PRE - NCE NOTE ON POL 021 PRINCIPLES OF POLITICAL SCIENCE

POL 021 PRINCIPLES OF POLITICAL SCIENCE (3CREDITS) C

The following principles of Political Science are examined: Citizenship, Fundamental Human Rights, Rule of Law; Representative Government, Delegated Legislation, Political Parties and Pressure Groups, Elections and Electoral Processes, Public opinion.

POL 021 Principles of Political Science (3 Credit Load)

Course outline /Course content

1.      Citizenship ii. Fundamental human Rights iii. Rule of Law iv. Representatives Government

2.      v. Delegated Legislation, vi. Political Parties   vii. Pressure Groups   viii. Electoral Processes 

ix. Public Opinion

Citizen, in its most general sense, is an individual member of a given political society or state; by extension, one who owes allegiance to and may lawfully demand protection from the government of that state.

In Nigeria the word citizen is used in its broadest sense. The same person may be, and usually is, a citizen of Nigeria and of the nation in which the person resides. Not all Nigerian’s citizens are citizens of a state, however; an inhabitant of a particular area in the country is a citizen of Nigeria In regard to citizenship in the federal government and in the state of residence, the citizen owes first and highest allegiance to the federal government. As a citizen it is expected that the government should take adequate care of the person in terms of education and basic amenities to be provided and enjoyed by the citizen. Citizenship education is about enabling people to make their own decisions and to take responsibility for their own lives and communities. Citizenship education is very important for preparing young people to understand their democratic life and human rights for the challenges and opportunities of a changing world. It is essential for schools and colleges to teach citizenship and they are expected to demonstrate citizenship through the way they operate. One can acquire double citizenship for instance being a citizen of United States and at the same time a citizen of Nigeria either by birth or naturalization. Dual citizenship is allowed in some part of the world like United Kingdom and Nigeria

 The essence of teaching Citizenship education is to build character and develop skills such as communication, initiative, interacting appropriately and team working. Democracies need active, informed and responsible citizens; citizens that are willing and able to take responsibility for themselves and their communities and contribute to the political process.

Fundamental Human Rights in Nigeria

In the 1999 Nigeria constitution, some of the rights generally recognized as fundamental are:

Right to life; Right to marry;

Right to procreate;

Right to raise children free from unnecessary governmental interference;

Right to freedom of association; of expression;

Right to equality of treatment before the law (fair legal procedures);

Right to freedom of thought;

Right to religious belief;

Right to choose when and where to acquire formal education;

Right to pursue happiness;

Right to vote;

Right to Freedom of contract;

Right to privacy;

Right to interstate travel

Rule of Law

The rule of law means three things according to A. V. Dicey’s analysis:

·         supremacy or predominance of regular law as opposed to the influence of arbitrary power;

·         equality of every man to the ordinary law (no man is above  the ordinary law);

·         fundamental human right / liberty (the general principle of the constitutions). This is to say that the principles of rule of law entails that governance should be based on supremacy of law, and that everyone is equal before the law (equality before the law) and then citizens liberty must be respected (respect for citizens liberty).

Limitations and Problems Associated with the Rule of Law

1. the partiality of judges in dispensing or passing judgment
2. the case of establishing administrative tribunals which violates the independence of the judges and the workings of separation of power which is very important for the rule of law
3. politicization of the judiciary
4. delegated legislation
5. Military rule
6. Lack of separation of powers
7. Illiteracy
8. Immunity clause
9. Declaration of state of emergency
10. Tyranny or Dictatorship of leaders
11. Corruption  praezctices of our leaders

Advantages of Rule of Law

1. Equality fairness and justice are being promoted
2. There is the independence of the judiciary thereby being promoted
3. People are secured since democracy and good governance are promoted
4. Leaders are prevented from being autocratic to the governed
5. Citizens feels free as their liberty is being assured
6. It promotes transparency and accountability in governance
7. It promotes true democracy and good governance

Factors that promotes Rule of Law

1.      Democracy

2.      Independence of the judiciary

3.      Human rights

4.      Freedom of the Press

5.      Welfare of judges, civil servants and the populace

6.      Separation of Power

Representative Government is an electoral system whereby citizens vote to elected people to represent their interests and concerns. Those elected meet to debate and make laws on behalf of the whole community or society

Delegated legislation is a process by which the legislature delegates its responsibility to a non legislative organ. Delegated Legislation: The primary aim of enacting law belongs to the legislature. Due to certain reasons the non legislative bodies are allowed by law to make legislation. The legislation or law made by body that is not responsible for enacting law is known as delegated legislation.

