POLITICS

As a general concept, the practice of the art or science of directing and administrating
states or other political units. (Oxford Dictionary of politics.)

Politics (from Greek πολιτικος, [politikós]: «citizen», «civilian»), is a process by which

groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to behavior
within civil governments, but politics has been observed in other group interactions,
including corporate, academic, and religious institutions. It consists of "social relations
involving authority or power"[1] and refers to the regulation of a political unit,[2] and to the
methods and tactics used to formulate and apply policy.[3]

THE STATE.

According to Aristotle, States are classified into monarchies, aristocracies, timocracies,

democracies, oligarchies, and tyrannies. Due to an increase in knowledge of the history of
politics, this classification has been abandoned. Generally speaking, no form of
government could be considered the best if the best is considered to be the one that is
most appropriate under the circumstances. All States are varieties of a single type, the
sovereign State. All the Great Powers of the modern world rule on the principle of
sovereignty. Sovereign power may be vested on an individual as in an autocratic
government or it may be vested on a group as in a constitutional government.
Constitutions are written documents that specify and limit the powers of the different
branches of government. Although a Constitution is a written document, there is also an
unwritten Constitution. The unwritten constitution is continually being written by the
Legislative branch of government; this is just one of those cases in which the nature of
the circumstances determines the form of government that is most appropriate.
Nevertheless, the written constitution is essential. England did set the fashion of written
constitutions during the Civil War but after the Restoration abandoned them to be taken
up later by the American Colonies after their emancipation and then France after the
Revolution and the rest of Europe including the European colonies.

There are two forms of government, one a strong central government as in France and the
other a local government such as the ancient divisions in England that is comparatively
weaker but less bureaucratic. These two forms helped to shape the federal government,
first in Switzerland, then in the United States in 1776, in Canada in 1867 and in Germany
in 1870 and in the 20th century, Australia. The Federal States introduced the new
principle of agreement or contract. Compared to a federation, a confederation's singular
weakness is that it lacks judicial power.[citation needed] In the American Civil War, the
contention of the Confederate States that a State could secede from the Union was
untenable because of the power enjoyed by the Federal government in the executive,
legislative and judiciary branches.

According to professor A. V. Dicey in An Introduction to the Study of the Law of the

Constitution, the essential features of a federal constitution are: a) A written supreme
constitution in order to prevent disputes between the jurisdictions of the Federal and State
authorities; b) A distribution of power between the Federal and State governments and c)
A Supreme Court vested with the power to interpret the Constitution and enforce the law
of the land remaining independent of both the executive and legislative branches.[17]

POLITICAL PARTY

A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to attain and maintain
political power within government, usually by participating in electoral campaigns,
educational outreach or protest actions. Parties often espouse an expressed ideology or
vision bolstered by a written platform with specific goals, forming a coalition among
disparate interests. As an academic discipline

Political science, the study of politics, examines the acquisition and application of power
and "power corrupts".[18] Related areas of study include political philosophy, which seeks
a rationale for politics and an ethic of public behaviour, political economy, which
attempts to develop understandings of the relationships between politics and the economy
and the governance of the two, and public administration, which examines the practices
of governance.

Left-right politics

Recently in history, political analysts and politicians divide politics into left wing and
right wing politics, often also using the idea of center politics as a middle path of policy
between the right and left. This classification is comparatively recent (it was not used by
Aristotle or Hobbes, for instance), and dates from the French Revolution era, when those
members of the National Assembly who supported the republic, the common people and
a secular society sat on the left and supporters of the monarchy, aristocratic privilege and
the Church sat on the right.[20]

The meanings behind the labels have become more complicated over the years. A
particularly influential event was the publication of the Communist Manifesto by Karl
Marx and

Frederick Engels in 1848. The Manifesto suggested a course of action for a proletarian
revolution to overthrow the bourgeois society and abolish private property, in the belief
that this would lead to a classless and stateless society.
The meaning of left-wing and right-wing varies considerably between different countries
and at different times, but generally speaking, it can be said that the right wing often
values tradition and social stratification while the left wing often values reform and
egalitarianism, with the center seeking a balance between the two such as with social
democracy or regulated capitalism.

According to Norberto Bobbio, one of the major exponents of this distinction, the Left
believes in attempting to eradicate social inequality, while the Right regards most social
inequality as the result of ineradicable natural inequalities, and sees attempts to enforce
social equality as utopian or authoritarian.[21]

Authoritarian-libertarian politics

Authoritarianism and libertarianism refer to the amount of individual freedom each

person possesses in that society relative to the state. One author describes authoritarian
political systems as those where "individual rights and goals are subjugated to group
goals, expectations and conformities",[23] while libertarians generally oppose the state and
hold the individual and his property as sovereign. In their purest form, libertarians are
anarchists, who argue for the total abolition of the state, while the purest authoritarians
are totalitarians who support state control over all aspects of society.

For instance, classical liberalism (also known as laissez-faire liberalism,[24] or, in much of
the world, simply liberalism) is a doctrine stressing individual freedom and limited
government. This includes the importance of human rationality, individual property
rights, free markets, natural rights, the protection of civil liberties, constitutional
limitation of government, and individual freedom from restraint as exemplified in the
writings of John Locke, Adam Smith, David Hume, David Ricardo, Voltaire,
Montesquieu and others. According to the libertarian Institute for Humane Studies, "the
libertarian, or 'classical liberal,' perspective is that individual well-being, prosperity, and
social harmony are fostered by 'as much liberty as possible' and 'as little government as
necessary.'"
 WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS TO REMEMBER:

policy n. decisions on the general way of doing sth.

monarchy n. rule by a king or a queen

aristocracy n. the nobility, the people of the highest class in society, usually with
titles

timocracy n. a state where only property owners may participate in government

democracy n. a theory or system of government of freely elected representatives

oligarchy n. a form of government in which power effectively rests with a small

number of people, distinguished by royalty, wealth, family ties, corporate or military
control

sovereignty n. power to govern effectively and independently

secede v. to break away from an organization or a federation

I. ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS:

1. Define the word “politics?

2. How are states classified according to Aristotle?

3. What kind of documents are constitutions?

4. What are the characteristics of a federal government?

5. What is a political party?

6. What is the major distinction between left wing and right wing political parties?

7. What is the difference between authoritarian and libertarian politics?

DEMOCRACY

Democracy is a political form of government in which governing power is derived from

the people, either by direct referendum (direct democracy) or by means of elected
representatives of the people (representative democracy).[1] The term comes from the
Greek: δημοκρατία – (dēmokratía) "rule of the people",[2] which was coined from δῆμος
(dêmos) "people" and κράτος (Kratos) "power", in the middle of the 5th-4th century BC
to denote the political systems then existing in some Greek city-states, notably Athens
following a popular uprising in 508 BC.[3] Even though there is no specific, universally
accepted definition of 'democracy',[4] equality and freedom have been identified as
important characteristics of democracy since ancient times.[5] These principles are
reflected in all citizens being equal before the law and having equal access to power. For
example, in a representative democracy, every vote has equal weight, no restrictions can
apply to anyone wanting to become a representative, and the freedom of its citizens is
secured by legitimized rights and liberties which are generally protected by a
constitution.

There are several varieties of democracy, some of which provide better representation
and more freedoms for their citizens than others. However, if any democracy is not
carefully legislated – through the use of balances – to avoid an uneven distribution of
political power, such as the separation of powers, then a branch of the system of rule
could accumulate power thus become undemocratic.

The "majority rule" is often described as a characteristic feature of democracy, but

without governmental or constitutional protections of individual liberties, it is possible
for a minority of individuals to be oppressed by the "tyranny of the majority". An
essential process in representative democracies is competitive elections that are fair both
substantively] and procedurally. Furthermore, freedom of political expression, freedom of
speech, and freedom of the press are essential so that citizens are informed and able to
vote in their personal interests.

Popular sovereignty is common but not a universal motivating subject for establishing a
democracy.In some countries, democracy is based on the philosophical principle of equal
rights. Many people use the term "democracy" as shorthand for liberal democracy, which
may include additional elements such as political pluralism; equality before the law; the
right to petition elected officials for redress of grievances, civil liberties; human rights;
and elements of civil society outside the government. In the United States, separation of
powers is often cited as a supporting attribute, but in other countries, such as the United
Kingdom, the dominant philosophy is parliamentary sovereignty (though in practice
judicial independence is generally maintained). In other cases, "democracy" is used to
mean direct democracy. Though the term "democracy" is typically used in the context of
a political state, the principles are applicable to private organizations and other groups
also.

Democracy has its origins in Ancient Greece.[18][19] However other cultures have
significantly contributed to the evolution of democracy such as Ancient Rome,[18] Europe,
[18]
and North and South America.[20] The concept of representative democracy arose
largely from ideas and institutions that developed during the European Middle Ages and
the Age of Enlightenment and in the American and French Revolutions.[21] Democracy
has been called the "last form of government" and has spread considerably across the
globe.[22] The right to vote has been expanded in many Jurisdictions over time from
relatively narrow groups (such as wealthy men of a particular ethnic group), with New
Zealand the first nation to grant universal suffrage for all its citizens in 1893.

Forms of Democracy

Democracy has taken a number of forms, both in theory and practice. The following
kinds are not exclusive of one another: many specify details of aspects that are
independent of one another and can co-exist in a single system.

Representative democracy

Representative democracy involves the selection of government officials by the people

being represented. If the head of state is also democratically elected then it is called a
democratic republic. The most common mechanisms involve election of the candidate
with a majority or a plurality of the votes.

