POLITICAL SCIENCE
UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE OF LEGAL STUDIES
TOPIC:-FORMS OF GOVERNMENT
SUBMITTED TO:- SUBMITTED BY:-
DR SARABJEET NAVNEET KAUR
KAUR CLASS:-BA.LLB
ROLL NO.86
SEMESTER-IV
SECTION:-B
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Acknowledgement
I deem it my proud privilege to express my indebtedness and
sincere thanks to all those who have in various ways, helped me in
the successful completion of the project and without their
invaluable help this project would not have been a reality.
I convey my sincere gratitude to my teacher DR SARABJIT KAUR
University Institute of Legal Studies, Panjab University
Chandigarh who has been chosen me for this project and also
provided me help with knowledge, inspiration and information.
It would not be possible for me to complete this project without
herencouragement, guidance, valuable suggestions and
affectionate help. I owe my regards to the entire faculty of UILS,
Panjab University Chandigarh for providing me with all the
facilities required for making this project and guiding for making
this project successful.
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TABLE OF CONTENT
S.NO TITLE PAGE NO.
1. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 2
2. PRESIDENTIAL AND 4-9
PARLIAMENTARY FORM
OF GOVERNMENT
• FEATURES
• MERITS
• DEMERITS
3. UNITARY AND FEDERAL 10-15
FORM OF GOVERNMENT
• FEATURES
• ADVANTAGES
• DISADVANTAGES
4. CONCLUSION 16
5. BIBLIOGRAPHY 17
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Presidential and Parliamentary Form of Government
Presidential System of Government
In a presidential system, the head of the government leads an
executive, that is distinct from the legislature. Here, the head
of the government and the head of the state are one and the
same. Also, a key feature is that the executive is not
responsible to the legislature.
Features of the Presidential System
1. The executive (President) can veto acts by the legislature.
2. The President has a fixed tenure and cannot be removed
by a vote of no-confidence in the legislature.
3. Generally, the President has the power to pardon or
commute judicial sentences awarded to criminals.
4. The President is elected directly by the people or by an
electoral college.
Merits of Presidential System
The advantages of the presidential system are given below:
• Separation of powers: Efficiency of administration is
greatly enhanced since the three arms of the government
are independent of each other.
• Expert government: Since the executive need not be
legislators, the President can choose experts in various
fields to head relevant departments or ministries. This
will make sure that people who are capable and
knowledgeable form part of the government.
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• Stability: This type of government is stable. Since the
term of the president is fixed and not subject to majority
support in the legislative, he need not worry about losing
the government. There is no danger of a sudden fall of
the government. There is no political pressure on the
president to make decisions.
• Less influence of the party system: Political parties do
not attempt to dislodge the government since the tenure
is fixed.
Demerits of Presidential System
The disadvantages of the presidential system are given below:
• Less responsible executive: Since the legislature has no
hold over the executive and the president, the head of the
government can turn authoritarian.
• Deadlocks between executive and legislature: Since there
is a more strict separation of powers here, there can be
frequent tussles between both arms of the government,
especially if the legislature is not dominated by the
president’s political party. This can lead to an erosion in
efficiency because of wastage of time.
• Rigid government: Presidential systems are often
accused of being rigid. It lacks flexibility.
• Spoils system: The system gives the president sweeping
powers of patronage. Here, he can choose executives as
per his will. This gives rise to the spoils system where
people close to the president (relatives, business
associates, etc.) get roles in the government.
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Parliamentary System of Government
India chose a parliamentary form of government primarily
because the constitution-makers were greatly influenced by
the system in England.
There are more parliamentary forms of government in the
world than there are presidencies. In this system, the
parliament is generally supreme and the executive is
responsible to the legislature. It is also known as the Cabinet
form of government, and also ‘Responsible Government’.
Features of the parliamentary system
1. Close relationship between the legislature and the
executive: Here, the Prime Minister along with the
Council of Ministers form the executive and the
Parliament is the legislature. The PM and the ministers
are elected from the members of parliament, implying
that the executive emerges out of the legislature.
2. Executive responsible to the legislature: The executive is
responsible to the legislature. There is a collective
responsibility, that is, each minister’s responsibility is
the responsibility of the whole Council.
3. Dual executive: There are two executives – the real
executive and the titular executive. The nominal
executive is the head of state (president or monarch)
while the real executive is the Prime Minister, who is the
head of government.
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4. Secrecy of procedure: A prerequisite of this form of
government is that cabinet proceedings are secret and
not meant to be divulged to the public.
