Comparing%20Presidents,%20Prime%20Ministers,%20and%20Parliaments

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Comparing Presidents, Prime Ministers, and
Parliaments
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Problem

• How can we tell whether one political executive
  (president or prime minister) is more powerful
  than another?
• How can we tell whether one parliament or
  legislative assembly has more influence or power
  than another?

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The difficulty of measuring power

• Power over what?
• Power of Actor A to make Actor B do something
  different than he or she would otherwise do?
• Power to determine the alternatives keep
  questions or issues off the agenda?
• Power to get what he or she wants without
  recourse to others?

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Political executives

• Which of the following political executives has
  the most power within his or her political
  system?
• The British Prime Minister
• The German Chancellor
• The French President
• The French Premier
• The American President

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Legislative assemblies

• Which of the following has the most control over
  the content of legislation?
• The British Parliament
• The German Parliament
• The French Parliament
• The United States Congress

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Parliament and governments

• Which of the following has the most control over
  the composition of the cabinet?
• The British Parliament
• The German Parliament
• The French Parliament
• The United States Congress

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The power of legislative assemblies

• Working v. debating parliaments?
• What difference does debate make?
• What difference does the number of parties make?
• What difference do specialized committees make?
• The cumulation of expertise in
• The United States Congress
• The German Parliament

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