What Are Presidentialism And Parliamentarism Concepts Politics Essay

What Are Presidentialism And Parliamentarism Concepts Politics Essay Different countries in the world have got their own political system in order to have their countries run and organized and most of them belong to two major systems, namely presidential and parliamentary system and with their own unique characteristics. The presidential and parliamentary systems have lots of different characteristics in their nature and practical running, and each of them have their own virtues and vices. Facing the change of the world political situation and the new democracies, they have got their own advantages to the development of the new democracies; however, there is no universal answer for all the countries in world of which system is more suitable for their new democracies. For presidentialism, it is a system which gives the president the most power in the ruling of the country.((((Find sources / define))). The president usually centralized the political power and symbolic power in his own hand.(CITATION) For political power, he has got a cabinet who is responsible for him and helping him to make various kinds of decisions in different matters, including both daily routines decisions and some important decisions like declaring wars and appointing the government officials, he has got the highest power in executing the policies in a country. For the symbolic power of the president, he represents a state.(CITE) He would be responsible for most of the external issues, like expressing the stand point and the view of a country towards a specific issue, receiving the foreign ambassadors and visiting the other countries in order to promote the country and establish different kinds of networks, including the strategic and economic ones. Like for the president of the United States, the country which is the representative of the presidentialism, Obama, he has been viewed as the symbol of United States nowadays. He has to represent the United States to attend different international conferences like the G20 Seoul Summit in 2010(Cite) and he has recently visited 4 countries in Asia and India. He has to do these visits in order to promote the States interests and establish links and relationships with other countries. The most significant characteristic of the presidential system is the separation of power. The power of legislative and executive is separated and they are independent from each other. There are different elections for electing the members of the executive and legislative branches respectively and hence the two branches may be controlled by different political parties. The parliamentary system is another major political system accounting for around 30% of all the governments (p.42) in the modern world and the assembly is allowed to remove the government (p.34). The parliamentary system has major characteristics of the fusion of power which the legislative and executive power was hold by the same body. The symbolic and the political power in the parliamentary system is, unlike the presidential system, separated in two separate individuals and the two individuals are usually called the head of state and chief executive and the title is subject to change in different countries.(Cite). The example of head of state in the modern states include the Queen of England, Elizabeth II, the Emperor of Japan, Akihito (cite?) and their function is to symbolize the state and responsible for the external issues like receiving ambassadors and performing many of the ceremonial tasks. Some of the head of state is chosen by succession and the others are usually chosen by a governmental body like the legislature.(Cite) The chief executive is responsible for the other part of the country management, he is the chief of the executive branch, and he is responsible for the policymaking and also the daily operation of the government. The chief executive is usually come from the majority party in the parliament, however when there is not a majority political party, there may be a coalition government governing the state, like in Britain. Not 100% of the democratic form of government is of parliamentary and presidential system. In 2000, around 20% of the government in democratic systems is of mixed system, containing both the characteristics of parliamentary and presidential system.(Cite)(p.43). Both the parliamentary and presidential system has its own virtues and vices and it explain why there are different countries supporting different system based on their situation and their historical background and real needs. However, they do not have absolute virtues and vices, there are only comparatively advantages. The first virtue of the parliamentary system is the enforceability of its promises to their supporters and citizens. The parliamentary government has a structural advantage hence it could pass its decision more quickly. As mentioned above, the executive cabinet was chosen within the parliament and it is usually dominated by a majority party. Hence, whenever the government proposes some new policies, the legislators which most of them are in the same party or same line with the government will support and vote for the policies, the policies proposed by the parliamentary government would have a much higher chance and less resistance to be executed. (cite?) However, the parliamentary system has a vice which is also because of its structure. Since the government is elected and chosen by the parliament, the power of parliament is strong enough to turn over the government. The parliamentary system offers no job security (cite). The chief executive will lose his position if the policies he proposed is not favored by the legislators, hence, the policies made by the parliamentary government would be more conservative if there is not an absolute majority party. Also, the quality of the policies does not have promise since they are less challenged and discussed by the legislators. The fast pace of making decision cannot ensure the quality of the decisions made. On the other hand, the presidential system has also got its own virtues and vices. The virtue of the presidential system is that there is separation of powers and hence the legislative branch would be able to check the power and the acts by the executive branch. Hence, there will be less