Was the U.S. Constitution an impediment or a stimulus to democracy?

Was the Constitution an impediment or a stimulus to democracy? The U.S constitution has always been the bedrock of the U.S political system through its provision of a codified framework for self-determination through representative government; a design which has been replicated all over the world. The document was born out of the American War of Independence and sought to set up a republic that was free from the tyrannical rule of the British. It is from this context that we should view the Constitution as it enables us to understand the intentions of the Founding Fathers and their views towards democracy. It cannot be denied that the Founding Fathers did fear the majoritarian implications fostered by democracy, which was later coined, ‘tyranny of the majority’ (De Tocqueville, 1863, p.183) and implied that minority rights and interests would be subdued by the majority interest. However, they feared authoritarian rule to a greater extent perhaps due to the fact they had just achieved independence from arbitrary British rule. As a result, they whole heartedly endorsed a form of ‘Liberalised’ democracy to which they attached various conditions in order for the rights and freedoms of individuals to be fully protected. For the Founding Fathers, these conditions were effective enough to prevent authoritarian rule. This essay will argue that although the founding fathers

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Social studies
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Influence of Super PACs on Romney Campaign

In 2010, the Supreme Court ruled in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, that “corporate funding of independent election ads could not be limited under the first amendment.[1]” This ruling led to the rise of super PACs (political action committees), which could now sponsor candidates or parties uninhibitedly. This has caused an “arms race” of sorts between supporters of each party. The 2012 presidential race between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney witnessed the biggest financial influence by super PACs in our country’s history. The top democratic super PACs spent approximately $87 million in either support of Obama or against Romney, a number which pales in comparison to the Republicans, who spent over $400 million in support of Romney or against Obama.[2] Despite the overwhelming financial support by super PACs for the Romney campaign, he fell short in the election. This yields the question, why didn’t the support of the super PACs propel Romney to victory in the 2012 election? Each campaign spent roughly a similar amount of money, but 40% of Romney’s spending came from super PAC money, compared with Obama’s 12%.[3] Working with the same amount of money, but from different sources, the strategy behind the allocation of funds was pivotal in persuading voters. Looking into the trends of campaign spending and their effects, there are three primary

  • Word count: 1886
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Social studies
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How helpful do you find the theories of Almond (on political culture and cleavages) and Sartori (on party systems) for explaining the political instability experienced by pre-Fifth Republic France during the Third and Fourth Republics, by Weimar Ge

"How helpful do you find the theories of Almond (on political culture and cleavages) and Sartori (on party systems) for explaining the political instability experienced by pre-Fifth Republic France during the Third and Fourth Republics, by Weimar Germany, and by post-war Italy?" This essay aims to discuss the relevance of socio- economic factors and party political systems, on explaining instability in central European democracies and if these reasons show an endemic failure in what Almond calls "Continental Europe" and Satori refers to as "Polarised Plural Party System." To fully tackle this debate both comparative theories must be fully understood. Then, what may then seem like a systematic mapping of each nation will actually show if the theories truly show a set of political norms around the continental European countries in question. The structure of this essay is taken from the conclusion of Almond's 'Comparative Political Systems'; as a 'future scholar' I will try out the theories for Fit to pre-Fifth Republic France during the Third and Fourth Republics, by Weimar Germany, and by post-war Italy.1 Definition, cause and effect Gabriel Almond's seminal article 'Comparative Political Systems' is one of the earliest examples of comparative political development. By integrating many aspects of social science such as sociology, psychology and anthropology he created a

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Social studies
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A CLEAR IDEOLOGICAL IDENTITY IS NO LONGER A CENTRAL ELEMENT OF CONTEMPORARY POLITICAL PARTIES.

'A CLEAR IDEOLOGICAL IDENTITY IS NO LONGER A CENTRAL ELEMENT OF CONTEMPORARY POLITICAL PARTIES'. DISCUSS. Political parties are a crucial element of the democratization process of developing countries as well as prospering developed democracies. They hold the government administration accountable controlling the political representation, structuring electoral choices and voters' interests. Ideology lies in the roots of a political party, identifying the values not only of the party itself, but of the group of society that elects it. It serves like a prescriptive guideline of interests and pursues that may sometimes twist reality, blinding a society tempted by utopian models. Although ideology is the core of every party created, nowadays its significance is either diminished and useless, or used as a curtain, covering real perspectives of candidates and political organizations and corporations. Through a careful examination of the ideological movement in time in Nigeria, France, USA and Russia, the essay is going to evaluate and justify whether the significance of ideology in those countries is still as valuable as it was before or it is merely 'nonsense upon stilts'. Party ideology is a set of political ideas representing the immediate connection of government and electorate bound by a concept for conflict prevention and state welfare. It was first

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Social studies
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What are the arguements for and against the holding of popular referendums

What are the arguments for and against the holding of popular referendums? Under what circumstances, if any, should they be held? The referendum has its origins in direct democracy, and can therefore be dated back to the 5th Century BC in the Greek city state of Athens. The concept of a referendum has changed and developed in line with democracy and can now be found in a number of differing forms throughout the developed world. A referendum is broadly defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as "a general vote by the electorate on a single political question"; however this definition fails to make distinctions between the many types of referendum which exist, or the modern day importance of referendums. In an initial classification there are three types of referendum as defined by the Britannica Concise Encyclopaedia. Obligatory referendums; which are required by law, optional referendums; which are put on the ballot when a sufficient number of voters sign a petition demanding that a law passed by the legislature be ratified by the people, and voluntary referendums; when legislatures submit to voters to decide an issue or to test public opinion. There are a number of widely credited arguments both for and against the holding of popular referendums, however, there are only a few key ideas encapsulated in these arguments. Those in favour of referendums generally tend to point

