separation of powers

Examples of separation of powers in the following topics:

• Democracy

  • Democracy is a form of government in which the power of government comes from the people.
  • Even though there is no universally accepted definition of democracy, all definitions include two fundamental principles: First, in a democracy, all citizens have equal access to power.
  • Many also institute measures such as the separation of powers, which divides executive, judicial, and legislative authority among different branches of government to protect against the possibility that a single government or branch of government could accumulate too much power and become harmful to democracy itself.
  • Green, yellow, and blue are presidential republics with less (green) or more (blue) presidential power.
  • Red are parliamentary constitutional monarchies in which the monarch does not personally exercise power.

• Types of Governments

  • In addition to there existing various legitimate means of holding power, there are a variety of forms of government.
  • A monarchy is a form of government in which supreme power is absolutely or nominally lodged with an individual, who is the head of state, often for life or until abdication.
  • However, if any democracy is not carefully legislated to avoid an uneven distribution of political power with balances, such as the separation of powers, then a branch of the system of rule could accumulate power and become harmful to the democracy itself.
  • An oligarchy is a form of government in which power effectively rests with a small elite segment of society distinguished by royalty, wealth, family, military or religious hegemony.
  • Such states are often controlled by politically powerful families whose children are heavily conditioned and mentored to be heirs of the power of the oligarchy.

• Types of States

  • States come in a variety of forms that vary based on who holds power, how positions of leadership are obtained, and how authority is maintained.
  • A monarchy is a form of government in which supreme power is absolutely or nominally lodged with an individual, who is the head of state, often for life or until abdication.
  • An oligarchy is a form of government in which power effectively rests with a small elite segment of society distinguished by royalty, wealth, family, military, or religious hegemony.
  • The two principles of a democracy are that all citizens have equal access to power and that all citizens enjoy universally recognized freedoms and liberties.
  • However, if any democracy is not carefully legislated with balances, such as the separation of powers, to avoid an uneven distribution of political power, then a branch of the system of rule could accumulate power and become harmful to the democracy itself.

• Weber's View of Stratification

  • Max Weber formed a three-component theory of stratification in which social difference is determined by class, status, and power.
  • Weber examined how many members of the aristocracy lacked economic wealth, yet had strong political power.
  • Weber introduced three independent factors that form his theory of stratification hierarchy: class, status, and power.
  • He treated these as separate but related sources of power, each with different effects on social action.
  • Power refers to a person's ability to get their way despite the resistance of others.

• Dictatorship and Totalitarianism

  • Dictatorships govern without consent of the people and in totalitarian dictatorships the power to govern extends to all aspects of life.
  • Dictatorship and totalitarianism are often associated, but they are actually two separate phenomena.
  • Dictatorship is a form of government in which the ruler has the power to govern without consent of those being governed.
  • Totalitarian regimes stay in political power through all-encompassing propaganda campaigns (disseminated through the state-controlled mass media), a single party that is often marked by political repression, personality cultism, control over the economy, regulation and restriction of speech, mass surveillance, and widespread use of terror.
  • In other words, dictatorship concerns the source of the governing power (where the power comes from—the people or a single leader) and totalitarianism concerns the scope of the governing power (what is the government and how extensive is its power).

• Social Class

  • "We are the 99%" became the protestors' rallying cry, drawing attention to how small of a percentage of the population (1%) controls so much of the financial and political power in America.
  • However, the socioeconomic classification is a stand-in for the amount of power possessed by an individual.
  • For Weber, power refers to an individual's ability to impose his will on others, regardless of their wishes.
  • Social class is commonly organized into a three-class model, by which individuals are separated into upper, middle, and lower classes.
  • The upper class consists of the wealthy and powerful individuals who own and control the means of production.

• Power

  • Often, the study of power in a society is referred to as "politics. "
  • The use of power need not involve coercion (force or the threat of force).
  • Because power operates both relationally and reciprocally, sociologists speak of the balance of power between parties to a relationship.
  • Sociologists usually analyze relationships in which the parties have relatively equal or nearly equal power in terms of constraint rather than of power.
  • Compare the positives and negatives associated with the use of power and how power operates in society

• Religion in the U.S.

  • The separation of the church and state has allowed the private practice of diverse religions.
  • The First Amendment specifically denies the Federal Government the power to enact any law respecting either an establishment of religion or prohibiting its free exercise.
  • The decision was mainly influenced by European Rationalist and Protestant ideals, but was also a consequence of the pragmatic concerns of minority religious groups and small states that did not want to be under the power or influence of a national religion that did not represent their beliefs.
  • Kennedy: "Considering the separation of church and state, how is a president justified in using the word 'God' at all?
  • The answer is that the separation of church and state has not denied the political realm a religious dimension. "

• Functions of the State

  • Various schools of thought consider the state to be either a neutral entity separated from society or an immoral partisan instrument.
  • Such states differ from sovereign states, in that they have transferred a portion of their sovereign powers to a federal government .
  • Marxist theory, on the other hand, sees politics as intimately intermingled with economic relations, and emphasizes the relationship between economic power and political power.
  • Anarchists believe that the state apparatus should be completely dismantled and an alternative set of social relations created, which would be unrelated to state power.
  • Pluralists view society as a collection of individuals and groups competing for political power.

• Power

  • Employer-employee relationships offer an example of power relations.
  • Power can be seen as evil or unjust, but the exercise of power is accepted as endemic to humans as social beings.
  • The use of power need not involve coercion, force or the threat of force.
  • Sociologists usually analyze relationships in which parties have relatively equal or nearly equal power in terms of constraint rather than of power.
  • Thus power has a connotation of unilateralism.