chance for the executive branch to carry out policies which do not get public consensus and high popularity. The legislative branch can act as a defendant of the public when the government exercises unreasonable policies. The discussion and challenges from the legislature would also bring more opinion and thoughts to the government and higher quality and more rounded policies can be made. Secondly, the presidential system ensure the stability of the executive branch since the two branches are separated and independent to each other, hence, the legislature cannot dissolve the cabinet as in the parliamentary system. Both the legislators and president have fixed term and this encourages them to plan for longer terms of policies since there is certainty. However, there are also vices for the presidential system which is because of its characteristics of having check and balance. The check and balance can achieve better policies; on the other hand, it takes much more time to pass. Since the challenges and discussion in the legislature usually takes a long time. Moreover, since there are different elections for electing the legislators and the cabinet, there may not be a party able to control both branches. Hence, it will be difficult for policies to be passed in the legislature if there are not enough allies. This also hindered the development of the country to a certain extent which the discussion will slow down the pass of some urgent policies. The virtues and vices of both of the political systems are not absolute and they may change over different time and different situation. Under the globalization process and the influence of countries among each other, there are now new democracies emerging in the world politics and they often face the dilemma of choosing a right political system. The parliamentary system will be more suitable for the new democracies because of the following points. Firstly, the newly developed democratic countries would usually have a common characteristic which there would be a variety of interests in the public. For example, there may be a lot of different clans or races, different opinions over how should the government implement its economic and public policies. The parliamentary system would be more suitable in this situation since there will be more voices able to speak for their own interest in the parliament and also the government which is elected from the parliament. The members in the parliament who share the executive power may have different backgrounds and hence would be able to reflect their supporters opinion. The prime minister would not be able to bias for his own interest since he will be put off if he does not content the legislature especially when there is not a dominant party. More different voices can appear in the political system in parliamentary system. Secondly, the executive branch in the parliamentary system is elected and chosen by the legislators and they gain certain extent of support from the legislators, in the new democratic countries, the prime minister and the legislators may have promised the voters and supports a lot in order to gain their support and also to strengthen the newly developed countries. Through the parliamentary system and its characteristics, the promises made by the politicians in the campaign can be easier realized since the policies proposed by the prime minister will get support from the legislators who have certain extent of consensus with the government. The system can also ensure the prime minister to carry out his promises since the parliament was given enough power to dissolve the cabinet; hence the prime minister will act according to his promise or in the legislators favor in order to gain support. Moreover, the new democratic countries are usually underdeveloped or developing countries like countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Eastern Europe. These countries, other than developing a new democratic society in their land, also have to develop their economic and diplomatic strength in order to occupy a place in todays world. Under these circumstances, these countries need a strong and efficient government to lead the people and also the country to catch up the developed countries in the world. In terms of efficiency, the parliamentary system will be much better than the presidential system. The law making and policy making process would be much smoother and shorter in time since there are much larger consensus between the legislative branch and the executive cabinet than that in the presidential system, which has to go through a long period of debate and challenges. Now in the parliamentary system, the good relationship between the two branches enable the government to p ass some urgent policies which may be crucial for the countrys development and can be more flexible in policy and law making in order to cope with this fast-changing world. Lastly a small but practical point, the parliamentary system requires fewer resources in holding elections. As mentioned above, the new democratic countries are usually developing countries which are limited in money and other resources like professionals for conducting and monitoring the elections. There is usually only one election for electing the parliamentary members and hence the members would form a government. It requires fewer resources when compared with the presidential system which usually requires two elections for electing the legislative and executive branch respectively. The resources saved can be used for developing the country in other aspects and they are important for a developing country. The parliamentary suits the new democracies more in a general situation like in the situation mentioned above. However, different countries have their own situation and other factors affecting which political system is better for themselves, like the historical background and the existence of monarchy and the influence of the major political figure. There is no universal answer for all countries in the world in which the presidential system could also be efficient; it all depends on the different situation and characteristics of the country and its people. It is a must to closely examine the countrys background in order to decide which political system is better for it and would help its democratic development in the future.

