Public Administration. Хрестоматия для студентов-магистров направления подготовки 38.04.02 «Менеджмент», профиля «Управление имущественным комплексом»

totalitarian society, all control of public and private life is government run. Italian dictator Benito Mussolini coined the term totalitario in the early 1920s to describe the new fascist state of Italy. By the beginning of World War II, ‘totalitarian’ had become synonymous with absolute and oppressive single-party government. The strategies of implementing totalitarianism include: having a dictatorship, employing only one ruling party, ruling through fear, censorship of media, propaganda in media, prohibition of criticism of the state, secret police forces, etc.

The study of governmental structures must be approached with great caution, for political systems having the same type of governmental machinery often function very differently. A parliament, for example, may be an important and effective part of a political system; or it may be no more than an institutional facade of little practical significance. To be useful, the study of governmental structures must always proceed hand in hand with an investigation of the actual facts of the political process.

(Adapted from: http://study.com/academy/lesson/forms-of- government-monarchydemocracy- oligarchymore.html)

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Vocabulary to differentiate – различать monarchy – монархия

to retain – сохранять; удерживать distinctive – характерный; отличительный to exercise – осуществлять; обладать indispensable – необходимый; незаменимый eligible – имеющий право голоса

representative democracy – представительная демократия

oligarchy – олигархия to reside – находиться

to be distinguished by – отличаться (чем-либо) bloodline – родословная; род

to shift – переходить; смещать to impose – навязывать authoritarianism – авторитаризм totalitarianism – тоталитаризм

oppressive – жестокий; деспотический

to implement – реализовывать; проводить в жизнь censorship – цензура

caution – осторожность

Answer the questions:

1.How can the notion ‘government’ be defined?

2.What five basic forms of government are discussed in the article?

3.What was the most common form of government until the 19th century?

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Define it.

4.What is the difference between absolute and constitutional monarchies?

5.What role does the monarch play in such countries as Great Britain, the Netherlands, or Denmark?

6.Who does power in democratic societies belong to?

7.What democracy is called direct?

8.How do citizens exercise their power in representative democracy?

9.What example of representative democracy can you give?

10.What is oligarchy characterized by?

11.What is the difference between monarchs and oligarchs?

12.In what countries can oligarchy governments be found?

13.What are the characteristics of authoritarianism?

14.What features has a totalitarian society got?

15.Why must the study of governmental structures be approached with great caution?

Democracy and systems of constitutional democracy

Democracy literally means rule by the people. The term is derived from the Greek dēmokratiā, which was coined from dēmos (‘people’) and kratos (‘rule’) in the middle of the 5th century bc.

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But what constitutes an actual, functioning democracy? On what criteria can we decide that one nation is democratic, while another is not? The most widely known list of distinguishing marks of democratic government is the one proposed by Robert Dahl. It includes: 1) elected officials, 2) free, fair, and frequent elections, 3) freedom of expression, 4) access to alternative sources of information.

Comparative studies of democratic politics recognize three distinct models of democratic political institutions. The two major types are exemplified by Great Britain and the United States. Britain is the classic example of the parliamentary system of constitutional democracy. The United States is the leading example of the presidential system.

The British parliamentary system provides for

‘rule by the people’ through an emphasis on a responsible, strong political party model. Two parties contend for popular support by offering competing policy visions. The winning party gains essentially exclusive control over the instruments of government action. The leader of the majority party in the parliament is also the prime minister who selects the cabinet. Thus there is unified control across legislative and executive institutions.

Presidential government is characterized by a formal separation of powers between executive and legislative institutions. Instead of the fusion of legislative and executive powers, the executive ‘head

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of state’ is selected independently from the legislative branch and cannot be removed by the legislature, except for very serious reasons and through complex procedures.

Presidents may propose new policy directions but cannot enact them into law because the legislature is independent of the executive. Instead, the president must build a coalition of legislators that is willing to support the executive’s policy preferences. Policy making requires bargaining within and between each legislative chamber as well as between the legislature and the executive, thus ensuring that multiplicities of views are represented.