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Social studies
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China's Transition

Despite continued Communist Party rule, China's industrialisation is now capitalist in all but name. Discuss. According to Kornai (2000), typical capitalist and communist systems can be distinguished in terms of the type of state and politics, property rights and economic coordination. Under his classification scheme, Kornai describes a typical communist system as one in which there is monopoly of power which is held by the communist party and one in which the state and quasi-state agencies hold a dominant position in ownership of property and where the method of economic co-ordination is dominated by a centralized bureaucratic planning. On the other hand, he describes a typical capitalist system as one in which the existing state and political power is friendly to private property ownership and participation, where private agencies and individuals have dominance in terms of property acquisition and usage and where the method of economic coordination is led and dominated by the 'market' (Kornai, 2000). Using Kornai's distinguishing features of communist and capitalist economies as a guide, this essay will attempt to give an assessment of industrialization in China in terms of its nature and where it is leading to. Evidence in support of the position taken will be derived from the Transitions Theme text for the Open University course U213 which was written in 2001. An

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Social studies
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John Stuart Mill defends the superiority of democracy over all other types of government by stressing the importance of participation in which all a society's citizens partake.

Richard Sales Political Ideologies 101 Paper #1 Dr. Simhony John Stuart Mill defends the superiority of democracy over all other types of government by stressing the importance of participation in which all a society's citizens partake. Thus, he argues that democracy is superior only when the active character predominates over the passive character. After all, it is in fact citizen participation that makes democracy work, and therefore, it is absolutely necessary that citizens are of the active type rather than the passive type. Mill compares these two types of character to describe the reasoning behind why activeness is better than passiveness in a democratic society. First of all, it is important to understand what Mill means when he describes the passive character. For Mill, the passive character is the man who does not care about the improvement of human affairs. He is unwilling to take the energy to make society around him a better place. He is content with the way things are and will not take the effort to make change. Thus, Mill argues that most men personally prefer that their neighbors are of the passive type. "The passiveness of our neighbors increases our sense of security....A contented character is not a dangerous rival (49)". It is therefore a popular desire that one's neighbor is passive. For one is secure in one's passivity when one's neighbor is

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Social studies
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Is the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms Antidemocratic?

Is the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms Antidemocratic? A critical analysis essay of the opposing points by Dena Jackson Political Science Prof. Jonathan Rose POLS 110 A October 20, 2003 When determining whether the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is democratic or antidemocratic, one may find trouble coming to a conclusion. Although the Charter does provide an underlying framework for legal standards, it has been interpreted in many different ways. Two Canadian University professors have chosen to share their opposing opinions on the matter. Robert Martin, a law professor at Western University argues that the Canadian Charter is, in fact, antidemocratic and plays a large role in the Americanization of Canada. Philip Bryden, Associate Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of British Columbia disagrees with this argument and in contrast, believes that the Charter enhances Canadian democracy. The main reason for their opposing views is that professors have a different underlying assumption of what the definition of democracy is. Based on the structure and arguments presented, it is clear that one argument is stronger and more easily understood. It is evident that Philip L. Bryden's claim is the stronger argument. His ideas are clearly expressed, thoroughly researched and his evidence is concrete. Robert Martin's argument is primarily opinion based and

  • Word count: 1290
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Social studies
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Discuss two key changes in education that have attempted to improve choice

This essay will discuss and evaluate two key changes in education policy since 1944, namely the Conservatives Education Reform Act 1988 and New Labour's School Standards and Framework Act 1988. It will discuss why these changes were implemented and the wider social factors with which they are linked, how they reflect the political ideologies of the relevant parties and the impact these changes have had on parental choice in compulsory school education. According to McLennan (1991, in Baldock et al, 2007, p.174) "Ideologies are a set of ideas, assumptions and images, by which people make sense of society, which give a clear social identity, and which serve in some way to legitimise power relations in society." Political parties each have their own ideological approach to welfare which influences the policies they create. Ideology is a key driver behind education policy and governments usually create policies as a response to the era before they came to power (Levin, 2001, p.25). In 1976 Labour Prime Minister James Callaghan launched the so-called Great Debate about education, questioning whether the compulsory education system was providing both the government and society with what was needed and stating the current education system was not meeting the needs of industry (Flynn et al, 2004, p.104). This debate led to much wider thinking and a shift in ideas which changed the

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Social studies
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Obama West Point Speech (Afghanistan)

In his speech at West Point, President Barack Obama announces that in order for the mission in Afghanistan to be a successful one, 30 000 more troops must be deployed. Although his promise on the campaign trail was to end the missions in Iraq as well as those in Afghanistan, Obama makes a convincing case for why more troops are necessary before full withdrawal can be achieved. A Fine Mix: In relation to International Relations theory, the West Point speech and the motivations behind sending more troops to Afghanistan most resemble a combination of realist and liberal theory. Obama combines the importance of cooperation, which is central to liberalism, with other nations and international groups. In addition, he repeatedly makes reference to the issue of security of the United States of America, which echoes the realist theory. However, the combination of these two theories is not perfect, seeing as key aspects of both liberalism and realism are left out of the picture. Constructivism, which argues that international reality is the institutionalization and internationalization of norms, which give us meaning to the world around us, does not particularly have a space in Obama's speech. (Baylis, 168) This is probably due to the fact that constructivism is mainly a social theory instead of a substantive one. A Dash of Realism: The parts of the West Point speech that stood

  • Word count: 1192
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Social studies
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