Parliamentary Control and Government Accountability
Media research is conducted through commissions of inquiry and missions. Financial control is exercised by Parliament in collaboration with the Court of Auditors.
The Ombudsman, created in 1973 and appointed by the Council of Ministers, aims to improve relations between the governed and the Administration. Their intervention must be requested through a Member of Parliament. The mediator submits an annual report to Parliament.
Political responsibility is the most important mechanism of control Parliament
Read MoreSpanish Constitution of 1931: Key Features
The Constitution of 1931
The main task of the new government was to convene a Constituent Assembly, with elections that would grant legitimacy to the Republican regime. Elections were held in June 1931 and gave a large majority to the ruling coalition parties. The PSOE, a group with few members during the monarchy, became the largest parliamentary group, followed by Lerroux’s Radicals and the Radical-Socialist Party. The non-Republican right, meanwhile, was represented by a token minority. The courts
Read MoreFrench Government Structure: Prime Minister’s Role & Powers
The French Government
The French Government is a collegial body composed of the Prime Minister, ministers, and secretaries of State, chaired by the President of the Republic, and accountable to Parliament.
The Constitution of the Fifth Republic attributes basic powers to the Prime Minister. While not the head of government, the Prime Minister is a head of government. This is a key feature of the semi-presidential system, where executive power is shared between a Prime Minister accountable to Parliament
Read MoreUnderstanding Electoral Systems and Voting Rights
Democracy and the Electoral System
Democracy begins to operate through laws, and citizens are essential for democracy. The only feasible form is representative democracy. There are several forms of democracy:
- Direct Democracy: Citizens directly decide on matters that affect everyone. There are no intermediaries. Rousseau considered this the only true democracy, but its application today would be nearly impossible.
- Semi-Direct Democracy: Institutionalized voters decide on public matters. This form emphasizes
Understanding Authority, Democracy, and the State
Authority is the exercise of power over members of society. That authority is distributed through the “political function.” Authority is exercised through a set of institutions that we call the state. The state also possesses sovereignty, meaning no other institution rules over it. Sovereignty refers to the ability to exercise supreme authority independently of any other superior.
Forms of Government
- Monarchy: Rule by one.
- Oligarchy: Rule by a few, and always the same individuals.
- Democracy: Rule by
Democracy and Law: Understanding Political Systems
Item 6: Democracy
Democracy is a way of organizing political power to prevent injustice and discrimination. It is a word formed from *demos* “people” and *cratos* “power”. It is the power of the people.
- Direct democracy is a democracy that makes all citizens decide on a matter, for example, by referendum.
- Indirect democracy is the kind of democracy through which voting shall elect a representative.
Dictatorship is the political system in which a tyrant comes to power and governs without a party, occupying
Read More