Introduction to Political Science

1. BY N.Y

2. • Political scientists Montesquieu, Rousseau, Blunts!! Marriot
and Leacock have classified the government. Of these the
classification of Leacock's is accepted as the best. Leacock
has classified Government in the following way:
• On the basis of the location of sovereign power, government is divided into
two classes ; Dictatorship and Democracy.
• On the basis of the method of acquiring power by the head of the state, the
democratic government may be divided into two divisions:
• a) Constitutional Monarchy and -b) The Republic.
• On the basis of the relation between the Executive and the Legislative, the
democratic government can be divided into two categories:
• (1) Parliamentary form of Government and (2) Presidential form of
Government.
• On the basis of distribution of power between the center and the province, the
government is divided in to two divisions, the Unitary and Federal
Government.

3. • Modern Government: Dictatorship & Democracy
• Democracy: Constitutional Republic Monarchy &
Republic
• Constitutional Republic Monarchy: Unitary & Federal
Republic Parliamentary form of Government (Unitary +
Federal) & Presidential form of Government (Unitary +
Federal).

4. 1. the sovereign power of the state is vested in the hands of one person.
This system is called the Dictatorship.
2. The Dictator is the head of all powers of the state.
3. He is the source of supreme power.
4. Nobody can prevent him from exercising his power.
5. The ideal of dictatorship is one country, one nation and one leader.
6. All the powers of the state are centered in the hands of the Dictator.
7. He is not accountable to anybody for his activities.
8. Everybody is compelled to obey his orders.
9. In administration there is one political party under the dictator.
 Hitler of Germany, Franco of Spain and Mussolini of Italy were the
Dictators.

5.  A dictatorship is, strictly, a form of
rule in which absolute power is
vested in one individual
 the Dictator can take quick
decision.
 He is not accountable to
anybody, nor does he have to
consult anybody. So, it is possible
on his part to take quick decision
and work.
 The Dictator can lead the
underdeveloped country to
economic and social development
and progress.
 Under his leadership he can
achieve development in
art, literature and science.
 The whole country is guided in the
same way under the Dictator.
 As a result the national unity and
integrity become strong.
Under Dictatorship the people do
not have independence.
It is against personal freedom.
Nobody can make any criticism.
The different opinions are
suppressed by force.
Dictatorship gives rise to violent
nationalism and military power.
This system is against
internationalism.
As the Dictator is not accountable
to anybody, he can do anything, he
likes.
This is an autocratic system.
This administrative system is
temporary. Because with the death
of Dictator his rule ends.

6. The origins of the term can be traced back to Ancient Greece.
Democracy is derived from the Greek word ‘kratos’ meaning
power, or rule.
Democracy means administration of the people. The administrative
system where the sovereign power of the state is vested in the
people, is called Democracy. When people are the sources of all
power and the responsibility of conducting administration is vested to
the people, it is called Democracy.
• The political scientists have said that in democracy there is a system
where all the people can take part in administration. So it is said that
the government or the administrative system where the opinion of the
people are valued most and the administration is conducted by the
representatives of the people, is called Democracy. In Bernard’s
Cricks (1993) words democracy is perhaps the most promiscuous
word in the world of public affairs. ‘democracy’ are the followings;

7. A system of rule by the poor and the disadvantaged
A form of government in which the people rule themselves directly
and continuously, without the need for professional politicians or
public officials
A society based on equal opportunity and individual merit, rather than
hierarchy and privilege
A system of welfare and redistribution aimed at narrowing social
inequalities
A system of decision-making based on the principle of majority rule
A system of rule that secures the rights and interests of minorities by
placing checks upon the power of the majority
A means of filling public offices through a competitive struggle for the
popular vote
A system of government that serves the interests of the people
regardless of their participation in political life.

8. It is based on direct, unmediated and continuous participation of citizens
in the task of government.
The administrative system where the citizens directly participate in the
administration is called the direct or pure democracy.
Direct democracy obliterates the distinction between government and
the governed and between the state and civil society; it is a system of
popular self-government.
It was achieved in ancient Athens through a form of government by
mass meeting; it is most common modern manifestation is the use of the
referendum.
Greece direct democracy was in vogue. In ancient Greek City-States all
the citizens of the state would assemble in a special place to pass
law, assess tax, appoint employees, carry on judgment etc. As the city-
state and the population were small in size, conducting administration
directly was possible. There was no necessity for election or sending
representative. Nevertheless, in a hidden state with vast
population, direct democracy is not possible. But in some cantons of
Switzerland direct democracy is still partially in vogue.

