Authorities {government}| make and administer laws and have political offices.
authority
Governments need legitimate claims to authority.
comparative government
Governments differ in leaders, economic systems, political rights, and ideology.
consent to have government
Government assumes that society's people consent to state or community polity, voluntarily, knowledgeably, and decisively. Communities have allegiance oaths. People consent if they vote or do not leave. However, most people do not realize they consented. Perhaps, one's ancestors consented to losing some rights to gain security or other rights {social contract theory}, and people today honor that contract. Freely entered unwritten agreements to exchange something for something else, for mutual benefit, can be bases for social organizations. Democratic societies in which people are free and equal can depend on social contracts. However, most people are not aware of such contracts. Most likely, citizens have formed citizenship habits by socialization.
law
Law is not just ruler decrees. People that have obligations under law must have consented to laws. Laws can be good and correct for situations and participants. Laws can be unjust. Laws can be forms of force. Laws can be for community good, not for rulers. Will and reason make and obey laws. Legal decisions use legal and cultural history, morals, and current facts to interpret law.
types
Political-system classifications depend on location, geographical area, population, legal system, legal code, ethical codes, religious codes, or wealth. Political systems depend on who rules.
Most human groups {political system} involve power, rule, and authority. Political systems have interacting political institutions {political process}. Political systems differ in legitimacy, leadership, authority, number, independence, and influences.
States of unions or confederations can retain rights {states' rights}| that unions or confederations do not have.
Sovereigns do not have moral or other constraints on international relations, except to defend nation and people {political realism}. Spying, warring, killing, and other actions are correct if necessary to fulfill obligations.
Unified influential minorities always rule political systems {ruling elite hypothesis}. However, this hypothesis is not true, because political leaders always conflict.
Government rules by governed's consent {compact theory}, an idea from ancient Greece.
States result from contracts {social contract, government}| that express collective group will to provide government services for the common interest. Perhaps, one's ancestors consented to losing some rights to gain security or other rights, and people today honor that contract. However, most people are not aware of such contracts.
Tribes can have rule by mother {matriarchy}|.
Tribes can have rule by father {patriarchy}|.
Governments have administration, legislature, and judiciary {government branch}.
Government branches {judicial branch}| can determine and interpret laws and their consequences. Judges preside over courts, in which they interpret laws and assign punishments for breaking laws. Higher courts hear appeals from lower courts.
Presidents lead nations and administrations, or prime ministers elected by ruling party lead governments, or both {executive branch}|. Executive branch carries out laws.
Political systems have political roles or positions {office}, which enforce, create, or interpret laws.
Leaders can refuse to sign legislation and so prevent enactment {pocket veto}|.
Administrations include ministers {cabinet, government}| for government functions: foreign affairs, defense, health, education, welfare, commerce, internal affairs, agriculture, justice and law, treasury, transportation, police, intelligence, housing, cities, post office, and utilities.
Salaried people {civil service}| can work to execute policies and laws in the executive branch. Civil service is not military, judicial, or legislative.
City government can have equal commissioners elected from districts or at-large {commission plan}.
Cities have mayor's offices {mayoralty}|.
A person {president}| elected by popular vote can lead a nation and administration.
A person {prime minister}| elected by ruling party can lead a government and administration.
Government branches {legislative branch}| {legislature} can make laws. Congresses or parliaments can have one or two houses, such as Senate and House of Representatives.
Elected officials can meet {electoral college}| to vote for nation's leader.
Congresses or parliaments can have people {representative}| {legislator} elected from nation, state, county, or city districts. People can speak and act for groups.
Representatives can be from whole nation, state, county, or city {at-large}|.
Legislative rules {gag rule} can limit or stop debate.
Senators can defer to colleagues who request the floor {senatorial courtesy}|.
Back rooms {smoke-filled room} are where legislators make deals.
One candidate or law can receive all group votes or delegates {unit rule}|.
A parliament has rules of operation {parliamentary procedure} {legislative procedure} {rules of order}. Parliamentary procedure describes how to use main motions and their secondary motions, such as subsidiary motions, incidental motions, and privileged motions. Parliamentary procedure also describes how to use resolutions. It also describes nominating, voting, disciplining, appealing, paying dues, and drafting organization constitutions, charters, and bylaws. Parliamentary procedure typically allows majority rule while addressing minority concerns.
A motion can be to end the current session {adjournment}. It has precedence over the current main motion. A motion for adjournment include the time and place of the next meeting.
A parliament member can request an additional section to a motion {amendment, motion} for discussion. It is a secondary and subsidiary motion.
