Yea I'm doing some reading as well, because I need to find sources for my findings. But I just got started researching it, so basically this video was perfect to get me started and get some initial comprehension on France's political system :).
Great video for relationships between powers, sorry if I missed it but was wondering about a few of the actual powers: which bodies can propose laws, and which can block laws?
Je suis français et cette vidéo m'a plu, parce qu'elle montre un point de vue neutre sur notre système politique. (Translation to English: I am french and i liked this video because it shows a neutral view of our political system.)
I'm researching for a presentation, an explanation and comparison of the American and French political systems, very similar to your video. I was wondering if you could suggest any English or French sources , as I will be presenting in French and need to know the proper vocabulary for discussing comparative politics en français.
Sorry for the late reply. I'm afraid my French is far too weak to be of any help with terminology. Most of the studies I've seen comparing Britain and France tends to focus on particular parts of the two countries, like a certain policy field, or level of government. Like this one: www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03003939908433969?journalCode=flgs20
Hey mate thanks for the video! just a question, do you know whether a unitary government has different branches of government or do only Federal governments have this? Eg Judicial branch, Executive branch, and Parlimentary branch? thankyou!
Sorry for the late reply. Yes, a unitary government does have different branches of government, but powers are not separated between them, which is why it's called a fused system. But they are still clearly distinguishable from each other by virtue of what they do. So, the parliament passes laws, no the executive. The executive tells the public administration what to do, and so on.
unuseful. The Front National is nearly nothing. Everybody speak about this party, but it has no weight : no deputy, no senator, rules no region or department. The Front National only rules a dozen of small cities. The far right in Germany has more political weight. You should be concerned about that.
Also - do the readings, too! The written material no doubt has more nuances than this video can have, but the video can be a good source of inspiration for what to pay attention to while doing the readings! Just saying!
I honestly have no idea. Never studied the Romanian system, but given the Romanian fascination for France, it wouldn't surprise me if there was some similarity. Romania isn't typically a country covered during intro courses to comparative. Maybe do a research paper and share your results?
Shawn Afshar I'm sure there would be, depending on where you are in the world. French is still important in at least some diplomacy, and patently in the francophonie. Also, if you live in a region where French is a dominant language, you'd be well served in any area that interacts a lot with government, be it inside the public administration, in NGOs or in private companies that deal with government a lot.
Good question Calancea! As always, it's a matter of what you compare with. France today is more decentralized with France of the 1950s, that is correct. But by international standards, France is one of the most centralized unitary democracies in the world. So, to take an example, Canada is one of the most decentralized federations in the world, and the power that Canadian provincial governments have in relation to the national government has no equivalent in France.
+Calancea Robert Yes and no. We had a bunch of laws since 1982 to decentralize the country but France remains a very centralized country for political reasons. The centralization in France is more than a consequence of institutions and laws. We have no natural borders with Germany. To keep our national integraty towards the germans (and all our neighbours) our school is shaped in Paris. Our french republican school is very strict and very similar from school to school. This school is free (until your Phd.). You can be in Marseille, Lille, Lyon or Paris, you will learn the exact same thing with the exact same maneers. It's at school that we learn the notion of "being a french citizen". So, after this learning each politician continue to shape the country around this idea of "the republican free school". It's in the french culture since Jean Jaurès (and before that since the french revolution). That's why sometimes the foreigners make a biased analyze with the muslims in France. In fact, the french muslims received the same ideals at school. They are really very french in their attitude.
Wait, the National Assembly can't propose laws? WTF? That's almost as undemocratic as the way the European Union passes laws, there the Commission (EU's executive) also has the sole right to propose legislation
To be fair to the EU, it's the most democratic body of regional governance in the world. The EU should be compared to NAFTA or MERCOSUR and such bodies, and none of them have any input from regular voters at all at any level.
0:18 Wrong. In the US, the people elect an electoral college, whose members, in turn, elect the President. The American presidential election is indirect, whereas the presidential election is direct in France.
Political science disagrees, as do most ranking systems. Every political system has its idiosyncrasies, of course. There is not perfection anywhere. But France ranks as Free in Freedom House's Freedom index. freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2019/france
you should call it "how the French system is different than the American". As usual Americans think everyone follows their politics and know their system
Professor Hellstrom I think he is talking about the newly vetted power of the parliament that impeachment of the president by the specially convened Republican High Court from both houses under the proposal of either hose. However, the National Assembly Election and Presidential Election always happen in the same year so the cohabitation is also becoming less unlikely to occur.
