DHS 2024 GP Y5 Lecture - Governments Part 1

1 © 2024 DHS | GP | Y5 Dunman High School H1 General Paper Governments – Part 1: What, why, how, and how far? [T1W10] Name Class Organisation of these notes: A. What are they? What are the types and elements of governments? B. Why? What for? What essential purposes and roles do governments serve? What duties and responsibilities do we expect them to fulfil? C. How? Through what tools and attributes do governments fulfil these roles? D. However… What are the risks of governments having power? How far should governments be trusted with power? E. How far? How far should governments be checked and constrained? What are the risks of checking and constraining a government too much? F. Conclusion: How may we judge governments? What does good governance depend on? G. A-Level exam questions related to governments, grouped into sub-topics, from 2004 to 2023

2 © 2024 DHS | GP | Y5 A. What are they? What are the types and elements of governments? Prominent types of governments today: More top-down control More checks and participation from the ground up 1. Military junta (eg. Myanmar) : Military generals govern the country, usually after seizing power in a coup. 2. Absolute monarchy (eg. Saudi Arabia, Brunei): A monarch, such as a king or sultan, governs the country. Th is monarch is usually from a distinguished family that has been in power for decades or centuries, and the people have developed a long tradition of respect for that family or at least acceptance of its dominant position. The monarchy may govern with the help of advisors or alliances with other powerful families in the country. (A country with a monarchy is a kingdom. A country without any monarchy is a republic, meaning the country belongs to the public i.e. the people, and not to any king.) 3. One-party state (eg. China): A political party governs the country, with little or no opposition from any other party. Unlike a monarchy or junta, a one-party state’s ruling party can contain a much larger number of members from across society . This large size of the ruling party can enable it to make more connections with people across society. A one- party state’s ruling party can let the people influence policy, such as by surveying the people for their opinions and allowing people to submit petitions to the government. But the party cannot be voted out of power. It loses power only if it is overthrown or collapses. 4. Mixed government – constitutional monarchy and democracy (eg. the UK): This political system combines different types of government. A constitutional monarch is a monarch whose powers are limited; they usually just play a ceremonial and symbolic role, and leave the actual governing to the people’s democratic representatives. Such a country is usually simply referred to as a ‘democracy’, since the democratic part is usually the most active part of that government. 5. Representative democracy (eg. the US) : The people’s e lected representatives govern the country. The people on the ground (the masses, the public ) do not make the policies, but they indirectly influence the governing by electing representatives every few years. 6. Direct/Participative democracy (eg. Switzerland to some extent , ancient Athens ): The people on the ground do not just elect representatives; the people directly participate in the governing of the country by frequently voting for or against specific policies through referendums. Such a system is rare; people on the ground may not fully understand complex policy, and having so many people participate directly in policy-making may make governing inefficient.

3 © 2024 DHS | GP | Y5 Note on Singapore’s political system: Singapore can be characterised as a representative democracy, with some elements of a one-party state. Singapore is a representative democracy because citizens elect representatives into Parliament every few years, and opposition parties are allowed . In every election since 1981, there have been a small number of opposition Members of Parliament (MPs) elected, and the number has gradually increased over the decades. Currently there are nine elected opposition MPs. But Singapore also arguably has some elements of a one-party state. Members or former members of the ruling party are often put in charge of major organisations that govern many areas of life in Singapore. These include the People’s Association, which organises community events in neighbourhoods; and the National Trades Union Congress, which represents workers ’ interests. Moreover, the ruling party can easily change the constitution, because chang ing the constitution only requires a two -third vote in Parliament, and the ruling party currently holds about 90% of the Parliament’s seats. Thus, Singapore’s ruling party has a wide -ranging and heavy influence on life in Singapore and our political system. This extensive power makes it easier for the ruling party to implement its policies and maintain support among the people, and very difficult (but not impossible) for opposition parties to defeat the ruling party. Whether this is a good system or not may depend on how much you support the ruling party or are opposed to it.

4 © 2024 DHS | GP | Y5 Common elements of a modern government 1. Legislature: the organisation that debates and makes laws (legislation), usually consisting of many politicians representing many parts of the country. • Eg. the Singapore Parliament, the UK House of Commons , the US Congress (divided into the US House of Representatives and the US Senate), China’s National People’s Congress 2. Head of state: the individual with the highest authority in the country, usually the one who signs legislation into effect, i.e. their signature turns the legislation into official law. • Eg. the British King, the US President 3. Cabinet: the group of high -ranking government officials who are each in charge of governing a particular aspect of the country, usually called ministers. Their leader (usually the Prime Minister) is the head of government, in charge of selecting and overseeing the ministers. In some countries such as the US, the cabinet’s leader is the President, who is thus both head of state and head of government. 4. Ministries, or executive departments: departments that each focus on governing a particular aspect of the country. They are overseen by ministers. They are staffed by civil servants hired to administer laws and analyse data, usually hired on the basis of their technical expertise. • Eg. Singapore’s Ministry of Education, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, etc.; the US’ Defence Department, Justice Department, etc.; China’s State Council , divided into the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Science and Technology, etc. 5. State agencies: organisations set up by the legislature to make and enforce rules to regulate a specific aspect of society. • Eg. the Housing Development Board (HDB) in Singapore, created to manage public housing; the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the US, created to protect the environment; the National Supervision Commission (NSC) in China, created to investigate corruption 6. Judiciary: the legal system that administers justice through courts and legal rulings. • Judges, court officials 7. Different levels of government: a large country is often divided into multiple territories that each have their own government, resulting in higher and lower levels of government in that country. • The national or federal government is a country’s highest level of government , in charge of the whole country. Eg. the Chinese national government • A provincial or state government is a government in charge of a particular territory within the country. Eg. the Hubei provincial government • A municipal governmen