1102GIR Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Direct Democracy, Majority Government, Parliamentary Privilege
4 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
L4. Legislatures and Executives
Legislatures and Executives
• The most visible/prominent aspects of the modern state
• Seen most often in the media
Lecture Objectives
• Understand the different types of legislatures and the roles they play in democracies
• Appreciate the differences between prime ministerial and presidential political executives
• Define cabinet and understand how cabinets work in different executives
• Understand the relationships between legislatures and executives
Legislatures: History
• Probable that there was no point in history where there wasn't a group that met to decide on
these types of things
• Collective decision making on the behalf of a community
• Early Europe
• Tribal councils, citizens' assemblies
• Citizen's Assembly of Athens - Greek democratic origins
• Democracy came from citizens in Greece ruling their cities (origin of the world
'citizen') through direct involvement in the assembly, although not everybody was
a citizen (you had to be male and you could not be a slave)
• Direct democracy: everybody should be involved in government
• Some see this as impractical and inefficient
• In practice key questions to citizens are restricted
• Ancient Rome
• The assemblies and Senate of Ancient Rome
• "senex" latin for 'old man' or 'elder'
• Republic with emphasis on rule of law, assemblies and the senate
• The senate was a body of 'wise men' who made decisions about governance
• The Republic was replaced with an Empire and the Emperor became more powerful in
relation to the assemblies
• The Barbarian sacking of the Roman Empire begins the 'Dark Ages' and the shift toward
feudalism
• European feudal courts
• Consultation and representation of 'estates' including the church, aristocracy and cities
• Nobility had to be persuaded in order to obey the monarch's wishes
• Created 'courts' to help them make decisions
• Were more like modern day cabinets, rather than parliament
• Very little evidence of separation of powers
• Accommodated different interests in society
• Society was divided into three estates, all very powerful
• Church/ecclesiastical
• Land and mobility/aristocratic
• Cities
• Became most powerful around the 12th century
• Due to the rise of trade and commerce, which increased the
wealth of cities
• The Renaissance also made cities more powerful both
economically and militarily
• Little evidence of separation of powers
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Document Summary
Legislatures and executives: the most visible/prominent aspects of the modern state. "citizen") through direct involvement in the assembly, although not everybody was a citizen (you had to be male and you could not be a slave: direct democracy: everybody should be involved in government, ancient rome. In practice key questions to citizens are restricted: the assemblies and senate of ancient rome. Society was divided into three estates, all very powerful: church/ecclesiastical, cities. Land and mobility/aristocratic: became most powerful around the 12th century, due to the rise of trade and commerce, which increased the wealth of cities, the renaissance also made cities more powerful both economically and militarily. Little evidence of separation of powers: executive, judicial and legislative functions blended together. Houses: camera is latin for chamber, unicameral legislatures, only one chamber or house, e. g. Labour in queensland got rid of bicameralism due to its obstruction of power interests: bicameral, two houses, e. g.
