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Introduction to Political Science
Lecture 6
Government (3)
Principles of Political Organization in Liberal Democracies :
The ideology of Liberalism , that prevailed in the
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in Western Europe , has
been transcribed into applicable principles adopted in the
political organization of western liberal societies, and thus
served as the cornerstones of the political structure , and as
guidelines for the activities of political institutions in liberal
democracies.
The basic principles that make up the political core of
“Liberalism” could be reflected in the following :
1 - Constitutionalism.
2 - Representation.
3 - The Separation of Powers.
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1 - Constitutionalism
The idea of a “Constitution” as a restraint on political
authority, and as an expression of power relationships in a
political society dates back to the time of the Greeks and Roman
Empire. The idea of limited political authority , as proposed by
John Locke , influenced the framers of constitutions and
revolutionary declarations in most of the western societies.
Fearing arbitrary and absolute rule , and in order to avoid
the inconveniences of political despotism it was necessary to
insist on putting legal restraints on political authority through
those legal rules , or legal frameworks we call “Constitutions”.
A “Constitution” is the basic design of the structure,
functions and powers of the political institutions of the State , as
well as the rights and duties of its citizens. More explicitly, a
Constitution is a set of rights and powers , as well as of
procedures regulating the structure of, and relationships among
the public authorities , and between public authorities and
citizens.
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In other words constitutions are codes of rules which aspire
to regulate the allocation of functions, powers, and duties among
the various agencies, institutions and officers of government,
and define the relationship between these and the public. The
constitution of a State is, thus, a collection of rules and
principles according to which a State is governed.
Several functions can be attributed to any constitution in
any modern Nation-State:
1- The constitution serves as an expression of national
ideology , or political philosophy adopted by the society or
by a political regime. Ideologies give the regime its “raison
d’être”, its sense of purpose, its basic values and main goals, and
serve as a philosophical frame of reference for political
behaviour in the political system.
The legitimacy of the government and of the constitution
itself depends on its conformity with the national ideology .
2- Constitutions serve as an expression of the basic laws
of the regime. These laws usually focus upon the rights of
citizens, for instance, rights concerning liberties of assembly,
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speech, religion, property and so on. These laws play a central
role in the regime, and consequently they can be modified or
replaced through extraordinary amendment procedures(1).
Constitutions, thus, provide a compendium of fundamental
rights of citizens , including their rights to participate in the
institutions of government. Some constitutions emphasize
economic and social rights as well.
3- The Constitution provides an organizational
framework for the government. It establishes the principal
institutions of government and the relationships among these
institutions.
These institutions may be structured on traditional Western
lines of a division of legislative, Executive, and Judicial
responsibilities. It is common for constitutions to contain several
sections, and to devote a section each to the legislative branch of
government, the executive, the judicial branches of government
and so on. Constitutions regulate the power relationships among
(1) Whereas an ordinary law can usually be passed with a “simple majority approval of the
national legislature (Parliament) – a majority of those present and voting at the time – basic
laws of the regime expressed in the Constitution usually require special majorities (two-
thirds or three-quarters of the members of parliament for example) for approval, or
amendment .
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major political institutions, being the major actors in the political
system. The Constitution covers also the legislative process, the
role of the executive in policy formulation, checks and balances
among political institutions (especially legislative and executive
institutions). The Constitution defines the rules of the political
game , it lays down the laws that govern the governors.
4- Constitution provides for a distribution of
governmental power over the national territory. It discusses
the levels of government, whether the State is Unitary,
Confederal, or Federal. The Constitution describes what powers
fall within the jurisdiction of the national (or federal)
government, and what powers do not belong to the national
government. In a Unitary State, local units of government are
established as agencies of the central government. The
Constitution of a Federal State assigns power directly to central
(Federal) and local levels of government.
Constitutions, thus , play an important role in the regimes
in which they are found. Some Constitutions will be more
important in one of the functions described above than in others.
For example, the Constitutions of the former Soviet Union was
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more important as an expression of ideology , than as a real
organizational diagram of the government ; while the American
Constitution is more important as an expression of governmental
organization , and as a guideline for the power relationship of
the regime , than as an expression of the philosophy of the
regime.
The Origins of Constitutions:
How do Constitutions come into being?
Most often, Constitutions are enacted in circumstances of a
“fresh start” after profound disruption of some kind.
These disruptions , or conditions include:
a) Regime Change (as in France, many times since the
revolution of 1789).
b) Reconstruction after defeat in war (as in Germany, Italy,
and Japan after 1945 ).
c) Revolution (as in Communist States).
d) Achieving independence (as in most of African States in the
1950’s and 1960’s).
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Classifications of Constitutions:
There are several types of constitutions.
(1) “Written” and “Unwritten” Constitutions:
A “written” Constitution is essentially a basic expression
of the ideas and organization of a government that is formally
presented in one document. Some Constitutions are quite short
- the U.S Constitution, for example – while others are much
longer, such as the Constitution of the former Soviet Union, or
of India.