The chair or members can approve or correct the summary of the previous meeting {approve the minutes}.
A parliament member can introduce a proposed law {bill, law} for discussion and vote.
A parliament member can ask for immediate voting {call the question} {move the previous question} on the current motion. It has precedence over the current motion.
The chair can begin the session {call to order}.
Legislatures can end debate and vote {cloture}|.
A committee chair can report committee activities {committee report}.
A parliament member can hold the floor and speak at length against a bill {filibuster}.
The chair has a wooden hammer {gavel} and pad. One tap means that meeting has adjourned, a business item has completed, or members should sit (after an opening ceremony). Two taps means call to order. Three taps means that all members should stand (on the third tap). Four or more short taps means attend to the chair and restore order.
A parliament member can request an action {motion, law}| {making a motion} for discussion and vote.
The chair can ask if members want to introduce something {new business}.
The chair can allow a parliament member to speak {obtaining the floor}.
A meeting has {order of business}: call to order, roll call (optional), minutes, treasurer report, secretary reports (optional), other officer reports (optional), committee reports (optional), unfinished and postponed business, new business, program (optional), and adjournment.
A member can speak without prior recognition from the chair {out of order}.
Parliament can vote for a motion {pass a motion}. If the vote fails to get a majority, the motion dies. If the vote has a majority, the chair directs someone to take action to implement the motion.
A member can indicate a rule violation {point of order}.
Some motions require a waiting period {previous notice} before discussion.
The secretary can read his or her summary of the previous meeting {read the minutes}.
The secretary can ask each member if he or she is present {roll call}.
Following motions, at least one other person must approve the motion {second the motion}| {seconding a motion}. If no second, the motion dies. Nominations do not require seconds.
Following motions, a person can move to suspend discussion of the motion {tabling a motion}|. It has precedence over the current main motion.
The treasurer reports recent expenditures and revenue and states the current balance {treasurer's report}.
The chair can ask if members did not finish something at the previous meeting {unfinished business}.
Sessions can open to all members {plenary}|, or leaders can have all powers.
A minimum number {quorum}| must be present for organizations to make decisions.
Several rich educated people can rule {aristocracy}|. Rule depends on status.
Political rule can depend on achievement and intelligence {meritocracy}|.
Wealthy can rule {plutocracy}|.
Pluralism {pluralistic political system} {pluralistic system} allows many autonomous political subsystems. Societies can have more than few groups {pluralism, society} {diversity, society}. Pluralism can divide loyalties.
Natural law, tradition, treaty, and convention {legalism} can regulate or control power relations, as in peaceful international relations.
People or institutions can control others' behavior without their consent, supposedly for their good, as for children and incapacitated people {paternalism}|.
Communities {communism}| can control all life aspects for individual good and have no social or economic classes.
Government {tribal government} can depend on extended families. Tribalism conflicts with nationalism.
Government {centralized government} can try to control all political subsystems.
Governments {federalism} {confederation}| can coordinate autonomous states.
The people can rule {democracy}|. Democracy claims to allow government participation by more people, to increase people's autonomy, to increase equality, and to have the best procedure for reasoning and deciding. Democracy does not necessarily translate people's combined wills into expected decisions, because choices can have poor definition and people's self-interest is typically against public interest.
State districts can elect representatives to legislative bodies {parliamentary democracy}|. Legislature selects government leaders from its ranks, to form executive branch, which controls top government levels. Civil servants manage government bureaucracy.
The people can elect president to lead nation and propose and enforce laws {presidential democracy}|. Legislature, elected separately, makes laws.
Dictators or several people can rule {autocracy}|, but political institutions are free and power does not centralize.
One person can have non-hereditary rule {despotism}|.
One person can gain authority through force and hold all authority {dictatorship}|.
Governments {fascism}| can control all life aspects, supposedly for public good. Fascism often has ethnocentrism and class society.
Police power can be for political purposes {police state}|.
Government can be by religious leaders {theocracy}|.
Governments {totalitarianism}| can try to eliminate all political subsystems or their freedoms. Identification with strong leader, vicarious sense of power through aggression against other groups, and feeling of belonging to a strong political party contribute to totalitarianism.
Rulers can have all power {tyranny}|.
King and queens assume power by heredity or through election by nobles {monarchy}|. Monarchs have absolute power.
Constitution and separate legislature, executive, and judicial systems can control ruler power {constitutional monarchy}|. King or queen can be head of state, with only ceremonial power.
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Date Modified: 2022.0225