Miss Jane Marple and Miss Cordelia Grey

At first blush it is difficult to imagine two women who are more different that Miss Jane Marple, the cozy amateur detective featured in Agatha Christie's At Bertram's Hotel and Miss Cordelia Grey the protagonist in P. D. James' An Unsuitable Job for a Woman. First, Miss Marple is a good deal older than Miss Gray, although their lifetimes overlap. Secondly the times and worlds they each occupy vary considerably. Lastly, Miss Marple's life experiences appear to have occurred in the village St. Mary Mead. Cordelia Grey however has never really known a home and has lived throughout Europe. However, after sorting through the differences between the two women it becomes clear that each has the necessary qualities necessary to play the role of mystery novel detective. Time provides the most obvious focus between these two novels and their main characters. Miss Marple's age is not revealed, but Lady Selina, herself sixty-five-years-old notices Miss Marple's arrival with the observation â€Å"I do believe that's old Jane Marple. Thought she was dead years ago. Looks a hundred† (Christie 4). Cordelia Grey is only twenty-two-years-old in An Unsuitable Job for a Woman, but it is not just the difference in their ages that separates the two women, it is the difference in time. Although At Bertram's Hotel takes place in London in 1955 and An Unsuitable Job for a Woman takes place in London and Cambridge in 1972 the focus on time each novel has is quite is quite different. Bertram's Hotel stands proudly in the mid-1950s looking backwards to an England that no longer exists except in the memories of the elderly and English films. The management has created an artificial, refined world that caters to the aging members of Edwardian England who fondly recall their youth and to whose Americans who want to visit the â€Å"real† England: hopefully the England from before World War I, but certainly the England from before World War II. Bertram's has changed over the years, but looks â€Å"precisely as it had looked in 1939—dignified, unostentatious, and quietly expensive† (Christie 1). Miss Marple arrives for a visit after having previously stayed there when she was fourteen. Miss Marple brings with her not only her memories of her previous visit, but also a lifetime of memories of the people from St. Mary Mead who she has observed for a lifetime and has learned to recognize anomalies in the actions of others and has developed the habit of â€Å"picking† at these peculiar actions until she has revealed the reason for the action. In this process, Miss Marple has solved a large number of murder mysteries (Christie). The 1972 world of Cordelia Grey differs greatly. Rather than focusing her interest backward at a childhood without a mother and most often without her father being part of her life, Cordelia Grey looks forward. She lives at a time when a young woman living in London has the opportunity to work in an increasing variety of careers. Despite this relaxing of social attitude toward the role of women in England, Cordelia has stumbled into the detective business, a most unsuitable career that she intends to master (James). Unlike Miss Marple who has a treasure trove of memories to guide her in her investigations, Cordelia Grey has had a short live and has had almost no training to work as a detective. Although technically a partner, Grey's training has been limited to basic training in the use of fingerprinting and similar techniques. Her real training has been the often-repeated litany remarks of her late partner Bernard G. Pryde. Pryde was fired from the CID section of the Metropolitan police because of his inability to put together facts and solve cases. He had however taken to heart the teachings of Superintendent Inspector Adam Dagliesh and always had a proverb at hand to help with the current situation. Miss Grey calls these to mind as she proceeds throughout the investigation (James 56, 211). Miss Marple appears to have spent her life at home, working in her garden except for occasional trips such as the two to Bertram's and a trip to the Caribbean that had been paid for by her nephew. Her world is St. Mary Mead, a microcosm sufficiently diverse to have allowed her to develop a keen sense of observation that is adequate to the world outside St. Mary Mead. Cordelia Grey, however, has lived in a series of foster homes after her mother's death while giving birth to Cordelia. Her father was a fascist poet and not much of a father at all, prompting Cordelia to conclude that the six years she spent at convent school due to a clerical error were â€Å"the most settled and happy years of her life. (James 68). The similarities between the two are quite striking. Both women are extremely intelligent though Miss Marple often appears as a twittering and reminiscing old lady (Christie 36). While at convent school Cordelia Grey had learned that she was smart and that â€Å"she needn't to conceal her intelligence, that cleverness which a succession of foster mothers had somehow seen as a threat.† She was offered a chance to take her A-levels with the hopes of a scholarship to Cambridge, but was forbidden to do so by her father who unfortunately chose to appear at the time (James 68-9). Miss Marple and Miss Grey have a strong attraction to what is orderly and proper. Miss Marple always awakens early; she has her breakfast at eight-thirty and enjoys a â€Å"real breakfast† with â€Å"proper eggs† (Christie 33-35). Even though her partner has died, she attends to the business, even though there are no clients, â€Å"cleaning, tidying, rearranging . . .