Parliamentary Democracy §1.1 Why are politics important? Politics = the in which a country is governed Netherlands is a representative democracy . or Parliamentary Democracy §1.2 Dictatorship Characteristics of a dictatorship: ● Restriction of individual freedom. ● Restriction of Political freedom. ● Much government violence. ● There are no independent courts. ● Censorship of mass media for example. Not all dictatorships are the same, you have autocratic and a totalitarian dictatorship. Autocratic dictatorship: Most military dictatorships are under autocratic rule. In this dictatorship the power lies in the hand of one person. Examples are: North Korea, Syria, and Zimbabwe. Totalitarian Dictatorship: In a totalitarian dictatorship the power often lies in the hand of a group of people who want an ideological revolution. Often these governments use indoctrination to influence their people, just like in 1984 which is also a totalitarian regime. Theocracy: Theocracy is another form of a Totalitarian Dictatorship , it is based on religion. §1.3 Democracy On the contrary, in Democracy there is the power of the many. The power of rulers is limited and therefore the citizens can exert influence on the political decisions and how to country is governed. General characteristics of a Democracy are: ● Citizens have individual freedom. ● There are fundamental political rights. ● The police and the army have limited power. ● There is a separation of power, trias politica . Characteristics of the Dutch democracy: ● 18+ means right to vote. ● Everybody has the right to set up a political party. ● Everybody has the right to demonstrate. ● The members of the States General (1st and 2nd chamber) are elected via a secret form (ballot = stembiljet ). ● The government and States General establish laws jointly. Direct Democracy: Direct democracy means that everything almost everything is decided directly through for example a referendum. A true direct Democracy isn’t very common nowadays.
Indirect Democracy: Means that the people elect representatives who make the major decisions. Indirect Democracy occurs in two forms: Presidential and Parliamentary . Presidential Democracy: In this form of Democracy the President has more power and can appoint or dismiss ministers. Parliamentary Democracy: In this form the people elect the members of the Parliament. Chapter 2: Political movements §2.1 Ideologies ideology = a system of ideas about man, human relationships, and the organisation of society. Ideologies have clear views on: ● Moral standards; they are primarily concerned with the bounderies of personal freedom. ● Socioeconomic relationships; what is a fair distribution of wealth? ● Distribution of power; should employees be entitled to have a greater say in their company or should the managment take all the decisions? §2.2 Simple Classification Progressive: Believing in change and futureorientated. Conservative: Preservation, orientated to the past and present. Leftwing
Centre
Rightwing
Equality
Harmony
Freedom
Fair distribution of income, knowledge, and power. Protection of the weak.
Shared responsibility. Caring society.
Personal freedom. Economic freedom.
emphasises on the government’s role in the socioeconomic areas
emphasises on the responsibility citizens have for each other
emphasises on the interest of the individual trade and industry
Government directs in order Government gives to secure social equality supplementary support to private organisations
Noninterfering government which upholds law and order.
§2.3 Ideological movements Liberalism: Freedom, individual responsibility, and tolerance are key points in Liberalism. Free market economy. Socialism: Socials starts out from the idea that opportunities for individuals to develop themselves are unqually distributed. Equality and freedom. Communism: Wanted to overthrow the social structure and the workers should have all the power. Social Democracy: Want to achieve equality through democracy. Confessionalism(Denominationalism): For people who base their political opinions on their religious beliefs. “Society can be compared to a human body. Every part is fixed in a place and has a fixed task.” Other Ideologies: Facism: Starts with the inequality of races. (Mussulini) Rightwing extremists: NeoNazi’s. Ecological movements: Partij v/d Dieren. Populism: Focussing on the things people want to hear. (PVV, Front National) Chapter 3 Political Parties Political party = a group of people who have roughly the same ideas about an ideal society. Oneissue party = focus on just one aspect of society. Protest party = usually founded when there a disaffection with other political parties. Function of Political Parties: The integration of ideas. Information; political parties inform voters about their views on various questions. Participation; political parties try to interest citizens in their actions. The selection of candidates
Political Parties in the Netherlands: Chapter 4 Elections §4.1 How Politicians are elected 18+ means right to vote. You have to have a Dutch nationality. Proportional representation: all votes will be divided equally over the seats in the parliament. This is based on the quota , which is the number of votes needed for one seat. Forming a party: ● The party has to be officially registered at the Electoral Council. ● In each of the 19 electoral districts the party will need to hand in a list of candidates as well as a declaration of support. ● The party has to pay over €11,000 which will be refunded if the party wins 75% of one seat, which is about 50,000 votes.
