Political Science (Organisation and Institutions) Notes | B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Semester 2 | KSLU | munotes

Contents

Unit I

1. Political Science, Organisation and Institutions: What This Paper Covers, and How to Read This Book 1
2. What a Constitution Is, and What It Is For 5
3. The Parts of a Constitution 10
4. Written and Unwritten, Codified and Uncodified 13
5. The Classification of Constitutions, and What Makes a Good Constitution 18
6. What a Constitutional Convention Is 24
7. The Conventions of the United Kingdom 28
8. The British Constitution: A Brief History, Its Nature, Sources and Features 33
9. The Constitution of the United Kingdom in Outline 39
10. Amendment: Why Constitutions Change, and the Methods Compared 44
11. The Amending Power 50
12. Article V of the United States Constitution 55
13. Swiss Total and Partial Revision 59
14. The Modern Classification of Government 63
15. Unitary Government 69
16. Federal Government 74
17. Unitary and Federal Government Compared 82
18. The American Federation: Division of Powers and the States 87
19. Switzerland: Development, Unique Features and the Cantons 91
20. The Quasi-Federal State 96
21. India as a Quasi-Federal State 102
22. A Federation With a Unitary Bias 110
23. Indian Federalism in the Supreme Court 116

Unit II

1. The Organisation of Government: Its Three Organs 123
2. The Legislature: Meaning, Functions, and One House or Two 131
3. The Two Houses of Parliament 137
4. The British Parliament: The House of Commons, the House of Lords and the Speaker 142
5. The American Congress: The House of Representatives and the Senate 148
6. How an Ordinary Bill Is Passed 153
7. The Budget, and Parliamentary Committees 158
8. A Money Bill 163
9. The Executive: Meaning, Kinds and Functions 168
10. Parliamentary Government 173
11. Presidential Government 183
12. Parliamentary and Presidential Government Compared 189
13. The Swiss Collegial Executive 195
14. The Plural Executive of the Former USSR 199
15. The Civil Service: Meaning, Features and Functions 205
16. The Civil Services Under the Company 211
17. The Civil Services Under the Crown 219
18. The Judiciary: Its Role and Functions 230
19. The Three Methods of Appointing Judges 237
20. How Judges Are Appointed in India 244
21. The Importance of the Independence of the Judiciary 251
22. The Measures That Ensure Judicial Independence 257
23. Judicial Review 264
24. Judicial Review in India and the USA Compared 271
25. The Rule of Law 277
26. The Theory of Separation of Powers 284
27. Montesquieu's Theory of the Separation of Powers 291
28. The Liberal Interpretation: Checks and Balances 299
29. Separation of Powers in the United States 305
30. Separation of Powers in India 312
31. The Doctrine of Separation of Powers Evaluated 319

Unit III

1. Citizenship: Meaning, History, Acquisition and Loss 325
2. Citizenship by Birth and by Descent 330
3. Citizenship by Registration, by Naturalisation, and by Territory 335
4. Losing Citizenship: Renunciation, Termination and Deprivation 340
5. What a Political Party Is 345
6. British Political Parties and His Majesty's Opposition 350
7. American Political Parties and the Two-Party System 355
8. French Political Parties and the Multi-Party System 358
9. The Significance of Political Parties in India 361
10. The Features of Political Parties in India 366
11. The Future of the Multi-Party System in India 371
12. Public Opinion and the Media 376
13. Interest Groups and Pressure Groups 382
14. Political Parties and Interest Groups Distinguished 387
15. Lobbying as a Technique 392
16. Lobbying in India and in the United States 397

Unit IV

1. The Electorate: Who May Vote, and Mill's View 403
2. Single Member and Multi Member Constituencies 408
3. Methods of Election and Balloting 415
4. The System of Plural Voting 420
5. Universal Adult Suffrage 426
6. Women's Enfranchisement: The Arguments For and Against 434
7. The Fight for Women's Suffrage in the USA 441
8. The Challenges to Women's Representation in India 449

Unit V

1. The Concept of Representation 457
2. The Role of the Representative 465
3. The Bases of Representation, and Territorial Representation 473
4. Functional Representation and Its Difficulties 480
5. Minority Representation 486
6. The Second Ballot System 494
7. Proportional Representation: The List System 499
8. Proportional Representation: The Hare Plan or Single Transferable Vote 505