POLS 2306 Short Answer Assignment PDF

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POLS 2306 Short Answer Assignment...

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What is sovereignty? What is the purpose of government? Explain the origins of federalism as a part of American democracy, and the role of states in decision-making in our government. Sovereignty is "the authority of the state to govern itself or another state" but in the United States, it's rather simple; an independent nation with control of its own affairs, governed by its own or those elected by the American people. A structured sovereignty led to the creation of the constitution according to which the government was established. The primary purpose of a government is to provide for the citizens for the nation, establish a safe border and uphold its identity as a nation amongst other nations. There are numerous complicated reasons as to why governments exist. For instance, the government’s most significant purpose is to establish a system of justice, police and military and keep the nation safe from domestic and foreign threats. In the United States, the government serves to protect the individual liberties and rights of all irrespective of race, religion, socioeconomic class and gender; simply said to preserve the rights to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”. The government seeks to protect the interest of the community from being taken advantage of by individual interests, and reflects the needs, demands, and the interest of its pupils. Federalism is simply the division of rights and powers between the Federal Government and the States. This nation was established on the notion of Federalism that the Federal government has extensive powers when it comes to matters of national defense, inter state and foreign trades and regulation of foreign policy, over the given powers of the state. The role of states in decision-making was on the rise especially after the establishment of Cooperative Federalism in 1945, while keeping powers separated, provided opportunity for “cooperation” between the Federal and State & Local Governments. Later in 1969, New Federalism gave the opportunity for State & Local Governments to control and stimulate the issues and economy locally while the Federal Government took over the big picture.

In Unit 3 you learned about political culture, and in Unit 4, you learned about political representation. First, briefly define the types of political cultures outlined by Elezar. Then, provide a few examples and explanations of representation types (such as, descriptive, proportional, Party Voting, etc.). Finally, explain how a region’s political culture might affect the type of political representation used. Daniel Elazar, a political scientist, identifies the political culture of the states and population and redefines them into three “political subcultures” which are Individualistic, Moralistic and Traditionalistic political cultures, that interact together to make up the American Political Culture. The Individualistic Political Culture segregates the rights and powers of the government and views the government as a mode to pursue individual goals and issues that matter to people

around the nation. It basically limits the reservations of government to addressing individual issues and needs rather than look out for the goals of the community and providing for the needs of its citizens. This political culture views political participation as means to enhance individual interests and wealth. The Moralistic Political Culture on the other hand, believes that the “government advances the public interest and is a positive force in the lives of citizens”. It’s the opposite of Individualistic Political Culture as it seeks to promote the interest of the public and address the issues posed by the community by actively participating in the lives of its citizens.This political culture views political participation as a duty of the citizen. The Traditionalistic Political Culture is kind of the “middle ground between individualistic and moralistic” political cultures. The government exists to provide for the people, regulate the economy and maintain the existing economic and social order. The Traditionalistic minds value the traditionalistic family structure and believe that politics is for the socioeconomic elites of the society and believe in competition between political party seclusions. This political culture views political participation as an obligation for the normal citizen....