Exam 13: Legislatures

Examine the committee system.How do committees function to create laws? What other roles do committees play in the process of legislative representation? Assess the advantages and disadvantages of these roles.

The United States parliament consists of two chambers, the __________ and the __________.

Most parliaments use a unicameral system, with fewer parliaments worldwide implementing bicameral systems.

Contrary to Locke's expectations, nineteenth-century legislatures __________.

Which of the following terms is defined as the post-feudal concentration of power in a monarch?

Virtually every legislature has a number of standing or permanent committees and may from time to time create special __________ committees to study urgent matters.

China's National People's Congress uses a __________ parliament.

The English Civil War erupted between which two political forces?

Examine the psychological effect of apartheid legislature on South Africa's racial majority.

Like some two-thirds of parliaments around the world, the French __________ maintains a bicameral legislature.

During the Age of Enlightenment, French philosopher René DesCartes declared that liberty could be secured only if government were divided into four distinct branches, with the ability to check and balance each other.

The main purpose of legislative bodies, in theory, is to formulate laws.This, however, varies among political systems and is generally __________.

Assignment to the more prestigious of Congressional committees, such as the House Ways and Means Committee or Armed Services Committee, is frequently damaging to representatives' careers, and thus, they tend to avoid these assignments.

Evaluate the work of today's legislators.To what extent are they responsible for creating laws?

Under the Unites States Constitution, the Senate represents __________ while the House represents __________.

What is the effect of "divided" government, such as that used in the United States, on spending and policy formation?

Examine the power relationship between Britain's House of Commons and the House of Lords.

Projects that bring improvements to or spend money in a representative's district are called __________.

Because of the separation of powers inherent in a presidential system, some scholars think that executive-legislative __________is common in systems like that used in the United States.

For better or worse, a __________ age has shifted power away from legislatures.