Representatives may be elected or become diplomatic representatives by a particular

district (or constituency), or represent the entire electorate proportionally proportional
systems, with some using a combination of the two. Some representative democracies
also incorporate elements of direct democracy, such as referendums. A characteristic of
representative democracy is that while the representatives are elected by the people to act
in their interest, they retain the freedom to exercise their own judgment and decisions.
Parliamentary democracy

A parliamentary democracy is a system of government in which citizens elect

representatives to a legislative parliament to make the necessary laws and decisions for
the country. This parliament directly represents the people.

In a presidential democracy, the leader is called a President, and he or she is elected by

citizens to lead a branch of government separate from the legislative branch. The United
States has three branches of the government: the executive, the judicial, and the
legislative. The President leads the executive branch of government.

In a parliamentary democracy, you have a Prime Minister, who is first elected as a

member of parliament, then elected Prime Minister by the other members of the
parliamentary legislature. However, the Prime Minister remains a part of the legislature.
The legislative branch makes the laws, and thus the Prime Minister has a hand in law-
making decisions. The Prime Minister works directly with other people in the legislature
to write and pass these laws.

In our presidential democracy, we still have a legislature, but we also have a president.
He is separate from the legislature, so although he works with them, it is not as direct as
if he were a Prime Minister. The laws that the legislature wants to pass must first go
through the president; he can sign them into being or he can veto them. The President can
go to the legislative branch and suggest laws, but they ultimately write them for his
approval.

Furthermore, in parliamentary systems, the legislature has the right to dismiss a Prime
Minister at any time if they feel that he or she is not doing the job as well as expected.
This is called a “motion of no confidence. In the US, impeachment is an extensive,
formal process in which an official is accused of doing something illegal.

Some countries with a parliamentary system are constitutional monarchies, which still
have a king and queen. A few examples of these are the United Kingdom, Sweden, and
Japan.

It is important to remember that both of these systems of government are democracies.

Ultimately, the citizens who vote have the voice.

 
Liberal democracy

A Liberal democracy is a representative democracy in which the ability of the elected

representatives to exercise decision-making power is subject to the rule of law, and
usually moderated by a constitution that emphasizes the protection of the rights and
freedoms of individuals, and which places constraints on the leaders and on the extent to
which the will of the majority can be exercised against the rights of minorities (see civil
liberties).

Constitutional democracy

A constitutional democracy is government by majority rule with protection of minority

rights. It is democratic because of its foundations of popular consent and majority rule. It
is constitutional because the power of the majority to rule is limited by a constitution.

In a constitutional democracy the authority of the majority is limited by legal and

institutional means so that the rights of individuals and minorities are respected. This is
the form of democracy practiced in Germany, Israel, Japan, the United States, and other
countries.

Constitutional democracy is characterized by:

A. popular sovereignity. The people are the ultimate source of the authority of the
government which derives its right to govern from their consent.

B. majority rule and minority rights . Although "the majority rules," the fundamental
rights of individuals in the minority are protected.

C. limited government. The powers of government are limited by law and a written or
unwritten constitution which those in power obey.

D. Institutional and procedural limitations on powers. There are certain institutional

and procedural devices which limit the powers of government. These may include:

1. separated and shared powers. Powers are separated among different agencies or
branches of government. Each agency or branch has primary responsibility for certain
functions such as legislative, executive, and judicial functions. However, each branch
also shares these functions with the other branches.

2. checks and balances. Different agencies or branches of government have adequate

power to check the powers of other branches. Checks and balances may include the
power of judicial review—the power of courts to declare actions of other branches of
government to be contrary to the constitution and therefore null and void.

3. due process of law. Individual rights to life, liberty, and property are protected by the
guarantee of due process of law.
4. leadership succession through elections. Elections insure that key positions in
government will be contested at periodic intervals and that the transfer of governmental
authority is accomplished in a peaceful and orderly process.

Non-governmental

Aside from the public sphere, similar democratic principles and mechanisms of voting
and representation have been used to govern other kinds of communities and
organizations.

 Many non-governmental organizations decide policy and leadership by voting.

 Most trade unions choose their leadership through democratic elections.
 Cooperatives are enterprises owned and democratically controlled by their
customers or workers.

WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS TO REMEMBER:

tyranny of the majority ~ a system in which decisions of the majorities make the
individual actively oppressed
political pluralism n. system allowimg different political or religious groups to exist in
the same society
right to petition government for redress of grievances ~ the right to make a complaint
to, or seek the assistance of one`s govrnment without fear of punishment or reprisals
due process ~ legal principle by which the government must respect all legal rights that
are owed to a person according to law
constituency n. an electoral district, a distinct territorial subdivision for holding a
separate election for one or more seats in a legislative body

I.ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

1. What kind of a political form is democracy?

2. What is separation of powers in USA?
3. What is representative democracy?
4. What is parliamentary democracy?
5. What is constitutional democracy?
PUBLIC OPINION

Public opinion is the aggregate of individual attitudes or beliefs held by the adult
population. Public opinion can also be defined as the complex collection of opinions of
many different people and the sum of all their views.
Public opinion is important in shaping policy. Namely, public opinion affects the
ability of political leaders and institutions to govern. Leaders also shape opinion.
Public opinion is fluid and changing but it can be measured in a variety of ways (polls
and surveys). Polls and surveys are a snap-shot at a given moment in a time.
Public opinion polls and surveys inform candidates for political office where their
strenghts and weaknesses lie and how they are perceived by the electorate.
Very often polls and surveys show that politics is not the most important thing in life
for most people.

SAMPLE AND POLLING METHODS

Opinion polls for many years were maintained through telecommunications

or in person-to-person contact. Methods and techniques vary, though they
are widely accepted in most areas. Verbal, ballot, and processed types can
be conducted efficiently, contrasted with other types of surveys,
systematics, and complicated matrices beyond previous orthodox
procedures. Opinion polling developed into popular applications through
popular thought, although response rates for some surveys declined. Also,
the following has also led to differentiating results. Some polling
organizations, use Internet surveys, where a sample is drawn from a large
panel of volunteers, and the results are weighed to reflect the
demographics of the population of interest. In contrast, popular web polls
draw on whoever wishes to participate, rather than a scientific sample of
the population, and are therefore not benchmark polls

A benchmark poll is generally the first poll taken in a campaign. It is often taken before a
candidate announces their bid for office but sometimes it happens immediately following
that announcement after they have had some opportunity to raise funds. This is generally
a short and simple survey of likely voters.

A benchmark poll serves a number of purposes for a campaign, whether it is a political

campaign or some other type of campaign. First, it gives the candidate a picture of where
they stand with the electorate before any campaigning takes place. If the poll is done
prior to announcing for office the candidate may use the poll to decide whether or not
they should even run for office. Secondly, it shows them where their weaknesses and
strengths are in two main areas. The first is the electorate. A benchmark poll shows them
what types of voters they are sure to win, those who they are sure to lose, and everyone
in-between those two extremes. This lets the campaign know which voters are
persuadable so they can spend their limited resources in the most effective manner.
Second, it can give them an idea of what messages, ideas, or slogans are the strongest
with the electorate.

Tracking polls

A tracking poll is a poll repeated at intervals . For example, a weekly tracking poll uses
the data from the past week and discards older data.

A key benefit of tracking polls is that the trend of a tracking poll (the change over time)
corrects for bias: regardless of whether a poll consistently over or underestimates
opinion, the trend correctly reflects increases or decreases .

Potential for inaccuracy

Polls based on samples of populations are subject to sampling error which reflects the
effects of chance and uncertainty in the sampling process. The uncertainty is often
expressed as a margin of error. The margin of error is usually defined as the radius of a
confidence interval for a particular statistic from a survey. One example is the percent of
people who prefer product A versus product B. When a single, global margin of error is
reported for a survey, it refers to the maximum margin of error for all reported
percentages using the full sample from the survey. If the statistic is a percentage, this
maximum margin of error can be calculated as the radius of the confidence interval for a
reported percentage of 50%. Others suggest that a poll with a random sample of 1,000
people has margin of sampling error of 3% for the estimated percentage of the whole
population.

Wording of questions

It is well established that the wording of the questions, the order in which they are asked
and the number and form of alternative answers offered can influence results of polls. For
instance, the public is more likely to indicate support for a person who is described by the
operator as one of the "leading candidates". This support itself overrides subtle bias for
one candidate, as does lumping some candidates in an "other" category or vice versa.
Thus comparisons between polls often boil down to the wording of the question. On
some issues, question wording can result in quite pronounced differences between
surveys.

A common technique to control for this bias is to rotate the order in which questions are
asked. Many pollsters also split-sample. This involves having two different versions of a
question, with each version presented to half the respondents.
The most effective controls, used by attitude researchers, are:

 asking enough questions to allow all aspects of an issue to be covered and to

control effects due to the form of the question (such as positive or negative
wording), the adequacy of the number being established quantitatively with
psychometric measures such as reliability coefficients, and
 analyzing the results with psychometric techniques which synthesize the answers
into a few reliable scores and detect ineffective questions.

Public opinion surveys

Public opinion surveys assess widespread public opinion. An agency

administers a survey to a sample group of people via a written questionnaire or
through interviews in person, by phone, or by electronic media. The limited
sample of people is considered representative of a larger group.

