Presidential v. Parliamentary

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Presidential v. Parliamentary

• A comparison between the U.S., Canada, and Japan

Hans C. Carnice
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Which is more democratic?

• This presentation will discuss the similarities
  and differences between the Parliamentary and
  Presidential systems of the U.S., Canada, and
  Japan.

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United States

• Republic members of the government are elected
  or appointed by those elected into office
• Separation of powers legislature creates the
  laws, executive oversees its application and the
  judiciary checks the constituionality of the law
  and the actions of the government
• Checks and balances powers are separated and
  they in turn must work together to forge and
  implement policy

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United States (cont.)

• President
• represents a country and not just the people who
  voted him in
• Head of the government and needs to keep the
  support of those who voted him into office
• Commander-in-chief of the armed forces
• Oversees the execution of Congress laws
• Foreign policy maker
• Leader of the economy
• Crisis leader
• Party leader

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United States (cont.)

• Legislature
• Political institution that is closest to the
  people
• Creates laws
• Judicial
• Interprets the constituionality of the
  legislature and the executive

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Canada

• Uses the British Westminster model for government
  (most representative countries are parliamentary)
• Head of state is not a president, it is the
  Governor General who represents the interests of
  the Queen of England
• Holds significant powers in government
• Prime Minister
• Head of the government

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Canada (cont.)

• More on the parliamentary system
• Power concentrated on the national government
• People elect representatives based on the party
  and not on the individual
• The Prime Minister serves only as the Head of
  Government (the Queen is the Head of State)
• The party with the most votes is the government
• Parties not in the government often rally to get
  the government out of power

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Japan

• Liberal democracy like that of the United States
  and Canada
• Utilizes a patron-client democracy in where
  politics is conducted via consensus through
  exchange of favors, factionalism, bargaining,
  etc.
• 1947 Constitution was forged by the US
• Emperor is the symbol of the state and not the
  head of state
• Military and arms were disbanded

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Japan (cont.)

• Has a Prime Minister but is not nearly as well
  known as most because of the high turnover rate
  (avg. 17 months in office from 1992-2003)
• Diet (the Legislative) functions much like those
  of most liberal democracies

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Key Points

• US politics was forged with fear that a tyrant
  would rule over them
• Thus the creation of a system of checks and
  balances and a separation of power
• Canadian politics was influenced primarily by the
  British
• People are voting on a partys issue and not on a
  person that claims that party
• Japanese politics was created by the Americans
  and fused with traditional methods
• Legislative does not defer power to PM but to the
  bureacracy

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Conclusion

• The US would have to be the most democratic of
  the three countries used in this study. In the
  Canadian system, the losing parties are out of
  the decision making process and can only
  criticize the government. Indeed actions under
  the Westminster model are much faster but can
  also be more radical. The founding fathers of the
  US wanted a pluralist government (something
  relatively conservative) so that no particular
  branch of government had more power than the
  other although this can be argued likewise today.
  The Japanese relies heavily on the bureaucracy
  and makes it very susceptible to corruption
  (which it is) and very distant from the people.
  Within the US system, also, the people are
  involved via interest groups, their
  representatives, and protests.

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Just to consider
Life expectancy
US Canada Japan
77.1 79.85 80.7
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Population (per square mile)
US Canada Japan
80 3.54 905
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Have a nice day!