POLI 371 Study Guide - Final Guide: Longitudinal Study, Divided Government, De Jure

• School: McGill University
• Department: Political Science
• Course: POLI 371
• Professor: Christa Scholtz

Document Summary

Government responsibility and electoral accountability in federations by fred cutler (notes) Preface: a federalist state can act as a threat to accountability, and thus a model of voting behaviour in federations must accommodate voters" attributions of responsibility to each order of government for policy outcomes. Canadians voting in both federal and provincial elections. Voters may ignore issues where responsibility is unclear, reward or punish the fed. and prov. gov"ts to the same degree, or the confusion of the jurisdiction may turn them off to government/the political system in general. Federalism and intergovernmental policymaking may reduce voters" ability to hold their governments accountable. Adding to the confusion of the federalist system, governments complicate matters deliberately, passing the buck and stealing credit for initiatives. Alexander hamilton: one of the weightiest objections to plurality in the executive (is that) it tends to conceal faults and destroy responsibility and adds to the difficulty of detection. (federalist 70)