalities and regions and matters like Defense, Foreign Affairs, Communication,
etc., are given to the center.

(2) Division of powers between the Centre and States leads to administrative efficiency:

With the division of powers, the burden of work on the center is lessened and the center has not
to bother about the problems of a purely local nature. It can devote its full attention to the
problems of national importance. Because of provincial or regional autonomy, the administration
of these areas becomes very efficient.

(3) People take more interest in local and regional affairs:

In a federal government the provinces, regions or the states enjoy separate rights and they have
separate cabinets and legislatures. Local governments have also separate rights and the councils
elected by the people run the local administration. When elections to the provincial legislatures
and local bodies take place, and when the representatives of the people run the local and
provincial administration, people take keen interest in the administration.

(4) It gives rise to big states:

Fifty states of America could not have become so powerful if they had not joined the American
Federation. They could also not have enjoyed that prestige in international field, which they
enjoy now as a strong nation.
Similarly, several Indian princely states could not get any importance in the international field, if
they had not joined the Indian Union. They occupy a position of prestige in the international field
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only because of their partnership in the Indian Union. This is also applicable to the Soviet Union,
Brazil, Australia and West Germany.

(5) This system is more advantageous to the smaller states:

This system is more advantageous to smaller states, because they cannot defend themselves
independently and establish diplomatic relations with other countries, which entails a lot of
expenditure. The expenditure that they incur on their defense is also reduced, if they join
together. Fifty states of America could not defend themselves individually. Similar is the case
with India and other countries.
States or provinces in India could neither defend themselves against expansionist China and
aggressor Pakistan, nor could they establish their political and cultural relations with other
countries of the world, in their individual capacity, as every state had lacked ample economic
resources to meet all the expenses.

(6) Citizenship of Federal Government is more dignified than that of its units:

The citizenship of a federation is more dignified. If we declare ourselves as citizens of Assam,

Bengal or the Punjab in foreign countries, it will not be as dignified as is in declaring ourselves
the citizens of India. Similarly, the citizenship of New York or Texas is not as dignified as that of
the United States of America.

(7) Distribution of powers checks the despotism of the Central Government:

Division of powers between the states and the center checks despotism, because the
centralization of powers leads to dictatorship. This is the position in India, West Germany,
Austria, the United States of America, Australia, Brazil and Canada.

(8) More suitable for the bigger countries:

In countries where there are diversities of culture, religion, language and race and which have a
large size, unitary government is not suitable. In such countries only federal government is
possible, because this system brings unity in diversity; the separate authority of the provinces is
recognized and they are made autonomous. If unitary government is established in countries like
India and the United States of America, all powers will be concentrated in the central
government and there will be a possibility of its becoming despotic.
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(9) It is a model for the world state:

The world-known politicians are of the belief that world’s government is the only solution to the
problem of world peace. The structure of the world state cannot be unitary; it can only be federal.

(10) It is good for economic and cultural progress:

Federal government is not only useful from the defense point of view, but it is also good for
economic and cultural progress. In a federation the center looks after many common subjects,
and the states have not to incur expenditure on them. With the establishment of federation, inter-
state commerce and industry are encouraged. The regular supply of necessities is ensured in
scarcity areas without much expenditure.

The economic sources of the country are increased in a federation and the country can face
droughts, famines and other natural calamities without much difficulty. The country can
formulate a sound economic policy; it can build big dams and establish industries for its
prosperity.
For economic prosperity many plans have been executed in India. In big countries, there are
diverse nationalities, races, religions and cultures and federal government gives them special
facilities and safeguards, which help them in making a rapid progress.
Administrative and cultural autonomy has been given to different nationalities in the Soviet
Union. For the uplift of Harijans and tribal people and the protection of linguistic and religious
minorities, special step have been taken in India.

Demerits
Sharing of power between the Center and the states includes both advantages and disadvantages
of federation. Sometimes there can be overlapping of work and subsequent confusion regarding
who is responsible for what. For example, when typhoon Katrina hit Greater New Orleans, USA,
in 2005, there was delay in the rescue work as there was confusion between the state
governments and the federal government on who is responsible for which disaster management
work. This resulted in the loss of many lives.
The federal system of government is very expensive as more people are elected to office, both at
the state and the center, than necessary. Thus, it is often said that only rich countries can afford
it. Too many elected representatives with overlapping roles may also lead to corruption.
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Other than that, it leads to unnecessary competition between different regions. There can be a
rebellion by a regional government against the national government too. Both scenarios pose a
threat to the countries' integrity.
It is also promoting regional inequalities. Natural resources, industries, employment
opportunities differ from region to region. Hence earnings and wealth are unevenly distributed.
Rich states offer more opportunities and benefits to its citizens than poor states can. Thus, the
gap between rich and poor states widens.
It also can make the state governments selfish and concerned only about their own region's
progress. They can formulate policies which might be detrimental to other regions. For example,
pollution from a province which is promoting industrialization in a big way can affect another
region which depends solely on agriculture and cause crop damage.
Finally, it does not eliminate poverty. Even in New York, there are poor neighborhoods like
Harlem with a majority of black population. The reason for this may be that during policy
framing, it is the intellectuals and not the masses who are invited by the local government.
Thus, it can be concluded as,