A third model of democratic government combines the parliamentary form with the presidential to create what is labeled as a ‘dual power’. The key institutional features include the following: 1) an independently elected head of state (the president), 2) a legislatively selected head of government (the prime minister), 3) an executive cabinet presided over by the prime minister, and 4) a legislature elected independently from the head of state. The benefits of a dual-power government are the flexibility of a parliamentary majority and the ability to avoid potential stalemates between the president and the legislature. France is the preeminent example of a

‘dual-power’ democracy, and other examples can be found in Portugal, Finland, the Czech Republic, Poland, Estonia, Lithuania, and Slovenia.

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(Adapted from: ‘Democracy and Public Policy’ by

Dale Krane, Gary S. Marshall,

‘Encyclopedia of Public administration and Public Policy’)

Vocabulary to derive – происходить

to coin – создавать (новые слова или выражения) to constitute – образовывать; являться

to exemplify – подтверждать примером constitutional democracy – конституционная демократия

to contend – бороться

essentially – по сути; в сущности legislative – законодательный executive – исполнительный fusion – слияние

legislature – законодательная власть; законодательный орган

to enact – придавать законную силу; вводить (закон) в действие

to bargain – вести переговоры; торговаться chamber – палата

to ensure – обеспечивать; гарантировать multiplicity of views – множественность взглядов; разнообразие мнений

dual power – двоевластие

to preside – председательствовать; руководить flexibility – гибкость

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parliamentary majority – парламентское большинство

stalemate – противостояние; тупик preeminent – превосходный

Answer the questions:

1.What was the term ‘democracy’ derived from?

Comment on its meaning.

2.What distinguishing features of democratic government does the list proposed by Robert Dahl include?

3.What are the three distinct models of constitutional democracy?

4.Where can examples of these models be found?

5.What is the essence of the parliamentary system?

6.What is presidential government characterized by?

7.How can presidents influence the state policy in the presidential system?

8.What does policy making in the presidential system require?

9.What are the key features of the ‘dual power’ model?

10.What are the benefits of a dual-power government?

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Contemporary levels of government

No modern state can govern a country only from a central point. In all modern states there are at least two levels of government: the central government and the local governments. But in a number of states between the two levels there exists still a third one consisting of governments that rule over more or less large regions.

States with two levels of government can be distinguished on account of the greater or lesser autonomy they grant to the local level. Great Britain’s respect for local self-government has always been a characteristic of its constitution. France, instead, at least until recently, used to keep under strict central control its local authorities.

In states with three levels of government the distribution of powers among the central and the intermediate governments varies. States formed through the union of formerly independent states usually maintain considerable legislative, executive and judicial power at the intermediate level: the United States and Switzerland fall into this category. However, other states with three levels of government grant few powers to the intermediate level.

States with two levels of government are called unitary, with three levels of the first category - federal, and with three levels of the second type – decentralized or ‘regionalist’. A great majority of the

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world’s nation-states are unitary systems, including Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Japan, Poland, the Scandinavian countries.

The model ‘federal state’ requires the existence, at the national level, of rigid constitution guaranteeing independence of the several intermediate governments. The national constitution must delegate to the central government only enumerated powers; the remaining powers are reserved to the intermediate governments.

Regionalist states are also based, as a rule, on written rigid constitutions granting some limited legislative and administrative powers to the intermediate or regional governments. But because regional governments possess jurisdiction only over enumerated matters, their actual role and political weight within the system largely depend on the will of the central government.

City government is a system of governmental institutions that serve an urban area. A city government’s most important functions are to provide law enforcement and fire prevention; elementary and secondary education; water supply, sewage and refuse collection and disposal; construction, maintenance, and lighting of the streets; regulation of building safety and housing standards; the provision of public housing; various welfare services for the needy; health protection; and environmental services. Cities also

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provide museums, parks, playgrounds and other cultural and recreation facilities. Public-utility services that supply water, electricity, gas, and public transport may be provided by a city government or by commercial companies that are closely regulated by the government.

(Adapted from: ‘English for Public Administration’ by

О.В. Добролет, А.Р. Жорова)

Vocabulary on account of – на основании grant – предоставлять self-government – самоуправление

distribution of powers – распределение полномочий intermediate – промежуточный

judicial power – судебная власть to fall into – подпадать под unitary – унитарный

rigid – устойчивый (неменяющийся) enumerated – перечисленный

reserved (powers) – зарезервированные (полномочия)

law enforcement – обеспечение правопорядка

fire prevention – предупреждение/предотвращение пожаров

sewage collection – сбор сточных вод refuse collection – сбор отходов disposal – утилизация

construction – строительство

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