Survey results show public positions or reactions to agency actions and

gather information for use in the process. Surveys can be formal (scientifically
assembled and administered) or informal. For example, in a series of formal
surveys, voters in the Puget Sound region (Seattle, Washington) were asked to
say how they would vote on various possible elements in a regional transit
system. In an informal survey, the Ohio Department of Transportation (DOT)
attached a questionnaire to its draft statewide transportation plan, Access Ohio,
to solicit comments from reviewers. During preparation of Oregon's transportation
plan, public opinion surveys were made available in the policy element draft and
at public meetings.

Scientific surveys give broadly applicable results. The Puget Sound surveys
mentioned above, for example, were based on a random sample of voters
carefully chosen to be statistically representative of all voters. Informal surveys
tend to bring responses from a self-selected group of people -- those who are
more personally interested in specific transportation issues than the population at
large. However, informal surveys can be designed to reach a broader group than
those who attend public meetings.

Surveys portray community perceptions and preferences. They can

accurately report on what people know or want to know. They test whether a plan
or plan element is acceptable to the public as it is being developed, or test an
agency’s perception of what people are thinking and reinforce decisions made
through participatory programs.

Surveys can test whether opinions are changing, if repeated after an interval
of time. Results can be useful to the leaders of the process or to elected officials
and community leaders. Results are used to guide efforts to meet public
concerns and develop effective messages for public information and for a media
strategy. They give meaningful clues to the likely level of public acceptance of a
plan, program, or process.

Better information enhances an agency's understanding not only of public

concerns but also of the process of public involvement. An agency can respond
to survey results by providing missing or inadequate information that did not get
through to the public or was misinterpreted. This adds to the substantive
discussion of issues deemed important by respondents.

Who participates and how?

Surveys directly involve a relatively small population of a State or region. In

turn, that population is involved only in a one-way participatory effort, without the
opportunity for give-and-take with the sponsor ing agency. For surveys with a
randomized sample of the population, chosen in a statistically-valid way, the
sample can be stratified to include only people within a specific geographic area,
income group, or other category of people from whom information is desired.
Although it never replicates the overall population precisely, it remains
statistically valid.

Respondents provide a composite view of the larger population. In a

scientific, statistically-valid survey, answers are expanded to reflect what the
population as a whole might have answered if they had all been asked the survey
questions. Informal surveys can never be viewed as the basis for such an
expansion. However, large informal surveys can generally indicate the
predominant features of public opinion.

Who leads public opinion surveys?

Public opinion surveys can be led by trained agency staff people. Often,
particularly for statistically valid surveys, outside help is appropriate because of
the survey’s complexity. Professional survey takers also help an agency move
expeditiously and achieve the necessary accuracy to assure the public that
results are valid and unbiased.

WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS TO REMEMBER:

poll n. an attempt to find out what the public think about sth. especially about a political
subject, done by questioning a large number of people

survey n. a set of questions that you ask a large number of people to find out their
opinion or behaviour; carry out/conduct a survey v. do a survey
ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS:

1. What is public opinion?

2. How can public opinion be measured?
3. What is a benchmark poll?
4. What is a tracking poll?
5. What may influence the results of polls?
6. How are the public opinion surveys divided?
7. What do survey results show?

POLITICAL CAMPAIGN

A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision

making process within a specific group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer
to electoral campaigns, wherein representatives are chosen or referendums are decided.

The campaign message

The message of the campaign contains the ideas that the candidate wants to share with
the voters. The message often consists of several talking points about policy issues. The
points summarize the main ideas of the campaign and are repeated frequently in order to
create a lasting impression with the voters. In many elections, the opposition party will
try to get the candidate "off message" by bringing up policy or personal questions that are
not related to the talking points. Most campaigns prefer to keep the message broad in
order to attract the most potential voters. A message that is too narrow can alienate voters
or slow the candidate down with explaining details. If the message is crafted carefully, it
will assure the candidate a victory at the polls.

Soundbites

The habit of modern Western media outlets (especially radio and television) of taking
short excerpts from speeches has resulted in the creation of the term "soundbite".
Examples might include:

 "John Doe is a businessman, not a politician. His background in finance means he

can bring fiscal discipline to state government."
 "As our society faces a rapid upswing in violent crime, poor economy, and an
ever worsening education system, we need leaders who will keep our streets safe
and restore accountability to our schools. John Doe is that leader."
  "Over the past four years, John Doe has missed over fifty City Council meetings.
How can you lead if you don't show up? Jane Doe won't turn a blind eye to the
government."

Campaign finance

Fundraising techniques include having the candidate call or meet with large donors,
sending direct mail pleas to small donors, and courting interest groups who could end up
spending millions on the race if it is significant to their interests.

Organization

In a modern political campaign, the campaign organization (or 'machine') will have a
coherent structure of personnel in the same manner as any business of similar size.

Campaign manager

Successful campaigns usually require a campaign manager to coordinate the campaign's

operations. Apart from a candidate, they are often a campaign's most visible leader.
Modern campaign managers may be concerned with executing strategy rather than setting
it - particularly if the senior strategists are typically outside political consultants such as
primarily pollsters and media consultants.

Political consultants

Political consultants advise campaigns on virtually all of their activities, from research to
field strategy. Consultants conduct candidate research, voter research, and opposition
research for their clients.

Activists

Activists are the 'foot soldiers' loyal to the cause, the true believers who will carry the run
by volunteer activists. Such volunteers and interns may take part in activities such as
canvassing door-to-door and making phone calls on behalf of the campaign.

Campaign Ethics and Campaign Time

Modern political campaigns have set new standards for how successful campaigns are
conducted day-to-day. The campaign is conducted in what would seem to the public like
pseudo-military style, with a strict chain of command, zero tolerance for certain
prohibited actions, and an extended daily schedule that starts early and ends much later
than most "day jobs."

Prohibited actions may include, but are not limited to: lying about numbers generated
(e.g. phone calls made, doors knocked, volunteers recruited, etc.) - this is increasingly an
issue in offices that are wirelessly connected, without direct oversight; going outside the
chain of command (e.g. talking to a superior's superior who happens to be a friend in
order to get special favors or report information); non-press-shop members talking to the
press; blogging (considered another form of "talking to the press," which can interfere
with message discipline); and being arrested (or otherwise becoming a potential easy
target for opponent smear campaigns).

The daily schedule of a political campaign is hyperextended, and often has no definite
beginning or end, only a series of tasks to be completed by certain benchmark times. rs.

A campaign team (which may be as small as one inspired individual, or a heavily-

resourced group of professionals) must consider how to communicate the message of the
campaign, recruit volunteers, and raise money. Campaign advertising draws on
techniques from commercial advertising and propaganda. The avenues available to
political campaigns when distributing their messages is limited by the law, available
resources, and the imagination of the campaigns' participants. These techniques are often
combined into a formal strategy known as the campaign plan. The plan takes account of a
campaign's goal, message, target audience, and resources available. The campaign will
typically seek to identify supporters at the same time as getting its message across.

Campaign advertising

Campaign advertising is the use of paid media (newspapers, radio, television, etc.) to
influence the decisions made for and by groups. These ads are designed by political
consultants and the campaign`s staff.

Mass meetings, rallies and protests

Holding protests, rallies and other similar public events (if enough people can be
persuaded to come) may be a very effective campaign tool. Holding mass meetings with
speakers is powerful as it shows visually, through the number of people in attendance, the
support that the campaign has.

Modern technology and the internet

The internet is now a core element of modern political campaigns. Communication

technologies such as e-mail, web sites, and podcasts for various forms of activism to
enable faster communications by citizen movements and deliver a message to a large
audience. These Internet technologies are used for cause-related fundraising, lobbying,
volunteering, community building, and organizing. Individual political candidates are
also using the internet to promote their election campaign.

Social websites utilize a low cost and efficient method of mobilizing voters and
increasing participation among various voter populations. These new media are
incredibly successful at reaching the younger population while helping all populations
organize and promote action.
Husting

A husting, or the hustings, was originally a physical platform from which representatives
presented their views or cast votes before a parliamentary or other election body. By
metonymy, the term may now refer to any event, such as debates or speeches, during an
election campaign where one or more of the representative candidates are present

Informational campaign

An informational campaign is a political campaign designed to raise public awareness

and support for the positions of a candidate (or his party).It is more intense than a paper
campaign, which consists of little more than filing the necessary papers to get on the
ballot, but is less intense than a competitive campaign, which aims to actually win
election to the office. An informational campaign typically focuses on low-cost outreach
such as news releases, getting interviewed in the paper, making a brochure for door to
door distribution, organizing poll workers, etc.

Not all democratic elections involve political campaigning. Indeed, some democratic
elections specifically rule out campaigning on the grounds that campaigning may
compromise the democratic character of the elections, perhaps because of campaigns'
susceptibility to the influence of money, or to the influence of special interest groups.

WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS TO REMEMBER

campaign n. a) planned method of working b) election campaign ~ period immediately

before an election, when candidates try to get support from voters; campaign trail ~
series of meetings or visits which form part of an election campaign

canvass v. to try to get support for a political party etc. by going from place to place
within an area

hustings n. at the hustings ~ at a parliamentary election

Note: Hustings were formerly the booths where voters were taken, or the platform on
which candidates stood to speak, but now the word is used simply to mean `an election`.

podcast n. a series of digital media files

pollster n. a person who takes polls by surveying public opinion

sound bite n. a short sentence or group of sentences comprised of usually single- syllable
words used to keep the message simple, and to fit into brief television reports
ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS:

1.What is political campaign?

2. What does a campaign message contain?
3. What is a soundbite in a campaign?
4. Who are the other participants in a modern political campaign, besides the candidate?
5. Which actions are prohibited in political campaigns?
6. What is a husting in a modern political campaign?
7. What is informational campaign?

