Introduction
Every country in the globe has its own unique system of government, which is outlined in the constitution, which is considered to be the highest legal document in the territory. There are many different types of governments, including democratic ones that are chosen by the people, monarchical ones where a king or queen reigns over a state, and even theocratic ones where a supreme being or deity is revered as the sole authority. The focus of this essay is on the governments of the United States, Germany, and Great Britain. These countries are major players in international events and among the most powerful in the world in terms of political, military, and economic might. Insight on their political systems and government structure will be emphasized so as to have a clear angle to make a comparison.
Government Structure and Constitution
To begin with, the US and Germany each have a well laid out constitution in which the supreme laws are consolidated into one comprehensive document. This document supersedes all other sources of law in the two countries and is the main source of reference in judicial adjudication. The constitution basically remains unchanged over a long period of time and can only be altered through a public vote known as a referendum when a fundamental issue is in contention. The constitution is a representation of the national values and beliefs, and it is held in high regard. It stipulates the system of government, legislature, and even the judiciary. It also bears the fundamental rights and privileges accorded to the citizenry, contained in an important section known as the Bill of rights. However, it is interesting to note that Great Britain does not have a ‘written’ or codified constitution. This is not to mean that it is not governed by the rule of law. Instead, Britain relies on the various Acts of the houses of parliament as well as judicial precedents and international conventions. The founding fathers of Great Britain were not keen to have a single source document that contained all the laws of the land, and this system has been passed over to the various governments up to the present date.
Government Structure
Despite the difference in the legal system, the three nations have a similar government structure comprising of three arms of government; namely the executive, the legislature and the judiciary. The executive is tasked in the day to day running of the government affairs. It implements government policies and is involved in the important aspects of governance such as trade, education, healthcare, infrastructure, security, defense and economic affairs. The legislature or parliament is involved in the formulation of laws and also plays the representative role as its members are directly voted for by the citizens at the elections. The judiciary is involved in the administration of justice through the court system. These three branches or arms of government play similar roles, but they are set up differently in the three nations as discussed hereafter. An important aspect to note in the government structure is the principle of separation of powers. This refers to the distinct allocation of roles and responsibilities accorded to each arm of government. In the US and Germany, the separation of powers is clearly distinct unlike in Britain where one individual could be a member of two or three arms of government at the same time. In Britain, for instance, a government minister must be a member of parliament. Lord Chancellor is, in fact, a member of all the three arms of government in Britain as he plays a role in the executive and Parliament and is also the head of the judiciary. In the US and Germany, such a thing cannot happen due to the separation of powers.
Leadership
A key difference in the three nations is in the top positions of leadership. In the US, the head of state and government is the President, elected in a presidential election every four years, for a maximum of two terms. The president of the US is elected in by the Electoral College (Miller, 2013). The citizens cast their votes in their respective states. Each state has its designated number of Electoral College votes, which are then added together and the candidate that meets the threshold of 270 college votes is declared President. There are several political parties in the US, but the Democratic and the Republic Parties have dominated the nation’s political scene over the decades. In the US, the President serves both as the head of state and head of government. He or she is deputized by the vice president, and together they nominate the members of the cabinet to be part of the executive. These individuals are vetted by the house of Congress before their official appointment as cabinet secretaries. They then head the various dockets in the nation. The cabinet meets regularly, and its decisions are passed on to the president for execution. The president is not required by law to attend or sit in cabinet meetings.
The scenario is different in Great Britain. The nation has a hybrid system consisting of both a monarchical and democratic system of governance. The head of state is the king or queen, a position held by members of the royal family and passed from one generation to the next (Norton, 2015). Currently, the position is held by Queen Elizabeth II. She is also the head of state for all for several other nations in the Commonwealth including Canada and Australia. The executive branch of government is headed by the Prime Minister and is usually selected by the king or queen. The monarch selects the leader of the party that holds the majority of seats in the House of Commons (Parliament, 2008). If no party holds a clear majority of seats in parliament, two parties can form a coalition government whereby their leader becomes the Prime Minister. He or she then goes ahead and selects the other ministers to head the cabinet dockets. These ministers are selected from parliament, and the cabinet is heavily reliant on the decisions made by parliament as the ministers also sit in the house. The prime minister regularly meets the cabinet at least once a week and chairs all cabinet meetings. The monarch holds all the executive authority but acts on the advice of the prime minister and the cabinet. There is no distinct restriction on the length of the term which an individual can serve as the prime minister.
In Germany, the head of state is the President while the government is headed by the Chancellor. Executive powers are vested in the Chancellor, and the president plays a largely ceremonial role. The president is selected by the Federal convention comprising of members of the national and state legislatures and serves for a maximum of two five-year terms. The Chancellor is elected by the members of the national legislature, known as the Bundestag, after the general election every four years (Paterson, 2013). The Chancellor must be elected by a majority of the house to ascend to power. The president enjoys the privilege of proposing the individual to be voted for by the Bundestag for the position of Chancellor.
Legislature
The legislature plays a crucial role in the governance of the three nations. In the US, the legislature commonly referred to as the Congress comprises of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The House of Representatives has 435 members elected by the citizens. The number of seats is proportionately distributed among the 50 states on the basis of size and population (Congress, 2014). There are 100 selected senators, two representing each state. The Congress wields immense power as it is charged with formulation and amendment of laws, approving government decisions, investigative roles, vetting presidential appointments and even declaring war. The speaker of the house is actually the third in the line of succession in the US. The legislature in Britain comprises of a bicameral house made up of the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The former comprises of members elected by the citizens in an election held every five years while the latter comprises of the Lords Spiritual, who are bishops of the Church of England, and the Lords Temporal, who are appointed on the prime minister’s advice. The parliament plays the important role of passing legislation and forming the government, based on the party with the highest number of elected representatives in the house (Horne and Le Sueur, 2016). Since ministers are also members of the House, the Parliament plays a critical role in the running of the executive. In Germany, the parliament is comprised of a federal legislature (Bundestag) as well as a body for regional states (Lander). The Bundestag plays the representative, legislative and oversight role and is critical in the decisions made by the executive.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the US, Great Britain, and Germany have their own distinct government structures that determine how the affairs of the three nations are run. However, the difference is mainly in the allocation of positions of authority. Despite these differences, there appears to be a common pattern of hierarchy, where the executive, the legislature and the judiciary each play their own roles. The different roles serve different important purposes to provide the desired output of a stable government.
References
Congress, U. S. (2014). House of Representatives. 2002. Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002: Public Law 107, 204.
Horne, A., & Le Sueur, A. (Eds.). (2016). Parliament: Legislation and Accountability. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Miller, N. R. (2013). A priori voting power and the US Electoral College. In Power, Voting, and Voting Power: 30 Years After (pp. 411-442). Springer Berlin Heidelberg.
Norton, P. (2015). The British Polity. Routledge.
Parliament, U. K. (2008). House of commons. Parliamentary Papers.
Paterson, W. E. (2013). The German Parliament.