† (James 22). She carefully plans what clothes she should take with her to Cambridge while she conducts her investigation (James 43). When the investigation is over Miss Grey takes the time to finish spading the last two feet of the garden row the murder victim had failed to complete before his death, as if it were one more unsettled task that needed to be completed. Finally, these women are tenacious as terriers. If either of them notices something that is not quite right they will fuss at it and fiddle with it until it makes sense and is reconciled to their satisfaction. Ultimately both Miss Marple and Miss Grey are, in some respects, different faces of a modern, female Janus, the two faced god with each face pointing in opposite directions. The elderly Miss Marple steadfastly faces back in time toward the Edwardian England she remembers and prefers; the young Miss Grey who eagerly faces forward, looks hopefully toward the future. Despite this different temporal orientation, each woman keeps one, boldly curious, wandering eye firmly in the present time and location. Each woman notices the unusual in the midst of normalcy, seeks lies in the midst of truth, and discerns the sinister among the innocent. Despite the great differences between them, they are in many ways kindred sisters or perhaps kindred grandmother and granddaughter. Both women successfully engage in activities deemed â€Å"unsuitable† work for a woman. Despite this they succeed in discovering and righting the wrongs even though the men around them have failed to do so. Works Cited Christie, Agatha. At Bertram's Hotel. New York: Bantam Books, Agatha Christie Mystery Collection, 1987. James, P. D. An Unsuitable Job for a Woman. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1972.

Rude People

It seems that rude people are everywhere today: in the workplace, at the grocery store and sometimes right in our own homes. It can be very difficult dealing with rude people, especially if you are exposed to one on a daily basis, such as the office jerk or the less-than-considerate spouse. However, there are strategies that you can employ to attempt to alter the rude behavior in a not-so-rude way. Sometimes these strategies can be highly effective and sometimes not so much, depending on the person you are dealing with. The best method for dealing with rude people is to adjust your reaction to them. After all, you may not be able to change the behavior of others, but you do have control over how you react to that behavior. One way to avoid a negative reaction to a rude person is to consider why the person is acting the way he is in the first place. Why are People so Rude? According to the book, â€Å"Rudeness: Deal with It if you Please† by Catherine Rondina, there are a number of reasons why people behave rudely. Some of these might include the fact that they only care about what they think or need or they believe their feelings are more important than the feelings of others. They might have little or no patience for other people and they do not appreciate the differences in others. Some people are rude simply because they are trying to shock those around them with their behavior. By understanding the reasons behind the rudeness, you may find it easier to ignore the behavior and perhaps even feel a bit of compassion for the guilty party. Perhaps they never learned any better. Cell Phone Etiquette An ABC poll last year showed that most people in this country had the biggest problem with rude cell phone use above any other type of inconsiderate behavior. Nearly all of us have encountered the loud cell phone conversation in the grocery store, at the movies or in a packed elevator. Most of the time, you just try to grin and bear it, but what happens when the behavior becomes unbearable? There are a few strategies for how to deal with rude people on the phone without stooping to their rude behavior yourself. First, try giving the person a pointed look that says he is bothering you with his inconsiderate actions. Many folks do not realize that their conversation is actually annoying to those around them until they receive the â€Å"look†. You can also politely ask the person to take his conversation elsewhere. Try beginning your request with a humble apology, â€Å"I’m terribly sorry sir, but would you mind taking your conversation out of the theatre? We can’t hear the movie. † Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t, but at least you gave it a shot. If your request is not heeded, you can take your problem to the manager of the restaurant or movie theatre to find out if an employee of the establishment will have better luck putting a stop to the obnoxious behavior. Cyber Manners Even the nicest, most mild-mannered folk can turn into foul-mouthed spewers of rude comments in the world of cyberspace. It appears that typing out a nasty retort and hitting that â€Å"send† button has become far too easy – and common – for many rude people today. Judith Kallos of NetManners. com has a number of suggestions on how to deal with rude people in cyberspace. First, if the email sent contains foul language or threats of any kind, the sender has violated his user agreement with his ISP. Send an email yourself to his ISP to alert them of the situation, and keep the email on file in case you need to refer to it later on. Beyond this step, you basically have a couple of options: ignore the rude behavior and move on as best as you can, or let the