5. Leadership of the Prime Minister: The leader of this form
of government is the Prime Minister. Generally, the
leader of the party that wins a majority in the lower
house is appointed as the PM.
6. Bicameral Legislature: Most parliamentary democracies
follow bicameral legislature.
7. No fixed tenure: The term of the government depends on
its majority support in the lower house. If the
government does not win a vote of no confidence, the
council of ministers has to resign. Elections will be held
and a new government is formed.
Merits of Parliamentary System
The advantages of the parliamentary system are as follows:
• Better coordination between the executive and the
legislature: Since the executive is a part of the legislature,
and generally the majority of the legislature support the
government, it is easier to pass laws and implement
them.
• Prevents authoritarianism: Since the executive is
responsible to the legislature, and can vote it out in a
motion of no confidence, there is no authoritarianism.
Also, unlike the presidential system, power is not
concentrated in one hand.
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• Responsible government: The members of the legislature
can ask questions and discuss matters of public interest
and put pressure on the government. The parliament can
check the activities of the executive.
• Representing diverse groups: In this system, the
parliament offers representation to diverse groups of the
country. This is especially important for a country like
India.
• Flexibility: There is flexibility in the system as the PM can
be changed easily if needed. During the Second World
War, the British PM Neville Chamberlain was replaced by
Winston Churchill. This is unlike the presidential system
where he/she can be replaced only after the entire term or
in case of impeachment/incapacity.
Demerits of Parliamentary System
The disadvantages of the parliamentary system are as follows:
• No separation of powers: Since there is no genuine
separation of powers, the legislature cannot always hold
the executive responsible. This is especially true if the
government has a good majority in the house. Also,
because of anti-defection rules, legislators cannot
exercise their free will and vote as per their
understanding and opinions. They have to follow the
party whip.
• Unqualified legislators: The system creates legislators
whose intention is to enter the executive only. They are
largely unqualified to legislate.
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• Instability: Since the governments sustain only as long as
they can prove a majority in the house, there is instability
if there is no single-largest party after the elections.
Coalition governments are generally quite unstable and
short-lived. Because of this, the executive has to focus on
how to stay in power rather than worry about the state of
affairs/welfare of the people.
• Ministers: The executive should belong to the ruling
party. This rules out the hiring of industry experts for the
job.
• Failure to take a prompt decision: Since there is no fixed
tenure enjoyed by the Council of Ministers, it often
hesitates from taking bold and long-term policy
decisions.
• Party politics: Party politics is more evident in the
parliamentary system where partisan interests drive
politicians more than national interests.
• Control by the bureaucracy: Civil servants exercise a lot
of power.
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UNITARY AND FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
UNITARY GOVERNMENT
Unitary government is a kind of government system in which a
single power, which is known as the central government, controls
the whole government. In fact, all powers and administrative
divisions authorities lies at the central place. Today most of the
government systems in the world are based on unitary system of
government. It is slightly different from federal model of
government. In unitary government, central government has the
power to increase or curtail the power of subnational units. It can
create and abolished the same. UK, Afghanistan, Italy, China, Saudi
Arabia, Spain, etc., are the important examples of unitary
government. The unitary government system is based on the
concept of consistency, unity, and identity that’s why the
centralization of power and authority system remains at the top
priority. The decision-making power rests with the central
government that are shared by the government with the lower level
government when needed. There are not so many options for
change and new innovation as the people have a very limited voice
in this government system
Features of the unitary government
1. Concentration of Powers: A unitary government is one in which
all the powers of administration are vested in a single centre. The
centre is omnipotent. A unitary state may be divided into small
units for the sake of administrative convenience but the units do not
have any constitutional status of their own. In other words, the
constitution does not confer any powers on the units. It is the
central government which dele gates certain powers to the units on
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its own accord. The units are, therefore, subordinate agents of
centre. The powers enjoyed by them are the gifts of the centre and
as such these can be taken back at any moment. The units are thus
not autonomous and independent in any way.
2. Single Government: In a unitary government, there is a
single set of governmental apparatus. There is a single supreme
legislature, single executive body and one supreme judiciary.
England, for example, is a unitary state. She has one parliament as
her legislature, the King-in-Council as the executive and the judicial
committee of the House of Lords as her supreme judiciary.
3. Written or unwritten Constitution: A unitary government
may or may not have a writ ten constitution. As for example,
England and France are unitary states. France has a written
constitution but England has none
4. Rigid or Flexible Constitution: Unlike a federation, a
unitary state may or may not have a rigid constitution, e.g., the
constitution of England is flexible but that of France is slightly rigid.
