CHAPTER SEVEN
Institutions

Study

Institutions, like executives, legislatures, and bureaucracies exist to perform important functions. Sometimes these functions are simple, for example, passing laws or implementing laws. However, at other times institutions perform other roles that are not as readily understood, for example, when legislative hearings educate the public or when a chief executive serves as symbolic head of the country. Some countries give the roles of head of state and head of government to one person; other countries split the job between two officeholders. When structuring institutions to perform their roles, choices abound. One of the most basic choices is whether to have a parliamentary system or a presidential system. In a parliamentary system, the executive is a member of parliament, while in a presidential system the executive is separate from parliament or legislature. Once a country decides whether or not it wants to have separation of powers, it must select how it wishes to choose its representatives. Presuming that there will be elections, a country can choose either proportional representation, which is more likely to provide ideological representation or district elections, which promote geographic representation. Representatives also have a choice to make, that is, what type of legislator do they wish to be? Do they want to be delegates—individuals who simply follow whatever the majority wants—or will they be trustees—individuals who make their own choices? Perhaps, as a politico, an individual might do a little of both. Students should learn two very important lessons from this chapter. First, the design of a nation’s institutions can tell us about the nation’s ideals and values. For example, a country that elects its representatives through proportional representation makes a very different value statement from one that elects representatives through district elections. Of course, both make a different value statement from a country that does not even elect its representatives. Second, it is reassuring to know that someone regulates the amount of rat hair in hot dogs.

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