9. It heightens the control that citizens can exercise over
their own destinies, as it is the only pure form of
democracy.
It creates a better-informed and more politically
sophisticated citizenry, and thus it has educational
benefits.
It enables the public to express their own views and
interests without having to rely-on self-serving politicians.
It ensures that rule is legitimate in the sense that people
are more likely to accept decisions that they have made
themselves

10. It is a limited and in direct form of democracy.
The administrative system where the citizens do not
participate in the administration directly but run the
administration through the elected representatives is called the
Indirect or Representative Democracy.
It is a limited in that popular participation in government is
frequent and brief, being restricted to the act of voting every
few years.
It is indirect in that the public do not exercise power
themselves; they merely select those who will rule on their
behalf.
In Indirect Democracy the elected representatives actively
participate in administration.
The elected representatives remain responsible to the people
for their activities.
In the modern democratic states Indirect Representative
democracy is in vogue.

11. It offers a practicable form of democracy (direct popular
participation is achievable only in small communities).
It relieves ordinary citizens of the burden of decision-
making, thus making possible a division of labour in
politics.
It allows the government to be placed in the hands of
those with better education expert knowledge and great
experience.
It maintains stability by distancing ordinary citizens from
politics, thereby encouraging them to accept
compromise.

12. 1) Democratic administration attention is given to the interest of the
people.
2) The representatives are elected by the people and, as they are
accountable for their activities, they are conscious of the welfare of
the people.
3) In democratic system all the citizens can equally take part in
political activities.
4) This principle of equality is the characteristic of democracy.
5) Democracy safeguards the fundamental rights of the citizens.
6) There is sufficient opportunity and independence of the citizens for
the development of their personality.
7) In this system the people actively take part in administration and
political consciousness is created in them.
8) To realize the problem of the country by taking part in development
activities, discussions and criticism of government policies and
activities, patriotism grows among the citizens.

13. Many political scientists consider democracy as the administration of
the incompetent.
When the people elect their representative they cannot elect competent
and expert persons due to their ignorance and want of education.
As a result, to form a good government or to introduce improved
administrative system is not possible.
In democracy importance is given to quantity than quality.
Due to majority, many wrong and faulty decisions are taken.
Sometimes, since ignorant and common people conduct democracy, this
administrative system does not help the growth of art, literature and
science

14. • A democratic system of administration where the Head of the state gets power
through heredity and remains the head only in name is known as the Constitutional
Monarchy.
• In this system the real power remains in the hands of the elected representatives of
the people, as in Great Britain where the monarch reigns but does not rule.
• The monarch is a titular head of state.
• A constitutional monarchy is a form of government in which a monarch acts as
head of state within the parameters of a written (i.e., codified), unwritten (i.e., un-
codified) or blended constitution.
• It differs from absolute monarchy in that an absolute monarch serves as the sole
source of political power in the state and is legally not bound by any constitution.
Most constitutional monarchies employ a parliamentary system in which the
Monarch may have strictly Ceremonial duties or may have Reserve
Powers, depending on the constitution, have a directly or indirectly elected prime
minister who is the head of government and exercises effective political power. In
the past, constitutional monarchs have co-existed with fascist and quasi-fascist
constitutions (Fascist Italy, Francoist Spain) and with military dictatorships.

15. A republican form of government is a type of government in which the
citizens of a country have an active role in the affairs of the
government, and the government is not headed by a hereditary ruler
such as a king.
This definition leaves a lot of room for wiggle room, many governments
around the world are considered to be run along the lines of a
republican form of government, ranging from dictatorships to
representative democracies.
Many people think that the republican form of government is a
particularly strong and effective form of government.

16. 1) A parliamentary system of government in which the government
governs in and through the assembly or parliament, thereby ‘fusing’
the legislative and executive branches .
2) The democratic system of administration where the administration is
conducted by the council of ministers and, the council of ministers
remain ,responsible for their activities to the legislature is called the
cabinet form of government or parliamentary form of government.
3) In this administrative system the real administrators are the Cabinet
Ministers.
4) The head of the council of ministers is the Prime Minister.
5) The cabinet form of government is there in Great Britain, India and
Canada.
6) The Prime Minister and the other ministers are the members of the
parliament.
7) The ministers are collectively responsible to the legislature for their
policies and activities.
8) The council of ministers will remain in power till the Legislature support
them.
9) If the majority of the members of the Legislature brings the vote of no
confidence against the ministers they resign.