5. No Special Judiciary: There is no need of having a special
judiciary with wide powers of judicial veto in a unitary government.
Even the highest court of U.K., for example, cannot sit in judgment
over the law passed by Parliament.
Advantages of Unitary System
The main advantages of the unitary structure of government are:
1. For countries that are smaller in size, a unitary structure is the
most suitable.
2. It is less expensive as there is no extensive authority to be funded.
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3. Unitary structure is quick in decision-making as all the decisions
are made by a single authority.
4. There is no chance of conflicts as all the power is vested with the
centre.
Disadvantages of Unitary System
A unitary system of government is a good system for small nations.
Yet, it still has disadvantages too. And, these are:
1. The unitary system is not suitable for geographically large
countries. Because in unitary system full power is only in the hands
of centre and they may probably not have access to rural areas.
2. Central government may not have any knowledge about the
problems and needs of the people living in rural areas.
3. There is a lack of efficiency as the central government is usually
burdened with lots of responsibilities and functions.
4. Under the unitary form of government, the country may face
unequal development and growth. The central government can find
it extremely tough to develop every part of the nation at the same
time without delegation of authority and powers.
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
Federal government is a type of national government in which
government have powers to delegates the power to other elected
member of the states. There can be two level of federal government
in a country either it is performing through common institutions or
through powers as prescribed by a constitution of the state. It is
totally opposite to the unitary government. In federation or federal
government, provinces or territories enjoys some rights as are
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available to the independent states. However international
diplomacy, national security, foreign affairs and other kinds of
international dealings are solely made by the federal government.
Pakistan, India, Brazil, Switzerland, Australia, Belgium, Canada,
etc., are the significant examples of federal government. Mostly the
federal government system is referred to the United States
government. This government is based on the republicanism and
federalism. In the federal system, power is jointly shared between
the state and federal governments. In the federal government
system, the powers never rest with one national government.
However, there can be certain powers and authorities that remain
totally with the federal government like policies on defence, budget,
international diplomacy, etc. The hierarchy of power in federal
government system starts from the federal level and then flows to
the state and then local level.
Features of Federal government
1. Division of Powers: In a federal government the powers of
administration are divided between the centre and the units. The
powers may be distributed in two different ways. Either the
constitution states what powers the federal authority shall have, and
leaves the remainder to the federating units, or it states what powers
the federating units shall possess and leaves the remainder to the
federal authority.
2. Separate Government:-In a federal form of government both
the centre and the units have their separate set of governmental
apparatus. America is a federation of states. States have therefore
separate legislatures and Separate executives.
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3. Written Constitution:-A federal government must have a
written constitution. As a federation is a political partnership of
various states and consequently there must be a written agreement
in the form of a written constitution
4. Rigid Constitution:- The constitution of a federation should
be more or less rigid. It is regarded as a sacred agreement, the spirit
of which should not be easily violated. A flexible constitution allows
a scope to the central government to curtail the autonomy of the
federating states.
Advantages of the federal structure of
government are:
1. Centralisation of powers leads to dictatorship. The federal system
safeguards the separation of powers and thus prevents tyranny or
dictatorship.
2. As power is divided between the union and the state, this
structure is efficient in terms of governance and administration.
3. The state or provinces enjoy some separate rights.
4. The division of powers between the central and state government
brings excellent utilisation of resources. The central government can
focus more on international affairs and the country’s defence, while
the state government can deal with the regional needs.
Disadvantages of Federal System
Along with the advantages of the federal system, there are also some
disadvantages. These are:
1. This system of government is costly because there are many
people elected at the office, both in the centre and the state.
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2. Too many elected representatives with overlapping roles may lead
to corruption.
3. It enables regional inequalities as the natural resources,
employment opportunities, etc., are different in every region or
state.
4. The decision-making becomes more difficult sometimes.
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Conclusion
Understanding the meaning of government is essential for engaging
intelligently in contemporary discussions about politics and society.
From its definitions and varied forms to the nuances in translations
and various cultural interpretations, the concept of government is
multi-dimensional. Knowledge of government equips citizens to
exercise their rights, participate in civic life, and contribute to the
democratic process, fostering a society that is informed, engaged,
and accountable. By exploring the complexity of government,
students can better appreciate the role it plays in shaping their lives
and the world around them.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS
• Principles of Political Science By A.C. Kapur
• M.G.Roskin,eds, Political Science: An
Introduction
• S.D.Tansey, Politics: The Basics
WEBSITES
• www.wikipedia.com
• www.drishtiias.com
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