1102GIR Lecture Notes - Lecture 13: Proportional Representation, Public Administration
4 May 2018
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L13. Course Review
Important Review Themes
• Power: The ability to make someone do what they would not have otherwise done
• Authority: Exercise of power that is accepted by subjects
o Usually takes the form of rule or government
• Legitimacy: Acceptance of a political arrangement as necessary and/or desirable
• Institution: Enduring governing arrangement guided by rules and norms
The Modern State
• In contrast to earlier forms of the rule, the modern state aspires to - and generally achieves -
the following:
o Sovereignty: Exclusive authority over a given territory
o Rule of law: No citizen (including rulers) is above the law
o Democracy: Rule by the people
• Almost always representative
o Order: High degree of stability in social and political life
• The modern state achieves these goals through institutions
Week by Week Review
• Constitutions and courts
o What is the separation of powers and why is it important?
o What is the Washminster mutation?
• Legislatures
o Parliament in the Westminster tradition
o What are the different types of bicameralism?
o Is bicameralism good for democracy?
• Executives
o What are the bases of prime ministerial and presidential power and authority?
o Do presidents have more democratic authority than prime ministers?
• Parties and elections
o Define political party
o Are parties still important political institutions?
o What are the advantages and disadvantages of plurality, preferential and proportional
electoral systems?
• Media and communication
o Is the media a political institution? Why?
o What responsibilities does the media have in a democracy?
• Public administration
o Why do we grant so much power to unelected administrators in a democracy?
o What are the advantages and disadvantages of bureaucracy?
o Should public administrators always follow orders?
• Church and religion
o What are the political implications of Protestantism?
o Why is the separation of church and state an important principle in some countries?
o Can we completely remove religion from politics?
• Police and military
o Why are (some) state agents allowed to use violence, whereas citizens are not?
o What is a coup d'etat? Are coups always legitimate?
• International organisations
o What is internationalism?
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