17. Governments are formed as a result of assembly
elections, based on the strength of party representation; there
is no separately elected executive.
The personal of government are drawn from the
assembly, usually from the leaders of the party or parties that
have majority control.
The government is responsible to the assembly in the sense
that it rests on the assembly’s confidence and can be removed
(generally by the lower chamber), if it loses that confidence.
The government can, in most cases ‘dissolve’ the
assembly, meaning that electoral terms are usually flexible in
within a maximum limit.
Parliamentary executives are generally collective is that they
accept at least the formal principle of cabinet government.
As the head of government (usually a prime minister) is a
parliamentary officer, there is a separate head of state: a
constitutional monarch or a non-executive president.

18.  A presidential system of government is characterized by a constitutional and
political separation of powers between the legislative and the executive
branches of government .
 Presidential form of government is that form of government in which the
administration is not accountable to the Legislature.
 President is the real Executive.
 The president is elected by the direct or indirect votes of the people.
 In the United States of America, presidential form of government is
prevalent.
 In this system all the powers are vested in the hands of the president.
 The president is not a member of the Legislature. He is elected by the
people for a fixed term.
 The Legislature cannot pass a vote of no-confidence against him. He can
only be removed by impeachment.
 The president appoints the ministers and they are responsible to him. He
can dismiss any minister at any time.
 Executive power is thus vested in an independently elected president who is
not directly accountable to or removes by the assembly.

19. The executive and the legislature are separately elected, and each is
invested with a range of independent constitutional powers.
There is a formal separation of the personnel of the legislative, meaning and
the executive branches(except in semi-presidential systems)
The executive is not constitutionally responsible to the legislative and
cannot be removed by it(except possibly through impeachment).
The president or executive cannot ‘dissolve’ the legislative, meaning that
the electoral terms of both branches are fixed.
Executive authority is concentrated in the hands of the president, the
cabinet and ministers being merely advisers responsible to the president.
The roles of head of state and head of government (chief executive) are
combined in the office of the presidency- the president wears ‘two hats’.

20. In this system the government is
comparatively stable.
The president cannot be removed
except through impeachment.
As a result, long term development
plans can be taken and it is
possible to execute them.
At times of emergency this system
is helpful as the president can take
a quick decision.
He does not have to take advice
from anybody.
In this system there is complete
separation of power.
So, the Executive, Legislative and
Judiciary departments are
independent of each other and can
work freely.
 The Head of the state is the real
Executive.
 As the president and the ministers
are not responsible to the
legislature, they many turn to be
autocratic and irresponsible.
 Sometimes conflict between the
Executive and the Legislature
arises.
 As the Legislature is not under the
control of the president, he cannot
pass law at the time of necessity
and it hampers his administration.

21. A unitary government is a government in which all the powers
of the state are concentrated in the hands of the Central
Government sanctioned by the constitution.
There are smaller units of government such as stats or
provinces but they do not have the authority to make
independent decisions.
The Local Governments derive their powers from the Central
Government.
In this system, the constitution does make arrangements for
the distribution of power between the local and the central
governments. In Bangladesh there is unitary government.
For the convenience of administration of unitary government
the state is divided into some parts.
In these parts local governments are formed.
To squeeze or expand the power of the government depends
on the will of the central government.

22. Formal power or authority is located at the national center, and other local
units do not exercise any political powers independently of the central
authority.
The local or regional units of government exercise powers and authority that
are delegated to them by the center and may also be withdrawn by it.
The central government may at any time redraw or abolish the boundaries of
local or regional units.
The actions and policies of the central government control and override the
policies and actions of sub-national levels of government.

23. In the system of Unitary form of
government, the same
law, policies and the same
administration prevail in the
country under one government.
Under this system the
administration becomes strong
and the national unity is
integrated.
As all the powers are in the
hands of one
government, greater skill and
efficiency is reflected both in the
domestic and International
affairs.
In the unitary system of government
the local governments have no
power.
They carry on administration
depending on the will of the central
government.
Very often the central government
does not know the local problems
and grievances.
So, the laws passed by the central
government may not be useful
according to the needs and demands
of the local government.

24. In the system of administration where the constitution distributes the
powers between the Central Government and the Provincial
Government, it is called the Federal Government.
This system is there in India and in the United States of America.
In the system there are two types of [government: the Central
government, and the state government.
The constitution distributes power between the Central and the State
Government.
The subjects concerning the total interest of the states remain under
the Central Government and the subjects concerning the local
interest remain its The State or Provincial Government.
In the matters of regional administration the State Government
enjoys self-government.
In this system of administration the constitution is written and it is
rigid.
Federalism is based on the notion of shared sovereignty, in which
power is distributed between the central or peripheral levels of
government.

