Political Science

This is a very difficult question to answer because polls do and do not accurately represent the views of a nation. They accurately represent the views of the nation because any poll that is done...

The answer to this depends to some degree on what country you are asking about. However, in a democracy, all of the laws for a country are produced by its legislative branch. That is, after all,...

Basically, liberals believe that people should be left alone to do whatever they want in their personal lives. To them, the government should not try to legislate morality. This is why liberals...

First of all, we must recognize that some people would argue that we have had realignments and new coalition since 1952. For example, some people point to the 1964 election as a major turning...

This depends greatly on what kind of political espionage you are talking about. If you are talking about international political espionage, then my opinion is that it is a legitimate activity that...

Well, Mongolia is definitely a parliamentary republic. It has a parliament that is elected by its people and which then elects the government. The president is apprently elected directly. Mongolia...

There are two major types of challenges faced by those trying to create a new political party: First, they have to find an issue or a set of issues that will keep party members together. The...

If this were to happen, the people who became “upper management” in the political parties would presumably be of lower quality, or at least of lesser ambition, than those who are there now. It is...

Theories at each of these levels have claimed to help us understand why war happens. However, there is no way to objectively say which level contributes the most to our understanding. Theories on...

The referendum process is California has resulted in some very expensive and not necessarily beneficial laws. The process is also very cumbersome and extremely costly. So we have a costly process...

Thank goodness President Obama won! He will use this extra time to continue to get the country back on track. He used his first four years to help several situations: The ending of the wars...

This is a statement that has been made about lawmakers in Texas. That state, unlike most states in the US, does not have a state income tax. The quote is saying that lawmakers in Texas are...

It is definitely correct to say that first past the post (FTPT) systems discourage the creation of small parties while proportional representation (PR) systems encourage small parties. This is...

Depends on two things: what you define as "big", and what you expect your federal government to do. If you expect the government to administer your retirement and health care systems, then some...

The government of any country is the force that allows the country as a whole to exist and function. Government may be defined as being the political direction and control exercised over the...

I will point to two reasons why the United States has a two party system. First, the two party system came about because of America's electoral system. In the United States, we have what are...

If I were your opponent, the main question I would ask is "what about freedom of speech?" I would ask how you can reconcile the idea of freedom of speech with the idea of telling people that they...

The major reason for this is our “winner take all” electoral system. In our system, a party that wins 20% of the vote in a given district gets 0% of the representatives from that district in the...

There is not one single election to decide this as happens in parliamentary democracies such as the United Kingdom. In the United States, there are many different elections that decide which party...

While it is good to have many platforms to campaign, let's set aside the minor ones and concentrate on multiculturalism and reconciliation. First, look at the voting demographic--is it...

The major factor that caused instability and change in the balance of power system in Europe in the late 1800s was the rise of alliances. Balance of power systems are based on the idea that all...

Gridlock, in politics, refers to a situation in which very little in the way of laws can get passed by a government. In the United States, gridlock is most likely to occur in periods of divided...

Clearly, many people in our political system today believe that disagreement is good and that deal-making is bad. Such people certainly do believe that deals between the two parties signal that...

In order for a balance of power system to work, there need to be a number of states with relatively similar amounts of power. Balance of power cannot occur in a bipolar or unipolar system. If...

Theoretically, there are defined powers that are given by the Constitution to each level of government. The federal government, for example, is the only level that has the right to regulate...

To answer this, just think about it in terms of the size of population available in each case. If you have a district system, the only candidates that the voters in a given district have to choose...

Oligarchy is a system of government in which power is shared by a privileged few. Theoretically or ideally, the individuals sharing power would be considered the wisest of the populace. The...

This question refers to the last election. There could be many reasons for this, but the most important reason is that the president is supposed to be the one to come up with and suggest ideas that...

I would argue that the "Solid South" impacted and hindered the national Democratic party because it regionalized the party from achieving any sort of national affiliation in the time period. The...

The electors who technically select the president are chosen in a variety of ways. There is no one set way that must be followed. Instead, each state is free to set up its own system for...

In the current system, international law generally functions in the way that idealists say it should. Idealists understand that international law cannot really provide stability through coercion....

On the contrary, when there is disagreement and deal-making, politicians are acting according to the "common sense consensus" of the people much more than when they try to push extreme ideas...

Not all politicians are the same, of course, and some truly do seek elected office so that they can achieve positive change and represent their constituents. This is especially true at the local...

For the most part, these efforts have come about because both levels of government want to have more power and neither level of government particularly wants to pay for the things that it does. So...

Realists believe that nation-states act only in their own national interest. They view international relations as essentially a struggle between states, each trying to do what is best for itself...

Mitt Romney, despite a mediocre showing in two of the first three contests in the Republican primary, has most of the advantages at this point for actually getting the nomination for his party. He...

No, these things do not show that something is wrong with the system. Many people think they do, but I do not agree with those people. Our political system must have politicians who disagree. It...

The term "local law" is a bit confusing in this context since local law is really municipal ordinances, as opposed to state or federal statutes. Nevertheless, no matter what kind of law is...

There are many factors that affect how people vote. Perhaps the most important factors are social/demographic characteristics and party identification. We know that in American politics certain...

Basically, conservatives do not have much faith in the ability of people to devise perfect worlds. They think that human beings are inherently fallible and prone to error. Because of this, they...

Constitutions can help with this (particularly with creating the formal structure of the state) but they cannot actually create the reality of the system. For that, it is the attitudes and...

To me, the clearest way in which this is happening is through the federal government attaching conditions to the money that it gives to the states. This is not new, but it is still common. A good...

Judicial philosophy is the overall attitude that a given judge (in an appellate court) has with regard to the proper role of the judicial branch of government. It is not about the judge’s opinion...