Comparative government: UK, USA, France, Switzerland

Political Science · Comparative politics and political change. The idea in plain words, the rules to remember, the mistake to avoid and a worked example, written and checked by Mega Lecture.

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The idea

These four states show four different designs. Britain is unitary and parliamentary, with an uncodified constitution and a sovereign Parliament. The monarch is head of state; the Prime Minister, leader of the majority in the House of Commons, heads the government.

The United States is federal and presidential, with a written constitution, strict separation of powers and judicial review. The President is both head of state and head of government.

France under the Fifth Republic is unitary and semi-presidential: a directly elected President shares executive power with a Prime Minister who answers to the National Assembly. Switzerland is federal, with a collegial executive of seven and frequent use of direct democracy.

Rules to remember

UK: parliamentary sovereignty (Parliament can make or unmake any law); Parliament = House of Commons (elected) and House of Lords (unelected, can delay but not finally block).
USA: Congress = Senate (100 members, two per state, six-year terms) and House of Representatives (435 members, two-year terms).
US President: chosen through the Electoral College (538 electors, 270 needed) for four years; cabinet secretaries are not members of Congress and answer to the President.
The US Senate is a strong chamber, equal in legislation, with power to approve treaties and appointments; the House of Lords is far weaker.
France: Fifth Republic founded in 1958 under Charles de Gaulle; President appoints the Prime Minister; Parliament = National Assembly and Senate.
Switzerland: Federal Council of seven members elected by the Federal Assembly; the presidency rotates each year; Federal Assembly = National Council and Council of States; 26 cantons.
Federal: USA, Switzerland. Unitary: UK, France.

Common mistake

Do not call France presidential. It is semi-presidential because the government, led by the Prime Minister, is responsible to the National Assembly, unlike the American cabinet.

Worked example

Compare how the head of government can be removed for political reasons in Britain and in the United States.

In Britain the Prime Minister needs the confidence of the House of Commons, so a vote of no confidence can bring the government down at any time.
In the United States the President has a fixed four-year term and does not depend on the confidence of Congress.
Congress can remove a President only by impeachment and conviction for serious offences, not for policy disagreement.

Answer: Britain: removal by loss of confidence in the Commons. USA: fixed term, removal only by impeachment. This is the core difference between parliamentary and presidential systems.

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