Comparing Presidents, Prime Ministers, and Parliaments

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?

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?

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

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

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

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