Understanding Political Systems and Human Rights

Posted on Jan 8, 2025 in Economic Sciences

Elections: Regularly scheduled and free elections allow the citizens of a country to select their rulers and lawmakers.

Mixed-Member Proportional System: Voters cast two ballots (local and national candidate list) to ensure the parliament is made up of both local and national representatives.

Interest Group: An organization that seeks to influence legislators on behalf of a particular cause or interest; it may have a local, national, or international basis. Examples include The Council of Canadians and Greenpeace International.

Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, whatever our nationality, place of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, color, religion, language, or any other status. These rights are all interrelated, interdependent, and indivisible.

The UNCRC’s Four Guiding Principles

• Article 6: Life, Survival, Development
• Article 2: Non-Discrimination
• Article 3: Best Interest of the Child
• Article 12: Respect for the Views of the Child

Judicial System

One of the three branches of Canada’s government is the Judicial branch. This branch is responsible for interpreting the law, on both provincial and federal counts. Judicial independence guarantees that judges will be able to make decisions free of influence and based solely on facts and laws. This can be the reason why people argue that it is more powerful than the other two branches.

Governor-General: Takes care of ceremonial duties, appoints the Prime Minister.

Royal Assent: Royal government giving the Governor-General bills to sign.

The Single-Member Plurality System

• Only one member is elected in the geographical area/constituency. Examples include the US, Canada, and Britain.

Proportional Representation

• The percentage of popular votes received by a party is reflected in the number of seats won in the legislature. Example: Israel.
• Proportional representation can foster the growth of small parties as well as coalition governments (forcing political parties to work together).

Problems with the Single-Member Plurality System

• Penalizes small parties that are not regionally based.
• 2004 Canadian Elections: Green Party won 600,000 votes (4.3% of the popular vote but did not elect a member to parliament).

Problems with Proportional Representation

• A perceived weakness of the list system is that it cannot guarantee that an individual will represent a geographically defined constituency.

What is a Social Movement?

• Informal networks of groups and individuals with shared values and identity.
• Their shared identity and values lead them to undertake collective action that expands the boundaries of the political system, forcing it to accommodate values and identities previously neglected or maligned.