ELECTIONS

An election is a formal decision-making process by which a population chooses an

individual to hold public office.[1] Elections have been the usual mechanism by which
modern representative democracy operates since the 17th century. [1] Elections may fill
offices in the legislature, sometimes in the executive and judiciary, and for regional and
local government. This process is also used in many other private and business
organizations, from clubs to voluntary associations and corporations.

The universal use of elections as a tool for selecting representatives in modern

democracies is in contrast with the practice in the democratic archetype, ancient Athens.
Elections were considered an oligarchic institution and most political offices were filled
using sortition, also known as allotment, by which officeholders were chosen by lot.

Who is elected?

The government positions for which elections are held vary depending on the locale. In a
representative democracy, such as the United States, some positions are not filled through
elections, especially those that require certain skills. For example, judges are usually
appointed rather than elected to help protect their impartiality. There are exceptions to
this practice, however; some judges in the United States are elected, and in ancient
Athens military generals were elected.

In some cases, as for example, in soviet democracy—there may exist an intermediate tier
of electors between constituents and the elected figure. However, in most representative
democracies, this level of indirection usually is nothing more than a formality. For
example, the President of the United States is elected by the Electoral College, and in the
Westminster System, the Prime Minister is formally chosen by the head of state (and in
reality by the legislature or by their party).

Types of elections

A pre-election hustings in the constituency of Oxford West and Abingdon in England.

A pre-election hustings in the constituency of Oxford West and Abingdon in England.

In most democratic political systems, there are a range of different types of election,
corresponding to different layers of public governance or geographical jurisdiction. Some
common types of election are:

 Presidential election
 General election
 Primary election
 By-election
 Local election
 Co-option
A referendum (plural referenda or referendums) is a democratic tool related to elections
in which the electorate votes for or against a specific proposal, law or policy, rather than
for a general policy or a particular candidate or party. Referenda may be added to an
election ballot or held separately and may be either binding or consultative, usually
depending on the constitution. Referenda are usually called by governments via the
legislature, however many democracies allow citizens to petition for referenda directly,
called initiatives.

Referenda are particularly prevalent and important in direct democracies, such as

Switzerland. The basic Swiss system, however, still works with representatives. In the
most direct form of democracy, anyone can vote about anything. This is closely related to
referenda and may take the form of consensus decision-making. Reminiscent of the
ancient Greek system, anyone may discuss a particular subject until a consensus is
reached. The consensus requirement means that discussions can go on for a very long
time. The result will be that only those who are genuinely interested will participate in the
discussion and therefore the vote. In this system there need not be an age limit because
children will usually become bored. This system is however only feasible when
implemented on a very small scale.

Suffrage

The question of who may vote is a central issue in elections. The electorate does not
generally include the entire population; for example, many countries prohibit those
judged mentally incompetent from voting, and all jurisdictions require a minimum age
for voting.

Historically, other groups of people have also been excluded from voting. For instance,
the democracy of ancient Athens did not allow women, foreigners, or slaves to vote, and
the original United States Constitution left the topic of suffrage to the states; usually only
white male property owners were able to vote. Much of the history of elections involves
the effort to promote suffrage for excluded groups. The women's suffrage movement
gave women in many countries the right to vote, and securing the right to vote freely was
a major goal of the American civil rights movement. Extending voting rights to excluded
groups (such as convicted felons, members of certain minorities, and the economically
disadvantaged) continues to be a goal of voting rights advocates.
Suffrage is typically only for citizens of the country. Further limits may be imposed: for
example, in Kuwait, only people who have been citizens since 1920 or their descendants
are allowed to vote, a condition that the majority of residents do not fulfill. However, in
the European Union, one can vote in municipal elections if one lives in the municipality
and is an EU citizen; the nationality of the country of residence is not required.

In some countries, voting is required by law; if an eligible voter does not cast a vote, he
or she may be subject to punitive measures such as a small fine.

Nomination

A representative democracy requires a procedure to govern nomination for political

office. In many cases, nomination for office is mediated through preselection processes in
organised political parties.[5]

Non-partisan systems tend to differ from partisan systems as concerns nominations. In a

direct democracy, one type of non-partisan democracy, any eligible person can be
nominated. In some non-partisan representative systems no nominations (or campaigning,
electioneering, etc.) take place at all, with voters free to choose any person at the time of
voting—with some possible exceptions such as through a minimum age requirement—in
the jurisdiction. In such cases, it is not required (or even possible) that the members of the
electorate be familiar with all of the eligible persons, though such systems may involve
indirect elections at larger geographic levels to ensure that some first-hand familiarity
among potential electees can exist at these levels (i.e., among the elected delegates).

As far as partisan systems, in some countries, only members of a particular political party
can be nominated. Or, an eligible person can be nominated through a petition; thus
allowing him or her to be listed on a ballot.

Electoral systems

Electoral systems are the detailed constitutional arrangements and voting systems that
convert the vote into political decision. The first step is to tally the votes, for which
various different vote counting systems and ballot types are used. Voting systems then
determine the result on the basis of the tally. Most systems can be categorized as either
proportional or majoritarian. Among the former are party-list proportional representation
and additional member system. Among the latter are First Past the Post (FPP) (relative
majority) and absolute majority. Many countries have growing electoral reform
movements, which advocate systems such as approval voting, single transferable vote,
instant runoff voting r a Condorcet method; these methods are also gaining popularity for
lesser elections in some countries where more important elections still use more
traditional counting methods.

While openness and accountability are usually considered cornerstones of a democratic

system, the act of casting a vote and the content of a voter's ballot are usually an
important exception. The secret ballot is a relatively modern development, but it is now
considered crucial in most free and fair elections, as it limits the effectiveness of
intimidation.

Election campaigns

When elections are called, politicians and their supporters attempt to influence policy by
competing directly for the votes of constituents in what are called campaigns. Supporters
for a campaign can be either formally organized or loosely affiliated, and frequently
utilize campaign advertising. It is common for political scientists to attempt to predict
elections via Political Forecasting methods.

Scheduling

The nature of democracy is that elected officials are accountable to the people, and they
must return to the voters at prescribed intervals to seek their mandate to continue in
office. For that reason most democratic constitutions provide that elections are held at
fixed regular intervals. In the United States, elections are held between every three and
six years in most states, with exceptions such as the U.S. House of Representatives,
which stands for election every two years. There is a variety of schedules, for example
presidents: the President of Ireland is elected every seven years, the President of Finland
every six years, the President of France every five years, the President of Russia and
President of United States every four years.

WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS TO REMEMBER:

representative democracy n. a form of government of elected individuals representing

the people

suffrage n. right to vote in elections

tally n. a record of how much you have spent or won

affiliate v. link to a larger group

accountable adj. responsible for something

dark horse n. a cadidate considered to have only the slimmest chance to win a
nomination or election
favourite son n. person nominated for president by his own state`s delegates at a
national political convention

I.ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS:

1. What kind of a process is an election?

2. Which are the common types of election?

3. What is a referendum?

4. What is suffrage?

5. Are the mandates of presidents of different countries of equal duration?

THE EUROPEAN UNION

The European Union (EU) is an economic and political union of 27 member states
which are located primarily in Europe.[7] The EU traces its origins from the European
Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and the European Economic Community (EEC),
formed by six countries in 1958. In the intervening years the EU has grown in size by the
accession of new member states, and in power by the addition of policy areas to its remit.
The Maastricht Treaty established the European Union under its current name in 1993.[8]
The last amendment to the constitutional basis of the EU, the Treaty of Lisbon, came into
force in 2009.
The EU has developed a single market through a standardised system of laws which
apply in all member states and ensures the free movement of people, goods, services, and
capital. It enacts legislation in justice and home affairs, and maintains common policies
on trade,[14] agriculture,[15] fisheries and regional development. Sixteen member states
have adopted a common currency, the euro, constituting the eurozone.

Having a legal personality, the EU is able to conclude treates with countries. It has
devised the Common Foreign and Security Policy, thus developing a limited role in
European defence and foreign policy. Permanent diplomatic missions of the EU are
established around the world and representation at the United Nations, WTO, G8 and G-
20 is maintained. EU delegations are headed by EU ambassadors.

The EU operates through a hybrid system of supranational independent institutions and

intergovernmentally made decisions negotiated by the member states.[9][10][11] Important
institutions of the EU include the European Commission, the Council of the European
Union, the European Council, the Court of Justice of the European Union, and the
European Central Bank. The European Parliament is elected every five years by EU
citizens.

The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community formed among
six countries in 1951 and the treaty of Rome formed in 1957 by the same states, Since
then, it has grown in size through enlargement, and in power through the addition of
policy areas to its remit. The last amendment to the constitutional basis of the EU came
into force in 2009 and was the Lisbon Treaty, by virtue of which the Charter of
Fundamental Rifhts of the European Union was elevated to legally binding status.

The European Union is composed of 27 sovereign Member States: Austria, Belgium,

Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany,
Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands,
Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
[42]
The Union's membership has grown from the original six founding states—Belgium,
France, (then-West) Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands—to the present
day 27 by successive enlargements as countries acceded to the treaties and by doing so,
pooled their sovereignty in exchange for representation in the institutions.

