1. Constitutions and Institutions
How do they operate?
What difference do they make in liberal democracies?

2. Some questions: What difference do constitutions make?
Are constitutions scraps of paper, as Bismarck argued? OR
Do constitutions spell out relationships between different institutions, e.g.
Between parliament and the executive?
Between central and provincial governments?

3. A quick refresher: varieties of political systems
Liberal democracies:
Canada
Britain
France
Germany
United States
Semi-democracies:
Russia
Ukraine ?
Egypt
Algeria
Serbia
Authoritarian systems:
China
Iraq ??
Iran
Saudi Arabia
North Korea

4. Unitary vs. federal systems:
Unitary system -- sovereignty concentrated in a central government:
Power may be devolved to regional governments, created by the central government
But devolved powers can be withdrawn (e.g. Northern Ireland)
Federal system: sovereignty shared by a central government and provincial governments -- neither is capable of abolishing the other

5. Presidential v. Parliamentary v. semi-presidential systems
Presidential system: political executive is separate from the legislature
Parliamentary system: the political executive must serve with the support (or at a minimum, the forbearance) of a majority of the lower house of parliament
Semi-presidential system: combines features of both:
Directly elected president
Premier, typically appointed by the president, must serve with the confidence of the parliament

6. Forms of liberal democracies (and semi-democracies)
Parliamentary
Semi-
Presidential
Unitary UK
France
Uruguay
Federal
Canada
Germany
Australia
Russia US
Mexico

7. Four cases: Britain: Unitary parliamentary France: Semi-presidential
Germany:
Federal
Parliamentary
United States:
Presidential

8. An argument:
Constitutions matter, and matter a great deal, when political leaders follow them:
Courts increasingly enforce constitutions
But we need to look not only at the constitution on paper, but the way in which it is brought off paper and how it evolves
Valid not only for liberal democracies, but also semi-democracies and some authoritarian political systems

9. Reasons for this: (a preliminary take)
Institutions (and the shape they take) matter:
Institutions shape the ways in which political forces are expressed and channelled, in particular
some of the demands which end up on the political agenda
the ease with which conflicts can be resolved
Example: variation ways in which regional and cultural differences are expressed and dealt with in federal and unity systems

10. Variations in power of political executives
UK:
Unwritten constitution
Parliamentary system:
Prime Minister and Cabinet serve with the confidence of parliament
Because the single member plurality electoral system usually manufactures majorities, the government usually has the support of a parliamentary majority

11. Some questions:
How powerful are the political executives in different forms of liberal democracies?
What role do assemblies play? Are legislative assemblies capable of controlling political executives?
If so how?
What differences do parties and party systems make?
What difference does federalism make?