§4.2 After the Elections How is the cabinet formed?: 1.Elections 2.Queen asks for advice (vicepresident Raad van State, chairpersons Eerste and Tweede Kamer, leaders of political parties in Tweede Kamer) 3.Queen appoints an ‘informateur’ > investigates which combination of parties has the best chance of success 4.Write Coalition Agreement ( regeerakkoord ) 5.Queen appoints a ‘formateur’ > often future prime minister 6.Divide Ministeries, looking for Ministers en secretaries of state 7.Sign Coalition Agreement 8.Queen signs ‘Koninklijke Besluiten’ 9.‘Bordesscène’ 10.Defend Coalition Agreement by new prime minister in Tweede Kamer When a cabinet is distrusted the Second Chamber can pass a Motion of “Wantrouwen”. A minister doesn’t need to quit, this is what happens mostly in reality. Chaper 5 Government and Parliament §5.1 The Government The ruling of the country is in the hands of the Government. Policy Proposals = are “beleidsmaatregelen”, they are discussed in the meeting of the Council of Ministers = which is the “ministerraad”, which is chaired by the primeminister. The ministers and secretary of state together consitute the Government. The King: Since 1814 the position of the Head of State has been filled in by bloodrelatives of King Willem I. The King’s primary tasks: ● ● ● ● ●
Signing all laws that are passed. Read the King’s Speech on the third Tuesday of September. Appointing ministers and “formateurs” or “informateurs”. Having regular consultations with the prime minister on the cabinet policy. The King has minsterial responsibility .
§5.2 From bill to law: I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII.
Social problem. Minister or member Second Chamber makes a bill. Second Chamber discusses the bill. Members of the Second Chamber submit amendments. Second Chamber votes on the amendments and the final bill. First Chamber votes on the bill. Queen and responsible minister sign the bill. Law is published in ‘Staatsblad’.
§5.3 Parliament Rights of the Second Chamber: ● Colegislator. ● It keep check on the government. Colegislation: ● ● ● ●
Voting right: The Second Chamber decides by voting wether a bill will become law. Right of amendment: change details of bills. Right of initiative: formulate a bill (does not happen often). Budget right: make changes in government budgets (budget is presented as a bill).
Keeping Check on the Government: Right of motion: ● ● ● ●
Changing policy measures Motion of ‘treurnis’ Motion of ‘afkeuring’ Motion of ‘wantrouwen’ > minister has to go
Right to question: ● Written > answer in three weeks ● Spoken > ‘vragenuurtje’ Right of interpellation > spoeddebat Right of inquiry:
Parlementaire enquête: ● Independent investigation if information supplied by minister is insufficient –Witnesses heard under oath: ● Financial system (20102012) ● Srebrenica (2002) ● Bijlmerramp (19981999) Parlementair onderzoek: –Witnesses not heard under oath Chapter 6 Administration in Practice §6.1 The System Model §6.2 Surrounding Factors Demographic: Composition of the population. Ecological: The enviroment, we are as the Netherlands below sea level. Cultural: Relates to for example moral standards or traditions. (Black Pete) Economic: We have a close bussiness relation with Germany, that could be an influence.
Technological: Technological improvements. Social: Division of social classes. International: Foreign legislation or rulers. (Russia at the moment). Chapter 7 Political Actors Political actors have a great influence on our politics. The main political actors are: Citizens: ● ● ● ● ●
Approach administrators Organize a demonstration Contact the media Formal appeal/objection procedures Burgerinitiatief: properly formulated proposal including 40.000 signatures
Pressure groups: ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Try to exert pressure on political decisionmaking Negotating Demonstrations Lobbying Social media Interest groups Action groups Action organizations
Media: ● ● ● ● ●
Informative role ‘Spreekbuis’ role: allow people concerned with the issue express their perspective Agenda role: put a subject on the political agenda Commenting role Checking role
Companies: ● Lobbying: ● Informally influence formal decisionmaking
Civil servants: ● Fourth Power ● Have great influence on policy (= the conscious deployment of means to realize an intended goal) ● Administrators rely on knowledge and expertise of civil servants Advisory bodies: ● Raad van State: ○ Highest advisory body > gives advice on all bills ○ Appointed for life by government ○ Important role in administrative law ● SociaalEconomische Raad (SER): ○ Advises on social and economic policy ○ 33 members ● Wetenschappelijke Raad voor het Regeringsbeleid: ○ Provides scientifically based information to guide policy Chapter 8 Political Levels §8.1 Provincial Government and Local Government. Principle of Subsidiarity : ● Decentralization of power, lower powers: ● Are better informed about the situation and so better equipped to asses what’s needed. ● Are closer to the citizens and so more accessible to them. Other Political Levels: ● National: ○ National/central government ○ Provincial government ○ Local government ● International: ○ EU ○ UN ○ NATO Municipalities: ● Police, waste management, street lights, mariages, etc. ● Make specific ‘area development plans’ ● Local council: ○ Elected 1x every 4 years. ○ Number depends on number of citizens.
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Checks B&W. College of mayor & aldermen (van Burgemeester en Wethouders). Daily governance (Executive power!). Mayor appointed for 6 years.