To join the EU a country must meet the Copenhagen criteria, defined at the 1993
Copenhagen European Council. These require a stable democracy that respects human
rights and the rule of law; a functioning market economy capable of competition within
the EU; and the acceptance of the obligations of membership, including EU law.
Evaluation of a country's fulfilment of the criteria is the responsibility of the European
Council.[44] No member state has ever left the Union, although Greenland (an autonomous
province of Denmark) withdrew in 1985.[45] The Lisbon Treaty now provides a clause
dealing with how a member leaves the EU.[46]

There are five official candidate countries, Croatia, Iceland, Macedonia,[nb 4][47]
Montenegro and Turkey. Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia are officially
recognised as potential candidates.[48] Kosovo is also listed as a potential candidate but
the European Commission does not list it as an independent country because not all
member states recognise it as an independent country separate from Serbia.[49]

Four Western European countries that are not EU members have partly committed to the
EU's economy and regulations: Iceland (a candidate country for EU membership),
Liechtenstein and Norway, which are a part of the single market through the European
Economic Area, and Switzerland, which has similar ties through bilateral treaties.[50][51]
The relationships of the European microstates, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino and the
The European Council gives direction to the EU, and convenes at least four times a year.
It comprises the President of the European Council, the President of the European
Commission and one representative per member state; either its head of state or head of
government. The European Council has been described by some as the Union's "supreme
political authority".[58] It is actively involved in the negotiation of the treaty changes and
defines the EU's policy agenda and strategies.

The European Council uses its leadership role to sort out disputes between member states
and the institutions, and to resolve political crises and disagreements over controversial
issues and policies. It acts externally as a "collective Head of State" and ratifies important
documents (for example, international agreements and treaties).[59]

On 19 November 2009, Herman Van Rompuy was chosen as the first permanent
President of the European Council. On 1 December 2009, the Treaty of Lisbon entered
into force and he assumed office. Ensuring the external representation of the EU,[60]
driving consensus and settling divergences among members are tasks for the President
both during the convocations of the European Council and in the time periods between
them. The European Council should not be mistaken for the Council of Europe, an
international organisation independent from the EU.

The European Commission acts as the EU's executive arm and is responsible for
initiating legislation and the day-to-day running of the EU. The Commission is also seen
as the motor of European integration. It operates as a cabinet government, with 27
Commissioners for different areas of policy, one from each member state, though
Commissioners are bound to represent the interests of the EU as a whole rather than their
home state.

One of the 27 is the Commission President (currently José Manuel Durão Barroso)
appointed by the European Council. After the President, the most prominent
Commissioner is the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security
Policy who is ex-officio Vice President of the Commission and is chosen by the European
Council too.[61] The other 25 Commissioners are subsequently appointed by the Council
of the European Union in agreement with the nominated President. Eventually, the 27
Commissioners as a single body are subject to a vote of approval by the European
Parliament.

The European Parliament (EP) forms one half of the EU's legislature (the other half is the
Council of the European Union, see below). The 736 (soon to be 751) Members of the
European Parliament (MEPs) are directly elected by EU citizens every five years on the
basis of proportional representation to the share of votes collected by each political party.
Although MEPs are elected on a national basis, they sit according to political groups
rather than their nationality. Each country has a set number of seats and is divided into
sub-national constituencies where this does not affect the proportional nature of the
voting system.[62]

The Parliament and the Council of the European Union pass legislation jointly in nearly
all areas under the ordinary legislative procedure. This also applies to the EU budget.
Finally, the Commission is accountable to Parliament, requiring its approval to take
office, having to report back to it and subject to motions of censure from it. The President
of the European Parliament carries out the role of speaker in parliament and represents it
externally. The EP President and Vice Presidents are elected by MEPs every two and a
half years.[63]

The Council

The Council of the European Union (also called the "Council"[64] and sometimes referred
to as the "Council of Ministers"[65]) forms the other half of the EU's legislature. It consists
of a government minister from each member state and meets in different compositions
depending on the policy area being addressed. Notwithstanding its different
configurations, it is considered to be one single body.[66] In addition to its legislative
functions, the Council also exercises executive functions in relations to the Common
Foreign and Security Policy.

The Court of Justice

The judicial branch of the EU—formally called the Court of Justice of the European
Union—consists of three courts: the Court of Justice, the General Court, and the
European Union Civil Service Tribunal. Together they interpret and apply the treaties and
the law of the EU.[79]

The Court of Justice primarily deals with cases taken by member states, the institutions,
and cases referred to it by the courts of member states.[80] The General Court mainly deals
with cases taken by individuals and companies directly before the EU's courts,[81] and the
European Union Civil Service Tribunal adjudicates in disputes between the European
Union and its civil service.[82] Decisions from the General Court can be appealed to the
Court of Justice but only on a point of law.[83]

The EU is based on a series of treaties. These first established the European Community
and the EU, and then made amendments to those founding treaties.[77] These are power-
giving treaties which set broad policy goals and establish institutions with the necessary
legal powers to implement those goals. These legal powers include the ability to enact
legislation[nb 5] which can directly affect all member states and their inhabitants.[nb 6] The
EU has legal personality, with the right to sign agreements and international treaties.[78]

Under the principle of supremacy, national courts are required to enforce the treaties that
their member states have ratified, and thus the laws enacted under them, even if doing so
requires them to ignore conflicting national law, and (within limits) even constitutional
provisions.[nb 7]
National courts within the member states play a key role in the EU as enforcers of EU
law, and a `spirit of cooperation` between EU and national courts is laid down in the
Treaties. National courts can apply EU law in domestic cases, and if they require
clarification on the interpretation or validity of any EU legislation related to the case it
may make a reference for a preliminary ruling to the Court of Justice. The right to declare
EU legislation invalid however is reserved to the EU Courts.

European currency

The creation of a European single currency became an official objective of the European
Economic Community in 1969. However, it was only with the advent of the Maastricht
Treaty in 1993 that member states were legally bound to start the monetary union no later
than 1 January 1999. On this date the euro was duly launched by eleven of the then 15
member states of the EU. It remained an accounting currency until 1 January 2002, when
euro notes and coins were issued and national currencies began to phase out in the
eurozone, which by then consisted of 12 member states. The eurozone has since grown to
17 countries, the most recent being Estonia which joined on 1 January 2011.

European languages

Among the many languages and dialects used in the EU, it has 23 official and working
languages: Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French,
German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Irish, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish,
Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish, and Swedish.[188][189] Important
documents, such as legislation, are translated into every official language. The European
Parliament provides translation into all languages for documents and its plenary sessions.
[190]
Some institutions use only a handful of languages as internal working languages.[191]
Catalan, Galician, Basque, Scottish Gaelic and Welsh are not official languages of the EU
but have semi-official status in that official translations of the treaties are made into them
and citizens of the EU have the right to correspond with the institutions using them.

Language policy is the responsibility of member states, but EU institutions promote the
learning of other languages.[nb 20][192] English is the most spoken language in the EU and is
spoken by 51% of the EU population counting both native and non-native speakers.[193]
German is the most widely spoken mother tongue (about 88.7 million people as of 2006).
56% of EU citizens are able to engage in a conversation in a language other than their
mother tongue.[194] Most official languages of the EU belong to the Indo-European
language family, except Estonian, Finnish, and Hungarian, which belong to the Uralic
language family, and Maltese, which is an Afroasiatic language. Most EU official
languages are written in the Latin alphabet except Bulgarian, written in Cyrillic, and
Greek, written in the Greek alphabet.[195]

Besides the 23 official languages, there are about 150 regional and minority languages,
spoken by up to 50 million people.[195] Of these, only the Spanish regional languages (that
is, Catalan/Valencian, Galician, and the non-Indo-European Basque), Scottish Gaelic, and
Welsh[196] can be used by citizens in communication with the main European institutions.
[197]
Although EU programmes can support regional and minority languages, the
protection of linguistic rights is a matter for the individual member states. The

European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages ratified by most EU states

provides general guidelines that states can follow to protect their linguistic heritage.

WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS TO REMEMBER:

European Council n. group formed of the heads of state or of governments of the

member states of the EU

Council of Europe n. the oldest of the European political organizations, founded in

1949. Its aim is to foster unity of action between European countries in educational legal
and other areas. It created the European court of Human Rights in 1950.

Euro – constituency (Euro – seat) n. constituency which elects an MEP (Member of the
European Parliament)

Eurocrat n. (informal) bureaucrat working in any of the European Union institutions

I.ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS:

1. What kind of a union is the European Union (EU)?

2. Which are the important institutions of the EU?
3. What criteria must a country meet in order to join the EU?
4. What kind of body is the Council of the European Union?
5. What does the Court of Justice of EU consist of?
6. How many official and working languages are used in the EU?
 BRITAIN`S SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT

Great Britain is a constitutional monarchy, in which the Monarch is head of state and
the Prime Minister is the head of government. Executive power is exercised by Her
Majesty's Government, on behalf of the Monarch, as well as by the devolved
governments of Scotland and Wales, and the Executive of Northern Ireland. Legislative
power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of the Parliament of the
United Kingdom, the House of Commons and the House of Lords, as well as in the
Scottish parliament and Welsh and Northern Ireland assemblies. The judiciary is
independent of the executive and the legislature, the highest national court being the
Supreme Court of the United Kingdom.

The three elements which make up British Parliament : the Queen, the House of Lords
and the House of Commons are constituted on different principles. They meet together
only on occasions of symbolic significance such as the state opening of Parliament, when
the Commons are summoned by the Queen to the House of Lords. The agreement of all
three is normally required for legislation, but that of the Queen is given to Bills sent to
her and is called the “royal Assent”.