Reasons for Delegated Legislation

1.      Emergency  response or quick solution: delegated legislation gives room for quick response to emergency situation

2.      Technical knowledge: the complexity or technical nature of some policies requires expertise or professionals in the affected areas legislation in such matters are delegated to those who have expert knowledge.

3.      Administrative Convenience: delegated legislation sometimes does not require only expert but those on ground can make or promulgate laws that can suit them for their own convenience.

4.      Volume of workload: law makers are faced by lots of work to be done but through delegated legislation the heavy burden of work are reduced thereby making the work easy for them.

5.      Inadequate time or time management: most of the time law makers does not have time to go through all kinds of law, making the delegated legislation help in assisting them doing some of their work.

Advantages of Delegated Legislation

1.      Flexibility of Policy: it helps for easy policy making and reduces the emergency situation accompanied by promulgation of law.

2.      Time saving: delegated legislation saves time for those concerned and channeled their time for other things.

3.      Expert knowledge: experts are given the opportunity in doing what they know best.

4.      Administrative Convenience: delegated legislation promotes smooth administration.

5.      Reduction of Workload: it help to ease the bulk of work awaiting the decision makers or law makers.  

Political Parties

A political party is an organized group of people who exercise their legal right to identify with a set of similar political aims and opinions, and one that seeks to influence public policy by getting its candidates elected to public office. Even though the presentation of candidates and the electoral campaign are the functions that are most visible to the electorate, political parties fulfill many other vital roles in a democratic society. They are also institutionalized mediators between civil society and the duly-elected representatives who decide and implement policy, for example, political party-affiliated legislators who meet with civil society representatives to solicit individual (or organizational) opinion in the public policy formulation process. By this, they enable their members’ and supporters’ demands to be represented in parliament and in government.

Key tasks of Political Parties include the following:

1.      Solicit and prioritize  needs and policy priorities  as identified by members and supporters

2.      Familiarize  and educate voters and citizens in the functioning of the political and electoral system and in generating general political values

3.      Educate and train party members and leadership on an ongoing basis

4.      Balance opposing demands and convert them into general policies

5.      Activate and mobilize citizens toward political participation while demonstrating how they can transform public opinion into  viable policy options

6.      Channel public opinion from citizens to government

7.      Recruit and train candidates for public office

The guiding Principles of Parties and Candidates

The following principles guide legislation and practices regarding political parties and candidates. The first three derive directly from basic civil and political rights, while the other seven relate to what is needed in practice for a political system to function democratically.

Freedom of organization

In this context, the freedom of organisation refers to the freedom to form and join political parties and other political organisations. It also refers to the legal rights of such parties and organisations to, for example, have their name and logo protected, to be legally registered and recognized by the government,  and be treated fairly regardless of political conviction, ethnicity, language,  religion or gender of its members.

Freedom to stand for election

The freedom to stand for election refers to an individual’s ability to stand for election and to be duly elected to office. This may be either as an independent candidate or as a candidate of a political party or other organisation. Principles to take into consideration when restricting individuals’ freedom to stand for election include non-discrimination, relevance, reason, and objectivity. It is critical to ensure that the restrictions on and process of nomination are clearly stated in the electoral law.

Freedom of speech and assembly

Freedom of speech and assembly refers to the right of citizens to express their opinions freely, individually or with others. It also refers to the ability for  political parties and candidates to hold meetings and rallies and to freely and openly conduct public  election campaigns. If restrictions are imposed, they tend to address issues of protection from, for example, hate speech or incitement of hatred and violence.

Fair and peaceful competition

For the electoral competition to be fair and peaceful, political parties, candidates, and other electoral actors need to agree on the rules of the game. Such rules may include refraining from practices of hate speech, electoral violence, and defamation. This agreement can be informal, through a voluntary Code of Conduct, and/or supported through a legal framework with enforceable sanctions and is usually contained with the Electoral Code

Plurality

In order for voters to have a real and meaningful choice on election day, the political and legal system of a given country usually considers establishing and maintaining a multi-party electoral system.    This system usually includes provision for  independent candidates to stand for election – in order for voters to have a choice among several political parties and/or independent candidates.