1. It is inefficient because of diversity of law and administration.

2. There is always a tug-of- war between national and local interests.

3. It is highly expensive.

C) Confederal & Quassi-Federal Form of Government

Confederalism is a system of government in which sovereign power is held by the regional
governments, to which the national government is accountable. The member states are
independent and separate, but give certain powers to a central authority for reasons of mutual
security, convenience and efficiency. Member states are the ones that appoints the central
authority, which can make rules that will pass as laws only after all constituent states have
passed them.

The basic difference is that confederalism is a system where the central government is always
quite weak, whereas in federalism the central government can be quite a bit stronger.
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In, Confederalism, the lower level of Governments (example, states) have all the powers. They
give whatever power they like to the National Government. The example for this is UN, where
UN has only those powers which are given to it by its members.
Quasi federalism is a form of government which is federal in structure but unitary in spirit. For
Example, India and Canada. These countries although have clear division of power between
states and center but major control lies in hand of central government in the form of residual
powers. Although India claims to be a Federal government but nowhere in the constitution is it
mentioned as federal of states but as a union of states, while there is clear demarcation of powers
between states and center on the other hand. This clearly proves India is quasi Federal in nature.
In the words of Professor KC Wheare “Indian Constitution is a quasi-federation.” To understand
what is a quasi-federation we must first understand what is a federation.
1. It is a group of regions or states united with a central government or a federal
Government.
2. A federation has well-established dual polity or dual form of government i.e. the fields of
governance are clearly divided between the center and the federating units.
3. Therefore, existence of co-coordinating authorities independent of each other is the gist
of a federal government.

The following are few pointers, which reflect India in federal features:

a) A perusal of the provisions of the Constitution reveals that the political system introduced
by it, possesses all the aforesaid essentials of a federal polity.
b) Weighted Centre Weak States: In the Indian Polity, central government has been given
more powers as compared to states. In USA & Australia for example, their states have
Laws which are equally powerful as the central laws but in India it isn’t the case. There
are certain limitations as to on what can the center legislate and on what can the state
legislate.
c) India follows Single Citizenship unlike USA and Australia
d) States in India don’t enjoy the right to territorial integrity. I.e. Parliament can alter the
territorial boundary of any state without the consent of the concerned state. (Art-3)
e) Emergency provisions in case of proclamation of emergency under Art 352 Parliament
can legislate on topics mention in State List as well. Financial provision to states can be
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suspended at the sole discretion of the central government. In case financial emergency is
proclaimed under Art 360, the Money Bills presented by states are subject to central
scrutiny and control.
f) Appointment of Governor, under Art 155 Governor of a state is appointed by the
President and the same is not answerable to the State Legislature. Thus indirectly center
enjoys control over the appointing authority of a Chief Minister of a state.
g) Under Art 256, center can give administrative directions to states, which are binding on
the latter. Along with the directions, the Constitution also provides measures to be
adopted by the center to ensure such compliance.
h) Appointments in Central Services under Art 312, I.A.S, I.P.S and I.F.S (forest) - are
appointed by the center, but are paid and controlled by the state. However, in case of any
irregularities by the officer, states cannot initiate any disciplinary action except
suspending him/her.
i) Judges of the High Courts are appointed by the President in consultation with the Chief
Justice of India, Chief Justice of concerned state and Governor of the concerned state.
States do not play any role in it.
j) Therefore, we conclude Indian Constitution is a flexible federation - a federation of its
own kind. Thus, Indian Federation is also called federation sui-generis or a quasi-
federation.
Professor KC Wheare further remarked Indian Union is ‘a unitary state with subsidiary federal
features rather than a federal state with subsidiary unitary features.’
To understand the term Quasi-Federalism one must first understand what federalism actually is?

The very soul of federalism lies in the division of power between the center and the states (or
provinces). The center and states have different areas of operation (by area of operation, I mean
the subjects they can frame a rule on) i.e., no one interferes in the working of other. They are
more like supplementary to each other. The states are not bound to give answers, to the center,
for their actions. Moreover, their areas of operation are clearly mentioned in the constitution.
Also, irrespective of the land area or the population, each state gets equal representation in the
parliament. A perfect example of a federal government exists in the USA.
Whereas, unlike the USA, in India the states can be asked for an answers regarding their actions
in certain areas. States are not even financially independent of the center. In a single sentence,
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the constitution is slightly aligned towards the center in India. So, it can be said that although,
India incorporates most of the features of federalism, it is not actually federal.
The experts, thus, came up with few creative words for the governments in countries like India-
The Quasi- Federal Government or The Semi- Federal Government.