The Monarch`s Role in Government

The Queen is not only head of State, but also an importanr symbol of national
unity. In law she is : head of the executive; an integral part of the legislature; head of the
judiciary; commander-in chief of all the armed forces of the Crown ; and the `supreme
governor` of the established Church of England.
In spite of a trend during the past hundred years towards giving powers directly to
ministers, the Queen still takes part in some important acts of government. These include
summoning, proroguing and dissolving Parliament ; and giving Royal Assent to Bills
passed by Parliament. The Queen also formally appoints many important office holders,
including government ministers, judges, officers in the armed forces, governors and
diplomats. An important function is appointing the Prime Minister: by convention the
Queen invites the leader of the political party which commands a majority in the House
of Commons to form a government.
In international affairs the Queen, as head of State, has the power to declare war
and make peace, to recognise foreign states and governments, to conclude treaties and to
annex or cede territory.
With rare exception – such as appointing the Prime Minister- acts involving the
use of `royal prerogative` powers are nowadays performed by government ministers.
The Functions of Parliament

The main functions of Parliament are : to pass laws ; to provide, by voting taxation, the
means of carrying on the work of government; to examine government policy and
administration, including proposals for expenditure; and to debate the major political
issues of the day.
A Parliament has a maximum duration of five years, but in practise general elections
are usually held before the end of this term. The life of the Parliament is divided into
sessions and each session lasts for one year normally beginning and ending in October or
November. The average number of `sitting` days in a session is about 168 in the House of
Commons and about 150 in the House of Lords.
The House of Lords consists of : all hereditary peers and peeresses of England,
Scotland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom; life peers created to assist the House in
its judicial duties – Lord of Appeal or `law lords`; all other life peers; and the
Archibishops of Canterbury and York, the Bishops of London, Durham and Winchester,
and the 21 next most senior diocesan bishops of the Church of England
Peerages, both hereditary and life, are created by the Sovereign on the advice of the
Prime Minister. They are usually granted in recognition of service in politics or other
fields of life.

The House of Commons consists of 651 Members of Parliament (MP`s) directly

elected by voters in each of Britain`s 651 parliamentary constituencies. The chief officer
of the House of Commons is the Speaker elected by MP`s to preside over the House.
General elections are held after a Parliament has been dissolved and a new one
summoned by the Queen. For electoral purposes Britain is divided into 651
constituencies, each of which returns one member of the House of Commons.

The Political Party System

The present political system in Britain depends upon the existence of organised political
parties, each of which presents its policies to the electorate for approval. Since 1945
either the Conservative Party, whose origins go back to the eighteenth century, or the
Labour Party, which emerged in the last decade of the nineteenth century, has held
power.
In 1988, a new party, the Liberal Democrates was formed. Other parties include two
nationalist parties- Plaid Cymru and the Scottish National Party. In Northern Ireland
there are several parties like the Ulster Unionist Party, , the Democratic Unionist Party
and others.
The party which wins most seats at a general election forms the Government. Leaders
of the Government and Opposition sit on the front benches on either side of the
Commons chamber with their supporters – the backbenchers- sitting behind them.
 Government business arrangements are settled under the direction of the Prime
Minister and the Leaders of the two houses, by the Government Chief Whips in
consultation with the Opposition Chief Whips.
The duty of the Chief Whips and their assistants include keeping members informed
of forthcoming parliamentary business, maintaining the party`s voting strenght by
ensuring members attend important debates, and passing on to the party leadership the
opinions of backbench members.

Parliamentary Procedure

Parliamentary procedure is based on customs and precedent. The system of debate is

similar in both Houses. The subject starts off as a proposal or `motion` by a member. At
the end of each debate the question may be decided without voting, or by a simple
majority vote. The main difference between the two Houses is that the Lord Chancellor,
who acts as Speaker of the Lords, has no authority to bring debate to an end. Such
matters are decided by the general feeling of the House. In the Commons the Speaker
has full authority to enforce the rules of the House and must guard against the abuse of
procedure and protect minority rights. The Speaker has discretion on whether to allow a
motion to end discussion so that a matter may be put to the vote and has powers to put a
stop to irrelevance and repetition in debate and to save time in other ways.

WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS TO REMEMBER:

back-bencher (Br.) n. legislator who is a member neither of the government nor of the
opposition leadership

Bill n. proposed legislation which has not yet been enacted

peer (fam. peeres) n. member of one of the five ranks of noblemen in the House of Lords
(Duke, Marquess, Earl, Viscount, or Baron)

prerogative n. prerogative powers are those which are at the autonomous disposal of
heads of state and which do not require sanction by a legislature

prorogue v. to end a session of Parliament

Royal Assent n. signing of a Bill by the Queen , confirming that the Bill is to become
law as an Act of Parliament

summon v. to ask someone to come

vest v. to transfer to someone a legal right

I.ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS:

1.Who represents the executive and the legislative power and the judiciary in UK?
2. What is “Royal Assent?
3. Which is the role of the Queen in GB?
4.Which are the main functions of British Parliament?
5. What does the House of Lords consist of?
6. What does the House of Commons consist of?
7. Which are the two strongest political parties in GB?
8. Who are the backbenchers?
9. What is the duty of the Chief Whips?
10. What is the difference between the Lord Chancellor and the Speaker, regarding
authority?
 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE USA

The United States is a federal union of 50 states, with the District of Colubia
as the seat of the national government. The Constitution outlines the structure of the
national government and specifies its powers and activities. Other governmental activities
are the responsibility of the individual states, which have their own constitutions and
laws.
All government in the United States is “of, by and for the people.” Members of
Congress, the President, state officials and those who govern counties and cities are
elected by popular vote. The President names the heads of federal departments while
judges are either elected directly by the people or appointed by elected officials.

The Constitution

The first 10 amendments to the Constitution, called the Bill of Rights, assure
individual rights and freedoms. Added in1791, they include provisions for freedom of
speech, of the press and of worship; the right of citizens to meet peacefully, the right to
be secure in one own`s home against unreasonable searches and seizure of person or
property; and the right of any person charged with breaking the law to have a speedy trial
by a jury of fellow citizens.
The Constitution divides the powers of the Government into three branches – the
Executive, headed by the President; the Legislative, which includes both houses of
Congress (the Senate and the House of Representatives); and the Judicial, which is
headed by the Supreme Court. The Constitution limits the role of each branch to prevent
any one branch from gaining undue power.
The state governments follow the same pattern as the federal government. Each
has a governer as the chief executive, with the power divided among the Executive,
Legislature and Judicial branches. State goverments manage such affairs such as
maintaining order, educating children and young adults, and building highways. The
federal government deals with national problems and international relations and with
regional problems that involve more than ona state.

Organization of the Federal Government

The president of the United States is chosen in a national election for a four-year
term of office, and may be re-elected for a second term. As head of the Executive branch,
he must carry out the government programs enacted into law by Congress. He
recommends programs and laws to Congress and requests money for federal government
operations. If a President “vetoes” or refuses to sign a bill passed by the Congress, his
veto may be overruled by a two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress. The president
appoints federal judges, ambassadors and hundreds of government officials, and assigns
duties to the elected Vice-President.

Under the U.S. Constitution a sitting President may be removed from office
before his term expires only by an impeachment process that begins with the house of
Representatives.
The department of State, headed by the secretary of State, advises the president
on foreign relations. This department handles all peaceful dealings with other countries,
and issues passports to American citizens and visas to visitors to the United States.
The Treasury Department manages government finances, collects taxes, mints
coins and prints paper money.
The Department of defence is responsible for the nation`s security. The
Secretary of Defence is assisted by the secretaries of the Army, Navy and Air Force.
The Department of Justice is headed by the Attorney general, who acts for the
government in legal matters and moves against violations of federal law. The FBI and
federal prisons are under his jurisdiction.
The Department of the Interior protects and develops the nation`s natural
resources and manages the national parks.
Other executive departments are the Department of Agriculture, the
Department of Labour, the Department of Commerce, the Department of Health and
Human services , the Department of Education,the Department of Housing and Urban
Development, the Department of Transportation and the Department of Energy.
The Legislative Branch – Congress- consists of the Senat and the House of
representatives. Each Senator is elected for six years and each Representative for two
years, with no limitation on the number of terms.
Each of the 50 states elects two Senators under a system in which one-third
of the senate is elected every two years. The House of Representatives has 435 members.
Each state is divided into congrassional districts of roughly equal population, and the
voters of each district elect one representative to the Congress.
Both branches of Congress must approve bills before they become law. The
Senate alone confirms the President`s nominees for high-level official positions, and
ratifies treaties with other nations.
In foreign policy matters the President`s chief adviser is the Secretary of
State. He also gets advice from the National Security Council, made up of representatives
of government agencies involved in foreign relations. The powers of the President are not
unlimited; commitments that he makes are subject to review by Congress, which also
must authorize funds for proposed operations, and which has the sole power to declare
war.
WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS TO REMEMBER:

Attorney General n. (U.S.) minister of legal affairs in a state or federal government

Bill of Rights n. the first ten amandments to the U.S Constitution which guarantee certain
basic freedoms and individual rights

Checks and balances n. pl. (U.S.) the powers (as judicial review, the presidential veto
and the congressional override) conferred on each of the three branches of government by
which each restraints the others from exerting too much power

impeachment n. the right of the House of Representatives to charge a government

official (president or judge) with a high crime or misdemeanor

speedy trial n. a right guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment and intended to insure that
defendants are not subjected to unreasonably lenghty incarceration prior to a fair trial

I.ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS:

1.Who is elected by popular vote in the USA?

