What is the Executive Branch? Why has it become more powerful over the last six presidencies? Why should we be wary of increased Executive Branch use? These are all questions that Professor Jane Mansbridge, Professor of Political Leadership and Democratic Values at the Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy and Professor, at the Harvard Kennedy School., and Professor Mark Beeson, Professor of International Politics at the University of Western Australia go a long way to answering.
Professor Mansbridge starts the program by telling us what the executive branch actually is. She describes it as being made up by the President, the Vice-President, and the administrative agencies. The main point being, she argues, that as we all become more interdependent, we need more administration. She goes on to explain that the US system is unique, and has a separation of powers that we do not have in the UK. In America, according to Professor Mansbridge, the laws are devised in Congressional committees and passed in Congress itself. Once the laws have been passed they are handed over to the Executive Branch to execute. Host John Harrison then argues that the debate is whether or not the Executive Branch introduces legislation which is not passed by Congress.
Professor Beeson explains from the perspective of Australia at least, people are concerned about the implications of a Donald Trump presidency anyway, and this concern is exacerbated because this is happening at a time when both houses of Congress have a capacity to make appointments to the Supreme Court. John Harrison raises the issue of wars which have been started by the executive branch, sanctions against Russia, climate change regulations which have all been instigated by the executive branch without being approved by Congress. Professor Mansbridge then states that as the President is Commander In Chief, he has responsibility for the military in a way that is somewhat separate from the general administering set of functions, ditto for foreign affairs, to a certain degree. The ‘certain degree’ is arguable however, as the President is supposed to get power from Congress so that treaties can be signed, but the problem is that since about the 1980s, America has been moving to a highly polarised system;, and Congress has literally been blocked by opposing forces, making it impossible to do anything.
John Harrison argues that if this is the case, and the presidency has to take over, then is this not a direct affront on democracy, in fact one could ask if America is still a democratic country? Professor Mansbridge explains that the President is still elected, and that democracy comes in many different forms across the developed world. No other countries have chosen the American system after it was devised; it is not perfect, but it is still ultimately democratic. Professor Beeson says that actually America is often held up as shining light of democracy around the world, and people have tried to promote the American system as an ideal form of democracy. However there have been increasing discussions, at a time when politics is increasingly polarized, about whether this is true or not. The danger is exacerbated because we now have a President who seems to be highly contentious to many American governmental traditions and institutions.
The situation is hard to change, because the US constitution is designed so that it is hard to change, as Professor Mansbridge pointed out. The best hope she says is the ‘Power of Increasing Norms,’ but this is a ‘norm breaker.’ One would expect the Supreme Court of Justice to play more of a role of arbitrator in this situation, but even there we find that vacancies coming up in the Court will be filled by judges who hold extreme views. Thus the Supreme Court will not be able to fulfill the role envisaged for it by the Founding Fathers. Professor Mansbridge’s main point is that until such time as we see greater bipartisanship in Congress, we will see an increase in the role of the Executive Branch.
The program ends with an interesting discussion on the way that modern economics are making old systems of government redundant, and that because of infrastructural reasons, they are finding difficulty in adapting. This is particularly true for larger countries whereas smaller countries like Denmark can change more quickly.
Listen to this program!
We'd love to get your feedback at radio@sputniknews.com
