Asymmetric bicameralism. Bicameralism 2022-10-09

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Asymmetric bicameralism is a form of government in which two legislative chambers or houses have different powers, responsibilities, or compositions. This system is often used in federal systems, where one house represents the states or regions, and the other represents the population as a whole.

One example of asymmetric bicameralism can be found in the United States, where the Senate and the House of Representatives have different powers and responsibilities. The Senate is made up of two senators from each state, regardless of population, while the House of Representatives is based on population, with each state receiving a certain number of representatives based on its population. The Senate is considered to be the more powerful of the two houses, as it has the power to approve or reject nominations for federal judges and executive branch officials, and it must approve any legislation before it becomes law.

Another example of asymmetric bicameralism can be found in the Australian federal system, where the Senate and the House of Representatives also have different powers and responsibilities. The Senate represents the states and territories, while the House of Representatives represents the population as a whole. The Senate has the power to block or amend legislation, while the House of Representatives has the power to initiate legislation.

Asymmetric bicameralism can also be found in other countries, such as Canada, India, and Germany. In each of these countries, the two houses have different powers and responsibilities, and often represent different interests within the country.

There are both advantages and disadvantages to asymmetric bicameralism. One advantage is that it allows for a more diverse representation of interests within the government, as each house represents different groups or regions. This can help to prevent the domination of one group or region over others. It also allows for a system of checks and balances, as one house can block or amend legislation proposed by the other.

However, asymmetric bicameralism can also lead to delays and stalemates in the legislative process, as each house must agree on legislation before it can become law. It can also be more difficult for the general public to understand the different powers and responsibilities of each house, which can lead to confusion and frustration.

Overall, asymmetric bicameralism is a form of government that allows for a diverse representation of interests and a system of checks and balances, but it can also lead to delays and confusion in the legislative process.

ID List Week 5

asymmetric bicameralism

Retrieved 25 October 2015. If the second chamber is very similar to the first chamber, it may prove ineffective, and if it is very dissimilar, the possibility of conflict between the houses will make cooperation difficult. It shows that the Brazilian Senate is a partisan Chamber. Federal Systems of the World: A Handbook of Federal, Confederal and Autonomy Arrangements. The effective number of parties can be used to classify democracies as having two-party or multiparty systems. The concept of institutional change is encompassing, rendering it difficult to find measures to compare different contexts. Partisan cohesion characterizes the parliamentary behavior of the Brazilian Senate.

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Bicameral Parliamentary Systems

asymmetric bicameralism

It is worth noting that all cases in which bicameralism is associated with high rates of constitutional amendments are also federal. Office seekers will want to secure as many ministerial portfolios as possible -intertwines with Gamson's law because PM has to give portfolios proportional to legislative majority. How do the Brazilian senators behave, then, in partisan terms? The same occurs with the annual State Budget Bill. With the replacement of the Monarchy by the Republic in 1910, the Parliament continued to be bicameral with a Chamber of Deputies and a Senate existing until 1926. The Senate is described more often than not as the legislative body where subnational elites are entitled to protect constituent unit rights and block changes that may impinge upon subnational rights. EX: The Senate Symmetric bicameralism is when the two legislative chambers have equal or near equal constitutional power.

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Bicameralism in the Americas: around the extremes of symmetry and incongruence: The Journal of Legislative Studies: Vol 9, No 3

asymmetric bicameralism

I measure the voting cohesion of same-state Senators affiliated with national parties from January 1989 to December 2009. Lane, Jan-Erik, and Svante Ersson. The Spanish Senate, as outlined in the Constitution of 1978, conforms to a dual definition. A second Chamber, based on territorial considerations, was created upon the founding of the U. Lijphart, Patterns of Democracy, pp. In this case, it is not the states that are represented by the Senate. But others emphasized parallels to methods of handing indigenous issues in Canada, New Zealand and Mexico, suggesting the Chilean justice system would retain supremacy.

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Bicameralism

asymmetric bicameralism

It's a candidate-centered preferential voting system used in single-member districts where voters rank order the candidates in order of preference on the ballot, and votes given to a losing candidate are redistributed. According to the Parliamentary Union, the proportion of bicameral systems is around one-third of all legislative systems throughout the world 63 of 178 legislatures have two chambers. There are factors that facilitate constitutional change, even under symmetrical bicameralism, and the following analysis of the Brazilian case aims to explore these factors. In some cases, the senate not only participates in the appointment of executive officers, but also in the approval of authorisations. This group illustrates curious results, as five cases exhibit high constitutional stability that is to say, a rate of approximately zero and two cases show elevated rates of change above five amendments approved per year. What Is a Bicameral System? Sometimes, the upper house can veto certain types of legislation. Senator, you must be at least 30 years old, a U.

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Chile’s Proposed Constitution: 7 Key Points

asymmetric bicameralism

As shall be explained later, we do not agree with the author's classification of Uruguay and Paraguay as congruent legislatures. There are no cases in which the lower house has the ultimate decision, but cases where the ultimate decision relies on the chamber where the bill was introduced Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Dominican Republic and Mexico. However, the third chamber consisted of the union of the other two and deliberated as a single body, which makes some scholars classify it as only a bicameral system. Within the legislative body, bicameralism has historically functioned to balance the power of different social classes or groups within a society. Indeed, for a sample of 51 countries, Neiva 2006 convincingly demonstrates that the existence of a second Chamber based on territorial considerations does not necessarily mean that this legislative Chamber has real power. However it was also an example of how cabinet instability in parliamentary democracies does not imply ministerial instability because there was significant continuity of parties that composed the cabinet.

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POLS CHP 13 Flashcards

asymmetric bicameralism

The data at the heart of this paper's analysis were borrowed from Lutz 1994 2. This study develops a system of scores with which to measure the strength of the bicameral systems of the Americas. The group whose Senate is characterized by a Senate with veto powers is too small, including only two countries Venezuela and Argentina. In Federalism and democracy in Latin America, ed. In the cases in which this information was not available for the period examined, additional consultations with historical sources were necessary. Historical institutionalism in comparative analysis, Sven Steinmo, Kathleen Thelen and Frank Longstreth.

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Asymmetric federalism

asymmetric bicameralism

The Senate primarily acts as a chamber of revision: it almost never rejects bills passed by the Commons but does regularly amend them; such amendments respect each bill's purpose, so they are usually acceptable to the Commons. Carrillo Flórez and A. However, it makes it more difficult to establish a general rule for comparing roll-call votes. Some legislatures lie in between these two positions, with one house able to overrule the other only under certain circumstances. Within the aforementioned scheme, bicameral systems are thus categorized into three types: i the Senate possesses powers that are equal to those of the Lower House or wields exclusive powers to propose constitutional amendments strong Senate ; ii the Senate is authorized to propose constitutional amendments, but a joint session with the Lower House is required to approve amendments Senate with veto power ; and iii cases in which the Lower House is decisive in initiating and approving constitutional amendments weak Senate.

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Comparative politics ID terms Flashcards

asymmetric bicameralism

Bicameral Parliamentary Systems Parliaments can be organized in a number of ways, although two forms dominate modern democratic designs. The British Parliament, a bicameral system, has been the model for most parliamentary systems around the world. The votes of some citizens weigh more than the votes of others because some states are overrepresented since their population was too small in comparison to other states. Legislative Studies Quarterly XXIX 2 : 259-85. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Tsebelis and Money, Bicameralism, pp.


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