2. What is the `Bill of Rights`?
3. How are the powers of the US government divided by the Constitution?
4. What do state government manage?
5. What does the federal government deal with?
6. Which are the duties of the president of the United States?
7. What is the role of the State Department?
8. What does the legislative branch consist of?
9. What are the functions of the two branches of the American Congress?
 THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

The ministry of foreign affairs is responsible for relations with other states and
international organizations. It is headed by a Minister of Foreign Affairs, who in some
countries is referred to as the Minister for External Affairs (India), Minister for External
Relations (Brasil), Secretary of State (USA) or Secretary of State for Foreign and
Commonwealth Affairs (UK) etc.
The Minister`s executive function is to implement the foreign policy of the
government and to manage its international relations . When the government is
dominated by a strong prime minister, the foreign minister may be limited to playing a
more marginal role in determining foreign policy. Similarly, the political powers of the
foreign minister are often more limited in presidential governments with a strong
executive.
The functions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs may be divided into several
sections: Political Affairs; The United Nations; Other international and regional
organizations ; Treaties; Legal affairs; Protocol; Trade and economic relations; Cultural
relations; Press and information and others.
When a Minister of Foreign affairs wishes to convey a message to another
government he has two possible means of communication: through his country`s own
diplomatic representative in the foreign country concerned, or through that country`s
representative to the Minister`s own government (relations with foreign missions).
In the United States, foreign policy is developed by the president with the
assistance of the secretary of state and specialists and diplomats in the State Department.
In addition , both houses of Congress have input through committees on foreign relations
in the Senate and foreign affairs in the House. The Senate must “ advise and consent” in
approving treates, the appointment of high level State Department officials and
ambassadors.
The meaning of the expression “Secretary of State” is different in the United
States and in Great Britain. While in the USA, the Secretary of State is the person in
charge of the Department of State, which is concerned with foreign affairs, in GB it is a
member of the government in charge of a department (ex. The Secretary of State for
Education and Employment). These heads of departments in the US government are
called simply Secretary (for ex. Secretary for Defense or Defense Secretary)
The Ministry of Foreign Affair is a part of the overall machinery for conducting
external policy, along with its diplomatic posts abroad and with the heads of foreign
missions accredited to its state.

WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS TO REMEMBER

Secretary of State n. GB member of the government in charge of a department

Secretary of State n. US senior member of the government in charge of foreign affairs

I.ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS:

1. How is the Minister of Foreign Affairs referred to in some countries?

2. What is the Minister`s main executive function?
3. Which are the sections in which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs presents its
functions?
4. Which are the two possible means of communication for a Minister of Foreign
Affairs to convey a message?
5. Who is responsible for the foreign policy in the USA?
6. What is the difference in meaning of `Secretary of State` in the USA and in GB?
 DIPLOMACY

Diplomacy is the art and practice of conducting negotiations between representatives of

groups or states. It usually refers to international diplomacy, the conduct of international
relations with the help of professional diplomats with regard to issues of peace-making,
trade, war, economics, culture, environment and human rights. International treaties are
usually negotiated by diplomats prior to endorsement by national politicians. In an
informal or social sense, diplomacy is the employment of tact to gain strategic advantage
or to find mutually acceptable solutions to a common challenge, one set of tools being the
phrasing of statements in a non-confrontational, or polite manner.

Diplomatic immunity

The sanctity of diplomats has long been observed. This sanctity has come to be known as
diplomatic immunity. While there have been a number of cases where diplomats have
been killed, this is normally viewed as a great breach of honour.

Diplomatic rights were established in the mid-17th century in Europe and have spread
throughout the world. These rights were formalized by the 1961 Vienna Convention on
Diplomatic Relations, which protects diplomats from being persecuted or prosecuted
while on a diplomatic mission. If a diplomat does commit a serious crime while in a host
country he may be declared as persona non grata (unwanted person). Such diplomats are
then often tried for the crime in their homeland.

Diplomatic communications are also viewed as sacrosanct, and diplomats have long been
allowed to carry documents across borders without being searched. The mechanism for
this is the so-called "diplomatic bag" (or, in some countries, the "diplomatic pouch").
While radio and digital communication have become more standard for embassies,
diplomatic pouches are still quite common and some countries, including the United
States, declare entire shipping containers as diplomatic pouches to bring sensitive
material (often building supplies) into a country.

In times of hostility, diplomats are often withdrawn for reasons of personal safety, as well
as in some cases when the host country is friendly but there is a perceived threat from
internal dissidents. Ambassadors and other diplomats are sometimes recalled temporarily
by their home countries as a way to express displeasure with the host country. In both
cases, lower-level employees still remain to actually do the business of diplomacy.

Diplomatic recognition

Diplomatic recognition is an important factor in determining whether a nation is an

independent state. Receiving recognition is often difficult, even for countries which are
fully sovereign. For many decades after its becoming independent, even many of the
closest allies of the Dutch Republic refused to grant it full recognition. Today there are a
number of independent entities without widespread diplomatic recognition, most notably
the Republic of China (ROC) on Taiwan. Since the 1970s, most nations have stopped
officially recognizing the ROC's existence on Taiwan, at the insistence of the People's
Republic of China. Currently, the United States and other nations maintain informal
relations through de facto embassies, with names such as the American Institute in
Taiwan. Similarly, Taiwan's de facto embassies abroad are known by names such as the
Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office. This was not always the case, with
the US maintaining official diplomatic ties with the ROC, recognizing it as the sole and
legitimate government of all of China until 1979, when these relations were broken off as
a condition for establishing official relations with Communist China.

The Palestinian National Authority has its own diplomatic service, however Palestinian
representatives in most Western countries are not accorded diplomatic immunity, and
their missions are referred to as Delegations General.

Other unrecognized regions which claim independence include Kosovo, Abkhazia,

Transnistria, Somaliland, South Ossetia, Nagorno Karabakh, and the Turkish Republic of
Northern Cyprus. Lacking the economic and political importance of Taiwan, these
nations tend to be much more diplomatically isolated.

Though used as a factor in judging sovereignty, Article 3 of the Montevideo Convention

states, "The political existence of the state is independent of recognition by other states."

Informal Diplomacy

Informal diplomacy (sometimes called Track II diplomacy) has been used for centuries to
communicate between powers. Most diplomats work to recruit figures in other nations
who might be able to give informal access to a country's leadership. In some situations,
such as between the United States and the People's Republic of China a large amount of
diplomacy is done through semi-formal channels using interlocutors such as academic
members of thinktanks. This occurs in situations where governments wish to express
intentions or to suggest methods of resolving a diplomatic situation, but do not wish to
express a formal position.

Track II diplomacy is a specific kind of informal diplomacy, in which non-officials

(academic scholars, retired civil and military officials, public figures, social activists)
engage in dialogue, with the aim of conflict resolution, or confidence-building.
Sometimes governments may fund such Track II exchanges. Sometimes the exchanges
may have no connection at all with governments, or may even act in defiance of
governments; such exchanges are called Track III.

On some occasion a former holder of an official position continues to carry out an

informal diplomatic activity after retirement. In some cases, governments welcome such
activity, for example as a means of establishing an initial contact with a hostile state of
group without being formally committed. In other cases, however, such informal
diplomats seek to promote a political agenda different from that of the government
currently in power.

Cultural Diplomacy

Cultural diplomacy is a part of diplomacy. It alludes to a new way of making diplomacy

by involving new non governmental and non professional actors in the making of
diplomacy. In the frame of globalization, culture plays a major role in the definition of
identity and in the relations between people. Joseph Nye points out the importance of
having a soft power besides a hard power. When classical diplomacy fails, a better
knowledge can help bridging the gap between different cultures.

Ambassadors

The basis of diplomacy is communication of thoughts and ideas between the governments
of the states and to an increasing extent with international organizations, and this can be
effected directly between heads of the governments or indirectly through the
intermediary or written correspondence of an ambassador. An ambassador is
indispensible to diplomatic relations between countries. But, an ambassador does not
work on his own; he is the head of a diplomatic mission which, working together as a
team, provide the important link between governments or between a government and an
international organization.

The basic task of an ambassador is to report on the political, economic and social
conditions in the country where he works, to report on the policy of his/her government
and on his talks with political leaders. He has to reduce friction, if there is any and to oil
the wheels of bilateral or multilateral relations in the event of actual or potential bilateral
or wider conflict.
Permanent diplomatic relations are considered to exist only with the establishment of a
diplomatic mission, or preferably with the exchange of diplomatic missions. The
functions of diplomatic missions have been defined by Vienna Convention on
Deplomatic Relations from 1961.

In certain instances diplomatic missions may be withdrawn as a result of mutual

agreement between the states concerned. This maneuver is used as a protest. In some
cases only the head of the mission leaves, the remainder of the staff, by agreement of the
host state, carry on their political, commercial and cultural activities.

The new ambassador – designate has a great deal to learn in order to perform effectively
at his /her new post. Before leaving his or her own country every new chief of mission
spends a lot of time analysing both the nature and extent of his country`s interests in the
country to which he or she is being sent and the issues of principal concern in the
bilateral relationship.

The new chief of mission is is in diplomatic limbo on the local scene until he or she
formally presents credentials to the host chief of state. During this time in limbo the
ambassador may not pay formal calls either on government officials or on diplomatic
coleagues.

A head of mission is provided with credentials to prove his authenticity to the Head of
State to which he is accredited. The ceremony begins with an invitation by the country`s
foreign minister to the appointed ambassador to present copies of his or her letters of
credence and the brief remarks he or she plans to make at the following ceremony with
the head of state.

WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS TO REMEMBER

ambassador- designate n. an ambassador who has not formally presented credentials to

the host chief of state

ambassador plenipotentiary n ambassador with full powers to negotiate and sign

treates on behalf of his country

credentials n (pl.) official documents proving that an ambassador has really been
appointed legally

diplomatic limbo n a period of time in which the ambassador may not pay formal calls
either on government officials or on diplomatic colleagues

diplomatic immunity n a general international standard by which ambassadors are not

subject to the laws of the land in which they are serving
endorse v. to express formal support or approval for sth. or sb.

interlocutor n (formal) the person speaking to you

sacrosanct n sth. which is so important that cannot be criticised or changed

sanctity n holliness

thinkthanks n (pl) committee of people with experience in a particular subject that an

organisation or government establishes to produce ideas and give advice

I.ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS:

1. What is diplomacy concerned with?

2. What is diplomatic imunity?

3. What is a “diplomatic bag”?

4. What does diplomatic recognition imply?

5. What kind of diplomacy is informal diplomacy?

6. What is the basic task of an ambassador?

7. What do ambassadors usually do during the time in “limbo”?

8. What kind of documents are credentials?

DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENCE

The forms of documents used in relations between states are different : statements,
addresses, notes, memoranda, letters, telegrammes, aide-memoires, communiques, and
reports of official informational services. They include of course all those documents
which are issued by the leadership of one country and its government, the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, and the diplomatic missions abroad.

The states may also address their diplomatic documents (statements, declarations, letters,
memoranda, etc.) to the United Nations. They are registered there as UN documents and
are circulated among the organization's member-states.

The generally accepted forms of diplomatic documents often used in correspondence

between diplomatic missions, as well as in contacts with the Foreign Ministry of the
receiving country, are notes, memoranda, aides memoirs, and personal letters.

Notes

Note is a form of communication between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Chief
of Diplomatic Mission and vice versa. There are two kinds of notes: verbal and formal.
They differ in their forms of expression. The verbal note is written in the third person
and unsigned, while the personal note is composed in the first person and is always
signed. The word "verbal" takes its origin in the Latin word "verbalis" which means
"oral", "in words". As applied to the verbal note the word implies that such note is equal
to an oral statement or information. The verbal note is rather popular in diplomatic
communication. As any other document it may be used for communications of high
political significance , but it also refers to everyday routine matters, informing the
Foreign Ministry of the receiving country about the arrival of a new staff-member of the
mission or a delegation, asking for entry visas, etc.
Formal notes (personal notes, personal letters) are written in the first person and are
always signed by the writer. It is used to give the communication amore intimate or
confidential character. It is mostly used for congratulations, expressions of sympathy, etc

Circular Notes are sent by the Foreign Minister or by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to
all foreign diplomatic missions or by one diplomatic mission to another one on matters of
interest to the diplomatic body as a whole.

Collective Notes are communications jointly signed by powers either closely joined in
their political relations or actual of a former alliance and addresses to a state either
closely joined outside the alliance or not participating in close relationship. It is usually
written in the third person and may contain a closing coplementary formula. The note is
signed either in alphabatical order of the signatory states or according to precedence of
the chefs of mission who have drafted it.

Identical notes. When two or more governments want to make a representation to a third
power, they deliver similar notes. Each power signs its own `identical note` , repeating
the communication in its own terms, or in identical terms.

Memorandum is a detailed written statement of facts and arguments which does not
differ essentially from a note, except that it does not begin with a formula of courtesy. It
need not be signed, but it may be convinient to deliver it by means of a short covering
note.

Aide memoire (pro Memoria) is a formal or informal summary or record of a diplomatic

interview or conversation, serving as its name indicates nearly as an aid memory. The
important function of Aide memoire is to prevent wrong interpretation of oral
presentation or diplomatic conversation. It is written in the third person without salutation
or complementary close.

WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS TO REMEMBER

aide-memoire n. a memorandum summerizing the items of an agreement

correspond (with sb) v. to write letters to someone

note n. official letter sent from one country to another

I.ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS:

1. Which are the forms of documents used in relations between states?

2. What is a note in diplomatic correspondence?

3. What is a verbal note?

4. What is a formal note?

INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS

A treaty is an express agreement under international law entered into by actors in

international law, namely sovereign states and international organizations. A treaty may
also be known as an (international) agreement, protocol, covenant, convention or
exchange of letters, among other terms. Regardless of terminology, all of these forms of
agreements are, under international law, equally considered treaties and the rules are the
same.

Treaties can be loosely compared to contracts: both are means of willing parties assuming
obligations among themselves, and a party that fails to live up to their obligations can be
held liable under international law.

A treaty is an official, express written agreement that states use to legally bind
themselves. A treaty is that official document which expresses that agreement in words;
and it is also the objective outcome of a ceremonial occasion which acknowledges the
parties and their defined relationships.

Bileteral and multilateral treates

Bilateral treaties are concluded between two states or entities. It is possible however for a
bilateral treaty to have more than two parties; consider for instance the bilateral treaties
between Switzerland and the European Union (EU) following the Swiss rejection of the
European Economic Area agreement. Each of these treaties has seventeen parties. These
however are still bilateral, not multilateral, treaties. The parties are divided into two
groups, the Swiss ("on the one part") and the EU and its member states ("on the other
part"). The treaty establishes rights and obligations between the Swiss and the EU and the
member states severally; it does not establish any rights and obligations amongst the EU
and its member states.

A multilateral treaty is concluded among several countries. The agreement establishes

rights and obligations between each party and every other part. Treaties of "mutual
guarantee" are international compacts, e.g., the Treaty of Locarno which guarantees each
signatory against attack from another.

Amendments

There are three ways an existing treaty can be amended. First, formal amendment
requires States parties to the treaty to go through the ratification process all over again.
The re-negotiation of treaty provisions can be long and protracted, and often some parties
to the original treaty will not become parties to the amended treaty. When determining
the legal obligations of states, one party to the original treaty and one a party to the
amended treaty, the states will only be bound by the terms they both agreed upon.
Treaties can also be amended informally by the treaty executive council when the
changes are only procedural, technical change in customary international law can also
amend a treaty, where state behavior evinces a new interpretation of the legal obligations
under the treaty. Minor corrections to a treaty may be adopted by a procès-verbal; but a
procès-verbal is generally reserved for changes to rectify obvious errors in the text
adopted, i.e. where the text adopted does not correctly reflect the intention of the parties
adopting it.

Protocols

In international law and international relations, a protocol is generally a treaty or

international agreement that supplements a previous treaty or international agreement. A
protocol can amend the previous treaty, or add additional provisions. Parties to the earlier
agreement are not required to adopt the protocol; sometimes this is made clearer by
calling it an "optional protocol", especially where many parties to the first agreement do
not support the protocol.

Some examples: the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

(UNFCCC) established a framework for the development of binding greenhouse gas
emission limits, while the Kyoto Protocol contained the specific provisions and
regulations later agreed upon.
Consequences of terminology

One significant part of treaty making is that signing a treaty implies recognition that the
other side is a sovereign state and that the agreement being considered is enforceable
under international law. Hence, nations can be very careful about terming an agreement
to be a treaty. For example, within the United States agreements between states are
compacts and agreements between states and the federal government or between agencies
of the government are memoranda of understanding.

Another situation can occur when one party wishes to create an obligation under
international law, but the other party does not. This factor has been at work with respect
to discussions between North Korea and the United States over security guarantees and
nuclear proliferation.

The terminology can also be confusing because a treaty may and usually is named by
something other than a treaty, such as a convention, protocol, or simply agreement.
Conversely some legal documents such as the Treaty of Waitangi are internationally
considered to be documents under domestic law.

DECLARATION

This term is used for bilateral or multilateral international documents and for important
declarations given collectively e.g. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

EXCHANGE OF NOTES

Agreements are frequently concluded by means of formal notes exchanged between the
Minister of Foreign Affairs, acting on behalf of his government and the resident
diplomatic agent of the other country, similarly authorised.
These notes generally regulate a definite question and they are result of oral discussion of
the subject matter but, they may be the outcome of a correspondence in which the
proposal has been put forward and discussed in advance .

CONCORDAT

It is an agreement between the Holy Sea (Vatican) and other states. It usually has a
purpose to regulate position and protect interests of the Roman Catholic Church in the
state concerned.

STATUTE
Statute is an agreement of contractual character of the establishment of an international
organization, or on the foundation of a special organ or body.

WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS TO REMEMBER

amendment n. a) change made in a document b) change proposed to a Bill which is

being discussed in Parliament or Congress

compact n. a signed written agreement between two or more parties (nations)

concordat n. a) a formal agreement; a compact b) an agreement between the pope and a

government for the regulation of church affairs

convention n. an international treaty

declaration n. a) official statement b) statement made, signed and witnessed for official
purposes

I.ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS:

1. What is a treaty?
2. Which are the two types of treates regarding the number of states included?
3. How can an existing treaty be amended?
4. What is a protocol in international law?
5. What is the difference between treaties and compacts?
6. How are treaties sometimes referred to?
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Cvetanovska, D. Political Studies , Skopje : Boro Grafika, 1997

Cvetanovska, D. Political Studies Foreign Policy, Skopje : Boro Grafika, 1998

Dictionary of Government and Politics, Cambridge: Peter Collin Publishing, second

edition

Hill Thomson K. & Hill. G. The Facts On File Dictionary of American Politics. New
York : An imprint of Facts on File, Inc., 2001

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English , England: Longman Group Ltd, 1995

Oxford concise Dictionary of Politics, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996