Political Institutions and Public Policy: Part I Scottish Parliament Buidling Photo Copyright: Kelly Walker, 2009

Political Institutions How are institutions set up and how do they shape the political decision-making process? Different outcomes may result depending on how a country organizes its executive, legislative, and judicial branches, or other organizations. Usually, the function of a country’s political institution is defined in a written constitution.

The Executive Primary Function: Execute Laws Most important branch Presidents, Prime Ministers, Monarchs, Dictators, and other officials Decide government policy Responsible for the state’s successes and failures Photo Copyright: Kelly Walker 2009

The Executive Two distinct executive functions: Head of State- ceremonial position (no real decision-making power) 2. Head of Government- Chief political officer (has real decision-making power) In some cases, one person may be the Head of State and the Head of Government. Dual Executive The Queen of England’s Summer Palace Photo copyright: Kelly Walker, 2009

The Legislature Primary Function: Make laws Parliamentary System: Legislature appoints the head of government (Great Britain) Presidential System: Executive and Legislative Branch are separate (United States Authoritarian regimes often have legislative bodies that have no real law-making power (Iran) Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Photo copyright: Kelly Walker, 2009

The Legislature Unicameral- A one house legislature Bicameral- A two house legislature Advantage of a unicameral legislature: Does not have to share power. Advantage of a bicameral legislature: provides greater representation of the people. Photo Copyright: Kelly Walker 2009

The Judiciary Primary Function: Adjudicate All states have some form of legal structure In some states, the judiciary is independent of the political authorities in the executive and legislative branches In authoritarian states, the judiciary is tied to political authorities Photo Copyright: Kelly Walker, 2009

The Judiciary Judicial Review- (allows the court to interpret the law) Not present in all states Clip Art

The Bureaucracy Primary Function- Run the day-to-day operations of government Civil Service A network of state organizations adept at advising decision makers about policy options Includes: ministries, bureaus, departments, and other offices Specialize in all aspects of government: Education, Economics, Transportation, Trade, etc.

The Bureaucracy Bureaucrats have various powers, dependent upon the type of system in place Many are career minded professionals who are highly qualified (France) Technocrats- provide information and policy information in their respective areas of expertise Photo copyright: Kelly Walker, 2009 Beijing, China

Bureaucracy Max Weber believed all bureaucracies had certain characteristics: Hierarchical authority structure (chain of command) Task specialization Extensive Rules Clear Goals The Merit principle Impersonality (performance is based on productivity)

The Military Primary Function: Protect the State Many contemporary states are run by military organizations Most states keep the military separate from government (Russia, China) Photo Copyright: Kelly Walker, 2009 USS Truman

Political Institutions and Public Policy: Part I Last Slide: Photo Copyright: Kelly Walker, 2009 China public policy: Health Care