person know that his words hurt and offended you in a calm, matter-of-fact way. Any other response will simply lower yourself to the level of this person, and you certainly don’t want that! Dealing with the Office Jerk Rude people can be found everywhere, but when they are found at the office it can be a challenging situation indeed. Hence, the coining of the term â€Å"office jerk†, and what an appropriate term it can be when you are dealing with rude people at work that you simply cannot escape. The Institute for Management Excellence has a number of steps that teach how to deal with rude people. The first step is to try polite confrontation to see if you can nip the behavior in the bud. Some people do not realize that they are behaving rudely, and others may back down if they are confronted directly. If confrontation does not work, try avoidance. Limit contact with the person by keeping conversations short and meetings to a minimum. If you must meet with the office jerk, try to remain standing throughout. Stand-up meetings can accomplish just as much, but in a generally shorter period of time. Also, do not share any personal information with this person, whether in person, on the phone or through email. Rude Retail Does anyone remember the good old days when customer service was the buzzword in the retail industry? Unfortunately, it seems today that customer service has gone out the window with many companies, and it has been replaced by apathetic employees who have no problem turning into rude people at the cash register. If you find yourself the victim of rude people retail employees, there are some steps that you can take to deal with the behavior effectively. First, do not let the customer service representative monopolize the conversation. Make your needs known clearly, assertively and politely right from the beginning. If your request is not answered in a courteous way, ask to speak with the manager. If a manager is not available, get a name and number to contact later, fill out a feedback card or contact the corporate office of the company when you get home. Email makes this process exceedingly easier, and often letting the head honchos know about your predicament will get you the response that you were hoping for. If you do not get a positive reply from your effort, perhaps it is time to go public with your complaint. Let others know that this is not a company to do business with in order to prevent them from experiencing a similar situation. It may seem as though rude people are all around us, but proper strategies for handling rude people will help you stick up for yourself without becoming one of them. If you are reading this article and think that you might fall into the category of rude people with your own inconsiderate behavior – stop now, and find ways to spread courtesy instead. Do You Have a Bad Attitude? Remember those posters in the halls of your elementary school? The ones that said â€Å"Attitude is everything! † or â€Å"Attitude: A little thing that makes a big difference! † They seemed silly at the time, but these words of wisdom are appropriate no matter what age you are. So how's your attitude? Find out if you have a problem with this bad attitude quiz. Rate This Article: Currently 3/5 Stars. 1 2 3 4 5 (Votes: 69) (Avg: 4. 30) Sponsored by:

The Dead Vs. The Living - 1611 Words

The Dead Vs. The Living Government has come from killing to keeping. When talking about the evolution of government, within the western world, there are tremendous amounts of changes; beliefs, or perhaps intentions to be mentioned. In the beginning there were many laws in place that enforced the killing of people, or sentencing of death, for their wrong doing(s). Yet, down the road, came laws that seem to be less harsh on society and to the people who were being accused. Also, the beliefs and structure of governments, varying for each place, changed as well. Although authority may have still operated in harsh ways in 1650, the majority of governments progressed from slaughtering people on corners, to handing out tickets. Beginning with the†¦show more content†¦Besides the 32 laws sentencing people to death, there are also some more severe laws that can force violators hands to be â€Å"hewn off†, buried, and situations where one will be forced into a fire. Now, although those are less excessive laws, people were still dying from those sentences. His laws are a prime example for the saying, â€Å"an eye for an eye†. Providing an example, if a man broke the bone of one of his equals, his own bone would be broken in return. (Law 197) Additionally, for crimes that could not be proven or disproven, the code often put the accused in a deadly situation in order to find innocence. Vice versa, if the accused is found to be not guilty, the accuser would have been put to death. The use of powerful kings and powerful â€Å"codes†, encouraged people to either be more cautious or more law abiding, however the beliefs of ancient Egypt are very different. Ancient Egypt, very contrary to Mesopotamia, was more on the â€Å"believer† approach of government. In Egypt there were pharaohs, the â€Å"Lord of the Two Lands†, who were believed to be gods on earth; hence the creation of the massive pyramids which were tombs for the Pharaohs and queens. Pharaohs controlled the political and religious factors of their society. The main purpose of a Pharaoh was to maintain an overall peace among the country; they were the rulers and leaders among the people. In ancient Egypt, taxes were collected, which went