25. In a Federal system the unit or Provincial
Governments maintain national unity
keeping their separate entity.
The federal system of administration is a
political contrivance.
Powers are distributed between the
central and the Provincial Government
by the constitution so; the burden of
works of the central government is
lessened.
As a result, the skill of both the
governments increases.
Besides, as there is the distribution of
specific powers, the central government
does not interfere with the
administration of the provincial
government to become autocratic.
In this system of administration the
state governments create laws for
their own necessity and
convenience; so there is no
similarity in law and administration
in different state governments.
In the different parts of the same
state different types of laws are
promulgated.
In both the governments conflict
regarding right corps up.
As the powers are divided between
the two governments the central
government becomes weak in many
respects.

26. To conduct the statecraft the government has to perform
different functions. These are generally divided into three
types. These are to create laws, conducting administration
and judgment. To perform these functions well, the
government has three organs or departments.
These organs are :
• (1) Legislature
• (2) Executive
• (3) Judiciary

27. The Legislature is an important organ of the government which varies from
country to country.
This organ creates laws for conducting administration of the State and to
perform judicial duties.
Every state has legislature.
Different states have different names of the legislature.
The name of the legislature of the United State of America is Congress. In
Grate Britain its name is Parliament and in Bangladesh it is National
Assembly.
The legislature may be unicameral or bicameral.
In bicameral legislature there are Upper House and Lower House.
The Legislature of Great Britain is bicameral.
The Legislature of Bangladesh is unicameral.

28. UNICAMERALISM BICAMERALISM
Permits speedy action Provides a check on hasty and ill-
considered
legislation
Avoids obstruction of the will of the
people
Avoids despotism of a Single Chamber
Permits clarity of responsibility of the
cabinet
Helps public opinion to crystallize by
interposing delay
Reduces duplication Reflects the popular will
Avoids possibility of conflict Houses
between two chambers
Help divide the work load
Is less expensive Does useful and careful revision
Popularly elected by the people Allows representation to different
Classes and groups
One house maintains the uniformity
in the country
Accounts for their necessity in a
federation

29. • The department which takes the responsibility of conducting the
administration of the government is known as the Executive
Department. The functions of the Executive Department are to execute
the laws passed by the Legislature. In the broad sense, the Executive
department is formed combining all the employees from the president
to the village chawkiders. In the narrow sense the President and the
members of the Council of Ministers form the Executive Department.
There are several types of executives.
They can be grouped under three heads:
• 1-)Nominal and Real
• 2-)Parliamentary and Presidential
• 3-) Singular and Plural or Collegial.

30. I. NOMINAL & REAL: a nominal or a real executive head can take part both in a parliamentary
system. Nominal executive means that a man, as the king of Malaysia or elected as the president
of Bangladesh or Turkey is the head of the executive in theory but not in reality. the executive
power lies in the hand of nominal executive but in reality it is exercised by the prime minister.
II. PARLIAMENTARY & PRESIDENTIAL: Power is vested in the office of the prime minister who
is the leader of the majority party in legislature. With the Presidential Executive the real
executive power lies in the office of the president who is directly elected by the people . The first
one is also known as the prime ministerial system and the second one is called the presidential
system . In the USA, the highest executive member of the state is the president while in
Malaysia, Canada and in the U.K. the real top executive is called the prime minister. In each
system, there is a Head of State who is the chairman of the advisory board while the head of
government is the chairman of an active committee or party. Each branch has its own
classification and specific name.an example.. In Malaysia, the head of the state is the king while
the head of government is the prime minister, In U.K , the head of state is monarch but head of
government is Prime minister.
III. SINGULAR&PLURAL: the single executive means that the executive power is vested in one
person. In this type of executive, responsibility is undivided. For example : the president of the
United states of America is a single executive. On the other hand, the plural or collegial executive
means that the executive power is vested in council of members: each member is roughly equal in
status and none is subordinate to the other.

31. The department of the government that performs the functions of judgment according to
law is called the Judicial Department.
The Judicial Department is necessary to punish the criminal and to protect the rights of
the people.
The Judicial Department establishes justice in the state and passes sentence to the law
violators. The Judicial department is formed with all the courts of the country.
The main function of the Judicial Department is to carry on judgment applying the
prevalent laws, of the country.
Another function of this department is to explore the laws and to pass sentence.
When the prevalent law is not adequate to carry on judgment with the help of the
prevalent laws, the Judges do that according to their individual sense of
justice, intelligence and good conscience.
Sometimes the Executive Department takes advice from the Supreme Court.
Sometime the" court, by proclamation of orders and prohibition; secure the right of the
people.
Besides, the Judicial Department also does the functions of appointing the guardian of the
minors, supervision of the under trial property of the deceased persons, granting license
etc.
The independence of Judiciary is indispensably necessary to make the democratic
administrative system more effective and for good administration of the state.

32. •THE END…