D) The Parliamentary and Presidential Forms of Government

Parliamentary Form of Government

Parliamentary government is a democratic form of government in which the political party that
wins the most seats in the legislature or parliament during the federal election forms the
government. This majority party chooses a leader to be the Prime Minister or Chancellor, and
other high-ranking members of the party make up the cabinet. The minority party forms the
opposition, and its job is to challenge the majority party. If no party is able to win a majority in
the election, a coalition government will be formed with a few political parties cooperating
together.

It's called 'parliamentary government' because all of the power is vested in the parliament. In a
presidential system like the United States, the executive branch is separate, and the president is
popularly elected by the citizens of the nation. In a parliamentary system, the head of the
government is chosen from the parliament, and is often one of the most senior members or
ministers in parliament, which is where we get the term 'Prime Minister.' Often in a
parliamentary system, the country will have a Head of State, who is a ceremonial figure like the
Queen, but does not engage in legislating or politics.
In a Parliamentary form of government, the head of the state is usually a different person than
the head of the government. A Monarch or a President is usually the head of the state. However,
he or she is the head of state, but not the head of government. The functions of the head of the
state is chiefly formal or ceremonial. The council of ministers or the cabinet exercises the real
executive powers and authority to run the Government. In many countries, the Prime Minister is
the head of the council of ministers.
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The Parliamentary or the Cabinet system originated in England. This form of government exists
in countries like Britain, India and Canada. This Parliamentary form of government is also called
Responsible government.

Features
The features of Parliamentary form of Government have been discussed below:

1. Existence of a Titular or Constitutional Ruler: The first characteristic feature of the

parliamentary system is the existence of a Titular of Constitutional Ruler. Legally the
administration of all the affairs of the state is conducted by the head of the state. In reality,
however, the administration is carried by the Council of Ministers. The Monarch or the
President, as the case may be, is the head of the state, but not the head of the government.

2. Absence of Separation of Powers: In the parliamentary system the principle of separation of

powers is not adopted. Here the three departments of government work in close, intimate contact,
sharing some of the powers and functions of one another.
3. Main Role of the Lower House in Ministry-formation: In the parliamentary government the
lower house of the legislature, i.e., the popular chamber plays a vital role in the formation of the
ministry. The leader of the party or alliance which wins the majority in this house is appointed
the Prime Minister or Chancellor. The constitutional ruler appoints the other members of the
ministry on his advice.
4. Responsibility to the Legislature: In such a system the Cabinet or Ministry has to remain
responsible to the legislature for all its activities and policies. In countries having bi-cameral
legislatures, the Cabinet remains responsible to the lower house composed of the people’s
representatives.

5. Collective Responsibility: The ministerial responsibility to the legislature may again be of

two kinds:

a) Individual responsibility, and

b) Collective responsibility.
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Individual responsibility means that the minister in charge of a department must be answerable
for the activities of his department. But when the ministers remain jointly or collectively
responsible to the legislature for the policies and activities of the government, it is called
‘collective responsibility’. Since no individual minister can unilaterally perform any business of
government without the consent of the Cabinet, the entire Ministry or Cabinet has to remain
accountable for the errors of the minister concerned.
6. Intimate relationship between the Legislature and the Executive: In the parliamentary
system an intimate relationship exists between the executive and the legislative departments. So
they can easily control each other. The leaders of the majority party or alliance in the legislature
become the members of the Cabinet or Ministry. Naturally, the ministers can easily extend their
influence on the legislature. Consequently, the programs and policies of the Cabinet are backed
by a majority inside the legislature.

7. Leadership of the Prime Minister: The leadership of the Prime Minister is another major
feature of the parliamentary system. The leader of the majority party in the legislature becomes
the Prime Minister. Though, in theory, he is ‘primus inter pares’, i.e. ‘first among equals’, in
reality, he possesses much greater power and status than the other ministers. As the undisputed
leader of the majority party or alliance in the legislature he plays the most vital role in the
determination and execution of government policies. Indeed, the success of parliamentary
democracy depends, to a great extent, on the personality, efficiency and charisma of the Prime
Minister.
8. Existence of a Strong Opposition: The existence of one or more strong and well-organized
opposition party or parties is the hall-mark of the parliamentary system. By criticizing the errors
of the government, the opposition can compel it to adopt welfare measures and prevent it from
becoming despotic. Judged from this angle, the opposition can be called the life-force of
parliamentary democracy.