By contrast, there is another type of constitutions called
“Unwritten” or “Uncodified” Constitutions. Britain, for
example, does not possess a document called the “Royal
Constitution” or some such name which serves as the basis and
central document for the political structures of the British
political system. British political history points to a number of
different documents that are parts of the body of what is
referred to as British Constitutional Law, including the
Magna Carta (1215), The Bill of rights (1689), and certain
special acts of the British parliament.
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(2) “Flexible” and “Rigid” Constitutions:
Constitutions are not “once and for all” documents. They
are amended in response to changing circumstances.
Constitutions usually have an amendment clause. No matter
how careful and insightful the authors of a constitution try to be,
they simply cannot foretell the future with a sufficiently high
degree of accuracy. Accordingly, constitutions may need to be
amended or modified at some point. A constitution must
contain directions for its own modification; failure to do so
might mean that when change becomes necessary, the entire
regime could collapse for want of a mechanism of change.
Procedures for amendment are important. Can the
constitution be amended by a simple majority in the national
legislature alone (i.e. a flexible constitution)? Or are special
procedures required other than those laid down for the making
of ordinary laws (a rigid constitution)?
The flexible British constitution contrasts with the apparent
rigidity of the American constitution. The British constitution is
subordinate to parliament and can be altered by the ordinary
process (or procedures) of legislation.
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By contrast, the American Constitution can be amended
only by two-thirds majority in Congress; plus ratification by
three-quarters of the States. The U.S Constitution, for instance,
has been formally amended 26 times in two centuries of
operation.
Less formal, but probably more significant,
constitutional adaptation has taken place through judicial
interpretation. In practice, the task of adapting the constitution
in the U.S. falls mainly to the Supreme Court. Judicial
Interpretation is inherently more flexible than formal
amendment. Though superior to the elected legislature, the U.S
constitution is thus subordinate to the non-elected judges of the
Supreme Court.
(3) The Constitutions that “give” or “recognize” rights:
There is another distinction between two types of
Constitutions that should be made explicit here. One constitution
“gives” rights, and the other “recognizes” rights. This is not
merely a semantic difference. The Constitutions of the former
Soviet Union, in stating that the government gives citizens
certain rights, implies that the government also has the power to
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take away these rights. If rights come from the State, the State
can certainly take them away. In the British, or the French
Constitution, rights are not given, they are recognized, by
limiting what the government can do. The Constitution of the
United States, for example, does not state that “Citizens are
given the rights to free speech” but it states that “the Congress
shall make no law … abridging the freedom of speech …”. This
right appears to already exist, and belongs to the people, and the
Constitution recognizes this fact by forbidding the Congress to
limit it.
Constitutionalism:
A country may have a Constitution but may not enjoy
Constitutionalism. So, having a Constitution may not guarantee
by itself , the rights and freedoms of the governed , because
Constitutions are often ignored by governors and politicians ,
and consequently are not true reflections of the manner in which
a political system operates. The Constitution of the former
Soviet Union, for instance, guaranteed certain rights, but
practice indicated that these guarantees where hollow, indeed .
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Accordingly, “Constitutionalism” is a political condition
in which the Constitution functions as an effective and
significant limit on government. Where Constitutionalism
characterizes a regime, the Constitution is “antecedent” to
government, and those who govern are constrained by its terms.
Constitutionalism is bound up with the notion of “legality” or
the notion of restraining political authority by “the rule of law”,
it embraces the idea that a government should not be permitted
to do whatever its officials please, but should conduct itself by
agreed procedures. The purpose of this restriction on its freedom
of action is, of course, to safeguard a fundamental area of
freedom for the citizens. For tyranny exists , wherever
authority is total, absolute or unlimited.
Thus, Constitutional government is said to be “limited
government” that is, there are certain things that the
government may not do, there are certain parameters beyond
which the government may not go. Liberal democracy is partly
defined as Constitutional government, that is, government in
accordance with, and limited by formal legal rules.
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Constitutionalism may be maintained by the practice of
judicial review, whereby judges with a reasonable degree of
independence of other branches of government have the
authority to veto laws and activities of government on the
grounds that they conflict with the Constitution. This task
usually falls to the judiciary in the form of constitutional courts
such as the Supreme Court ( or Federal Court ) in the US.
When do Constitutions succeed?
A key question about Constitution is:
When do they succeed in providing a stable framework for
political activity?
The spirit as well as the letter of the Constitution is most
likely to be maintained , when the provisions of the Constitution
accord reasonably well with dominant social interests ,
conditions and values.
Conversely, the liberal-democratic Constitutions which
departing colonialists left behind to the third world countries,
often failed because they did not take account of social
inequalities and non-democratic cultures. Some constitutions
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were, consequently adapted to suit the political environment in
which they operated, most often by strengthening executive
powers and competences. But many were suppressed by
authoritarian rulers , or destroyed by military takeovers that
paved the way for military dictatorship.
In conclusion, we can say that the reality of
Constitutionalism depends on whether there are social and
political forces genuinely independent of the government , and
powerful enough to insist on the government’s observance of
constitutional limits or restraints .
