LESSON NOTE: POL 212 COMPARATIVE POLITICS FOR YR 2 (2022) POL SC FCEE

 

POL 212 COMPARATIVE POLITICS

Comparative politics is a field in political science, characterized by an empirical approach based on the comparative method. In other words, comparative politics is the study of the domestic politics, political institutions, and conflicts of countries. It often involves comparisons among countries and through time within single countries, emphasizing key patterns of similarity and difference. Arend Lijphart argues that comparative politics does not have a substantive focus in itself, but rather a methodological one: it focuses on “the how? but does not specify the what? of the analysis.” In other words, comparative politics is not defined by the object of its study, but rather by the method it applies to study political phenomena.

 Peter Mair and Richard Rose advance a slightly different definition, arguing that comparative politics is defined by a combination of a substantive focus on the study of countries' political systems and a method of identifying and explaining similarities and differences between these countries using common concepts.  Rose states that, on his definition: "The focus is explicitly or implicitly upon more than one country, thus following familiar political science usage in excluding within-nation comparison. Methodologically, comparison is distinguished by its use of concepts that are applicable in more than one country.

When applied to specific fields of study, comparative politics may be referred to by other names, such as for example comparative government (the comparative study of forms of government) or comparative foreign policy (comparing the foreign policies of different States in order to establish general empirical connections between the characteristics of the State and the characteristics of its foreign policy).

Comparative politics studies diverse political systems and organizations and the various components that comprise and inform the formulation of governments. Comparative politics also takes a closer look at how political groups outside formal government systems influence or have an effect on formal government policies and actions.

Greek thinker Aristotle (circa 384 BCE to circa 322 BCE, is often cited as the father of comparative politics and political science. Aristotle compared the different political organizations he encountered in Athens, as well as those operating in other Greek city-states. In his analysis of these systems, he sought to discover what was good in a government and what was bad in a government so that what was learned could be used to improve the political process.

Sometimes, especially in the United States, the term "comparative politics" is used to refer to "the politics of foreign countries." This usage of the term, however, is often considered incorrect. "Comparative political science" as a general term for an area of study, as opposed to a methodology of study, can be seen as redundant. The political only shows as political when either an overt or tacit comparison is being made. The highest award in the discipline of Comparative Politics is the Karl Deutsch award, awarded by the International Political Science Association. So far, it has been given to Juan Linz (2003), Charles Tilly (2006), Giovanni Sartori (2009),  Alfred Stepan (2012) and Pippa Noris (2014).

  

CHINESE POLITICAL SYSTEM

The Chinese Communist Party is almost schizophrenic in its economic policies. China still maintains a communist society but, on the other hand, its economy is more capitalist than most European countries. Chinese country is the largest in the world by population and it is a nation of growing economic and political importance in global affairs, it is a political system rivaled in its opacity by the government of North Korea. Ever since the end of the civil war in 1949, the Communist Party of China (CPC) has ruled the country. The Party is over 89-million membership which makes it the biggest political party in the world.

 THE CONSTITUTION

The Constitution of the People's Republic of China is amendable document. The first Constitution was adopted in 1954. After the two intervening versions, the constitution enacted in 1975 and 1978, the current Constitution was declared in 1982. There were significant differences between each of these versions, and the 1982 Constitution has subsequently been amended not less than four times (1988, 1993, 1999, and 2004). Furthermore, changing Constitutional conventions have led to significant changes in the structure of Chinese government in the absence of changes in the actual text of the Constitution.

They have no special organization tasked with the enforcement of the Chinese Constitution. , More so, under the legal system of the People's Republic of China (PRC), courts lack the general power of judicial review and cannot invalidate a statute on the grounds that it violates the Constitution.

 THE POLITBURO

These are the main group of people in a communist government who make decisions about policy. Most significant decision affecting China is first discussed and approved by a handful of men who sit on the party's Political Bureau or Politburo which is the nexus of all power in this nation of 1.3 billion. 25-member Politburo is elected by the party's Central Committee. New Politburo members are chosen only after rigorous discussion and investigation of their backgrounds, experience and views. To reach the top, people need a strong record of achievement working for the party, to have the right patrons, to have dodged controversy, and to have avoided making powerful enemies.

 China's most senior decision-making body is the seven-member Standing Committee of the Politburo which works as a kind of inner cabinet and groups together with the country's most influential leaders. The current members are Xi Jinping (the President), Han Zheng, Wang Huning, Li Zhanshu, Li Keqiang (the Prime Minister), Wang Yang, and Zhao Liji. Members are elected to serve for a term of five years. How the Standing Committee operates is secret and unclear, but its meetings are thought to be regular and frequent, often characterized by blunt speaking and disagreement. Although policy disagreements and factional fighting are widely believed to take place in private, it is extremely rare for these to break into the public domain.

Members of the Standing Committee also share out the posts of party General Secretary, premier, chairman of the National People's Congress, and head of the Discipline Inspection Commission. The Politburo controls three other important bodies and ensures the party line is upheld through these bodies. These are:

Ø     the National People's Congress or parliament

Ø     the State Council, the government's administrative arm

Ø     the Military Affairs Commission which controls the armed forces

 The President of China is the head of state. He is currently Xi Jinping who was appointed at the end of 2012 in the expectation that he would serve for 10 years. The president is widely regarded as having acquired more power and as behaving in a more paranoid fashion than any other leader since Mao Zedong, having abandoned the Communist Party's once hallowed tradition of 'collective leadership' in favour of strongman rule by himself. While he is genuinely opposed to corruption among party officials, he has used his anti-corruption campaign to remove rivals and consolidate power.

 THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE

The Central Committee is elected once every five years by the National Congress of the Communist Party of China although in fact almost all of these people are approved in advance. This Central Committee has 205 full members and 171 lower-ranking or "alternate" members". It meets every couple of months. The Central Committee is, formally, the "party's highest organ of authority" when the National People's Congress is not in session. According to the Party Constitution, it is vested with the power to elect the General Secretary and the members of the Politburo, its Standing Committee, and the Military Affairs Commission, and to endorse the composition of the Discipline Inspection Commission. It also oversees work of various powerful national organs of the party.

 THE NATIONAL PEOPLE'S CONGRESS

Under China's 1982 constitution, the most powerful organ of state is meant to be the National People's Congress (NPC), China's unicameral legislature. However, the reality is that this is little more than a rubber stamp for party decisions. The Congress is made up of 2,270 delegates elected by China's provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities and the armed forces. Delegates hold office for five years. The full Congress is convened for one session in March of each year and lasts a mere two weeks. This means that China has the largest legislature in the world which meets for the least time in the world.

 The NPC has shown some signs of growing independence over the past decade. For instance, in a notable incident in 1999, it delayed passing a law bringing in an unpopular fuel tax. It has also been given greater leeway drafting laws in areas like human rights. The formal position is that Congress "elects" the country's highest leaders, including the State President and Vice-President, the Chairman of the government's own Military Affairs Commission, and the President of the Supreme People's Court.

 THE STATE COUNCIL

The State Council is the cabinet which oversees China's vast government machine. It sits at the top of a complex bureaucracy of commissions and ministries and is responsible for making sure party policy is implemented from the national to the local level. In theory, the State Council answers to the National People's Congress, but more often the State Council submits legislation and measures which the NPC then approves.

The State Council's most important roles are to draft and manage the national economic plan and the state budget, giving it decision-making powers over almost every aspect of people's lives. It is also responsible for law and order. The full council meets once a month, but the more influential Standing Committee comes together more often, sometimes twice a week. This committee is made up of the country's premier, four vice-premiers, state councilors and the secretary-general.

 THE MILITARY AFFAIRS COMMISSION

China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) - currently 2.25 million strong - has always defended the party as much as national borders. During the early years of communist rule, most of the country's leaders owed their positions to their military success during the civil war, and links between them and the PLA remained very close. However, as this generation has died off and reforms have been introduced to make the armed forces more professional, the relationship has shifted subtly.

This Commission has the final say on all decisions relating to the PLA, including senior appointments, troop deployments and arms spending. PLA officers are also party members and there is a separate party machine inside the military to make sure rank and file stay in line with party thinking. The Military Affairs Commission also controls the paramilitary People's Armed Police (1.5 million strong), which has the politically sensitive role of guarding key government buildings, including the main leadership compound of Zhongnanhai in Beijing.

 THE DISCIPLINE INSPECTION COMMISSION

Party members suspected of corruption, bad management or breaking with the party line are liable to be brought before the Discipline Inspection Commission, set up to deal with internal party discipline and to monitor abuses. Indeed, as economic reforms have gathered pace, corruption has become probably the single most damaging issue for the party's standing.

President has launched an assault on inefficiency and corruption. The targets of the anti-corruption campaign have included the former head of security Zhou Yongkang, the country's highest-ranking official to be prosecuted in more than three decades, and Ling Jihua, a top aide to the former president Hu Jintao. Of course, such actions, as well as combating corruption, serve to eliminate opponents and consolidate power.

 THE COURTS

Unlike in democratic countries, the China's court system is in no sense independent. Both main legal organs answer to the National People's Congress. The Supreme People's Procuratorate is the highest legal supervisory body, charged with safeguarding the constitution, laws and people's rights. The Supreme People's Court sits at the top of a pyramid of people's courts going down to the local level. Public security organs are in charge of the investigation, detention and preparatory examination of criminal cases.

 THE PROVINCES

China is governed as 23 provinces,  the 23 Provinces are: Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guizhou, Hainan, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu,  Jiangxi, Jilin, Liaoning, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi ,Sichuan, Yunnan,  Zhejiang, and Taiwan five "autonomous" regions: Ningxia Hui, Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang Uygur, Tibet and Guangxi Zhuang. four municipalities - considered so important they are under central government control (Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Chongqing) - and two special administrative regions namely Hong Kong and Macao (Macau) The people in charge of these bodies - a group of about 7,000 senior party and government leaders - are all appointed by the party's organization department.

S/n	Area	Provinces
1	Central South	Honan, Hunan, Hupeh, Kiangsi, Kwangsi, Kwangtunt
2	East China	Anhwei, Chekiang, Fukieeennn, Kiangsu, Shantung
3	Inner Mongolia	Northern Chahar, Suiyuan
4	North China	Southern Chahar, Hopeh, Shansi
5	North East China	Antung, Heilungkiang, Jehol, Kirin, Liaohsi
6	North West China	Kansu, Ningsia, Shensi, Sinkiang, Tsinghai
7	South West China	Kweichow, Sikang, Szechuan, Yunnan

 

 

 

 

 

Though, many are powerful individuals - the governor of Sichuan province ruled over 80 million people  their ability to deviate from the party line is limited because they know their next career move would be at stake. Nevertheless, most analysts agreed that the centre has lost some control to the regions in the past two decades, especially in the economic field.