USA Option: Comparative Government and Politics

What USA Option: Comparative Government and Politics covers

USA Option: Comparative Government and Politics is examined in Unit A2 1 Option A, a comparative study of the United States and the United Kingdom — taken instead of the Republic of Ireland option. It covers separation of powers and fusion of powers, structures of the two legislatures compared, powers of the two legislatures compared, party discipline and the operation of the two legislatures, representation compared across the four chambers, legislation compared across the four chambers, scrutiny compared across the four chambers, Evaluating the effectiveness of the four chambers, appointment and removal of the two executives compared, the powers of the two executives compared and constraints, accountability and the effectiveness of the two executives.

The 11 subtopics

Each one has its own page.

• Separation of powers and fusion of powersFusion of powers in the United Kingdom and significance of Marbury v Madison for the comparison.Open →
• Structures of the two legislatures comparedThe sizes and terms of the four chambers, the fundamental difference between an elected Senate and an appointed House of Lords, how each lower chamber reflects population, the presiding officers, the executive's presence inside the legislature, and control of the electoral timetable.Open →
• Powers of the two legislatures comparedThe source of each legislature's authority, parliamentary sovereignty against a written constitution, financial powers, appointments, treaties and the use of force, impeachment against a confidence vote, federalism and devolution, delegated law-making and the two upper chambers' power to block.Open →
• Party discipline and the operation of the two legislaturesWhy discipline is stronger at Westminster, the sanctions available to each whip, candidate selection, control of the timetable, the payroll vote, devices for forcing a decision, rebellion and cross-party voting, committee places, and where an individual member has more influence.Open →
• Representation compared across the four chambersHow each chamber is filled, the effect of the two-year term, constituency casework, the distortion produced by each electoral system, malapportionment in the Senate, descriptive representation, minority parties, and the defence of an unelected chamber.Open →
• Legislation compared across the four chambersWhere bills originate, the power to amend a government's bill, committee stages, the role of each second chamber, resolving disagreement between chambers, the executive's role at the end of the process, private members' bills, delegated legislation and the trade-off between speed and scrutiny.Open →
• Scrutiny compared across the four chambersQuestions and committees as instruments of scrutiny, Prime Minister's Questions and its critics, the power to compel evidence, how chairs are chosen, scrutiny of appointments and of finance, the effect of party control, the second chambers, and the ultimate sanction each legislature holds.Open →
• Evaluating the effectiveness of the four chambersAn assessment of each chamber in turn, rankings for representation, legislative power and scrutiny, the effect of the American election cycle, when an unelected chamber can be the more effective, and the reforms that would most improve the Commons and the Senate.Open →
• Appointment and removal of the two executives comparedElection by the Electoral College against emergence from the largest party, the popular vote, how each chief executive chooses ministers, patronage, the ways each can lose office, fixed terms, succession, security of tenure and the term limit.Open →
• The powers of the two executives comparedExecutive power conferred by a written constitution against the royal prerogative, control of the legislative agenda, secondary legislation, the armed forces, treaty-making and the Crotty limit, patronage, collective responsibility, public finance and the relationship with the head of state.Open →
• Constraints, accountability and the effectiveness of the two executivesAmerican court constraining the executive and phrase 'elective dictatorship.Open →

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Take USA Option: Comparative Government and Politics further

The same content, four other ways.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   State the fundamental structural difference between the American and British systems of government.

   Model answer

   The American system separates the executive from the legislature, each with its own election and mandate, whereas the British system fuses them, because the government is drawn from and sits within Parliament.

2. 2

   What is meant by fusion of powers in the United Kingdom?

   Model answer

   Fusion of powers means that ministers are simultaneously members of the executive and members of the legislature, so the government sits, speaks and votes inside the body that is supposed to hold it to account.

3. 3

   Why can no member of Congress serve in the American executive?

   Model answer

   The incompatibility clause of Article I forbids anyone holding federal office from sitting in either chamber, so a person appointed to the executive must first resign their seat.

4. 4

   How do checks and balances differ in the two systems?

   Model answer

   American checks and balances are written into a codified constitution and enforced by the courts, while British checks rest largely on convention, party politics and the government's need to retain the confidence of the Commons.

5. 5

   Which system produces a stronger legislature, and why?

   Model answer

   The American system produces the stronger legislature, because Congress has an independent electoral mandate and its members owe their seats to primary voters rather than to the executive.

6. 6

   Why does the British system usually produce a stronger executive?

   Model answer

   A British government normally commands a disciplined majority in the Commons and controls the parliamentary timetable, so it can expect to pass its programme in a way no President can.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

USA Option: Comparative Government and Politics revision questions

What does USA Option: Comparative Government and Politics cover in CCEA A-Level Government and Politics?

11 subtopics: separation of powers and fusion of powers, structures of the two legislatures compared, powers of the two legislatures compared, party discipline and the operation of the two legislatures, representation compared across the four chambers, legislation compared across the four chambers, scrutiny compared across the four chambers, evaluating the effectiveness of the four chambers, appointment and removal of the two executives compared, the powers of the two executives compared and constraints, accountability and the effectiveness of the two executives. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.

How is USA Option: Comparative Government and Politics organised?

By the CCEA 4830 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.