Inclusion in the electoral process

In all aspects of an election – changes to electoral laws, election administration, codes of conduct, etc – countries need to decide what kind of involvement they want from political parties, candidates, voters, and other key stakeholders. The involvement can take different forms ranging from being informed to being consulted, part of decision-making, or free to observe voting, vote counting, and collation of results. In some countries, this may include active participation of political parties in the election cycle prior to Election Day when the Central Election Commission (CEC) or other electoral governing body is deliberating and determining the content and character of the electoral code.

 Level playing field

Political, cultural, legal, and financial realities might lead to a situation where some political parties or candidates have (or are perceived to have) an unfair advantage over others. Equal access to media legislation can help to ensure that all candidates (and their respective parties) receive air time and press access.  . Additional measures such as party registration, freedom of assembly, ability to promote party platform in the media, and  quotas to enhance the participation of under-represented groups may also be applied.

Media access and reporting

The media are a key channel for voters, political parties, candidates, and other stakeholders to receive information related to an election. Legal frameworks should protect media  freedom to report and scrutinize the workings of political parties and other actors in the electoral process, and should also address ways to ensure that parties and candidates receive an equitable access to and coverage in publicly owned media.

Transparent and accountable political finance

Money is a key element in modern political campaigning, and legal frameworks and administrative practices often regulate party and campaign finance. Regulations may cover possible access to public funds, restrictions on (mis-)use of public resources (by the incumbent party or candidate), provisions for the finances of political parties and candidates to be transparent, or prohibitions on certain sources of funds.

Internal party democracy

If a political party would like the democratic principles of electoral politics to be applied within the party, it may consider practices like internal information and consultation processes, internal (formal or informal) rules and structures for the organisation and decision-making within the party, and transparency in its functioning at all levels. Party members may also take on more formal roles in the decision-making like participating in internal elections for leadership positions or in selecting the party’s candidate(s) for the upcoming elections. Many parties also work actively to enhance the role of traditionally under-represented groups in their parties. Interpretations of these principles may differ. For example, “equitable treatment” in publicly owned media may for some mean an equal allocation of broadcasting time to all parties and candidates, while others would say that it would be more fair to give new parties more media time on the grounds that they need more time to convey their message to the public than established parties. Other still would say that the party that received the most votes in the last election has earned the right to a bigger share of the broadcast time because it has proven that it represents the views of the largest share of the electorate.

Contradictions between different principles also occur. Take for example societies with a history of severe inter-communal violence, where laws are sometimes passed to discourage or even prohibit political parties that are based on ethnicity or religion. It may be very difficult to draw the line between safeguarding the principle of “fair and peaceful competition” and violating the principles of “freedom of organisation” and “freedom to stand for election”.

Political and governmental arrangements

The political system of a country shapes its political parties. The balance of power between the legislature and the executive affects party functioning in government and opposition, with strong governmental powers diminishing the role of opposition parties between elections.

Presidential systems add another dimension to party politics, both by putting focus more on personalities than party structures and by promoting alliances between parties about which presidential candidate to support. Another important factor is the relative centralization or decentralization of the country. Federal systems tend to produce political parties with more regional ties while parties in unitary countries tend to be focused on the national level.

Population

Socioeconomic and other inequalities societies tend to be reflected in the political parties. The existence of ethnic, religious, or other minorities often affects parties and party systems, especially if they are geographically dispersed.  This is evident in the ethnically-affiliated party electoral outcomes witnessed in post-conflict transitional countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan since 2005, and as recently witnessed in the division along ethnic lines among the voting population in the Arab Spring countries among others.

Violent conflict

New and restored democracies often have a history of violent conflict that affects political parties. Some may be transformed from military groups while others are new or emerge from civil society organizations. The existence or threat of violence in society influences both political parties and individual politicians, who often engage in the political process including standing for election and serving in government despite high personal risks.

 Pressure Groups: Non-profit and usually voluntary organization whose members have a common cause for which they seek to influence political or corporate decision makers to achieve a declared objective. Whereas interest groups try to defend a cause (maintain the status quo), the pressure groups try to promote it (change the status quo).

Furthermore, they are group of people that have common objectives that seek their realization through influencing government policy. This group represents the interest of their group through pressurizing the government to achieve their aim.

Your last note is on two topics

1.      Elections and Electoral Processes,

2.      Public Opinion