9. Cabinet Dictatorship: In the parliamentary system of government the cabinet has to perform
manifold functions. It is the Cabinet which:
a) formulates well-considered policies of the Government after reviewing both the national
and international issues,
b) takes necessary, arrangements for passing laws to implement the policies formulated by
it,
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c) determines the matters to be included in the agenda of the central legislature,

d) controls and directs the administrative departments so that laws, Government orders, etc.
are to be implemented properly,
e) co-ordinates the activities of different departments of the Government,
f) prepares the draft budget in consultation with the Prime Minister and takes necessary
initiative to get it passed in the legislature,
g) formulates economic policies and takes necessary steps for implementing the same,
h) advice’s the constitutional head to take necessary action during emergency or unforeseen
situation, etc.

Hence, the Cabinet acts as ‘the keystone of the political arch’ or has become the ‘steering wheel
of the ship of the state’. In fact, in the parliamentary system of government as the cabinet
members are the leaders of the majority party or alliance in the legislature. Some critics think
that the Parliament is controlled by the Cabinet under the leadership of the Prime Minister giving
rise to some sort of “Cabinet dictatorship”.

Presidential Form of Government

The presidential system is a form of government in which the president is the chief executive
and is elected directly by the people. In this system all three branches – executive, legislative,
and judiciary – are constitutionally independent of each other, and no branch can dismiss or
dissolve any other. The president is responsible for enforcing laws, the legislature for making
them, and the courts for judging. Each is given specific powers to check and balance the others.
In a presidential system, the President (who is the chief executive as well as the symbolic head of
government) is chosen by a separate election from that of the legislature. The President is elected
directly by the people and is answerable to the voters. The President then appoints his or her
cabinet of ministers (or "secretaries" in US parlance). Ministers/Secretaries usually are not
simultaneously members of the legislature, although their appointment may require the advice
and consent of the legislative branch. Because the senior officials of the executive branch are
separately elected or appointed, the presidential political system is characterized by a separation
of powers, wherein the executive and legislative branches are independent of one another.
Presidents have great control over their cabinet appointees who serve at the President’s pleasure,
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and who are usually selected for reasons other than the extent of their congressional support (as
in parliamentary systems). In contrast, the British Prime Minister is more constrained to
represent his/her parliamentary party in the Cabinet.
The US represents the strongest form of presidentialism, in the sense that the powers of the
executive and legislative branches are separate, and legislatures often have significant powers.
In a presidential system, in line with the notion of a separation of powers, presidents and
members of the legislature are separately elected for a given length of time. Presidents have no
authority to remove members of the legislature. Premature removal of either legislative members
or the President can only be initiated by a vote in the lower legislative chamber and under
particular conditions. Thus, under normal circumstances, even if the political party that the
President represents becomes a minority in either or both houses of the legislature, the President
will remain in his position for the full term for which he was elected.

In such systems, the legislature formulates its own agenda and passes its own bills. The
legislature typically formulates and introduces legislation. The legislature can and often work
closely with the executive branch in formulating legislation, particularly when the same party is
in power in both branches. The executive can draft laws, but members of the legislature must
introduce them on the floor. Some presidential systems, however, limit the legislature’s power to
amend the proposed executive budget, and a president may force the legislature to act on
legislation within a certain period. Some characteristics of a legislative function in a presidential
system or governance are as follows:
The legislature tends to have broad powers to amend any legislation. However, lack of resources
and other factors may act to blunt this power. In some countries, like Mexico during the period
of one-party domination, the President effectively controlled the Congress’ lawmaking function.
The potential for legislative assertiveness is greater in presidential systems, but the actual
realization depends on the presence of other conditions.

Legislatures in presidential systems are more likely to have specialized and permanent standing
committees and subcommittees with a number of professional staff to help draft, review and
amend legislation. Large congressional staffs in the United States came about in the post-World
War II (WWII) years, with the greatest growth in the sixties and seventies. Staff and other
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resources are typically much greater in the U.S. presidential system than in the Latin American
or other presidential models.
Via the committee system, the legislature has extensive powers to call expert witnesses,
members of the cabinet, presidential advisors, etc. for public or private hearings before the
legislature.
The President can veto legislation, which can only be overridden by a two-third vote in the
legislature.
Parties in presidential systems tend to be less structured than parties in parliamentary systems.
Failure to vote with one’s party does not threaten to bring the government down. Therefore,
members of the legislature are freer to identify with regional, ethnic, economic or other divisions
when considering policy issues. Because they are usually directly elected and identifiable with
particular districts or regions, many members see a duty to their constituents (in a district or
state) as the first priority, with allegiance to a party and its platform as secondary. While the
legislators are under some pressure to vote with their party, particularly on important votes, the
consequences of not doing so are not as serious to the individual legislator and to the system.
Legislatures and executives are elected separately and often for different terms; it is therefore not
uncommon for them to be controlled by different parties.