Federalism/central govt's power
The balance between regional and national govt authority
What depends on the time and the country?
Bloc Quebécois
What is a pro-Quebec independence party?
The negative results of serving longer/life terms
What reduces the accountability of those serving those terms, insulating them from the will of the people, leading to people arguing that thus they are not democratic?
Differences among constitutional courts
What are the types of cases they hear, the methods they use to make decisions, and the amount of authority they have to check the other branches of govt?
An argument for judicial independence
What is the judiciary can't check the other branches if it's not independent of them?
The usual result of federalism
What is no matter how well the rights of the states are spelled out in the constitution, the natl govt winds up stronger?
Federation
What is another word for a country w/ federal govt?
Argument (kind of) for why the Constitution should not matter
What is why should the Constitution matter, since it may be the only thing keeping democratically elected houses of Congress and a President from getting their way?
The argument for having separate constitutional and highest appellate courts
What makes for a neater division of labor and what doe people also think limits judicial activism?
A frozen constitution
What isolates republics from unforeseen dangers?
Govt w/ most authority to least authority
What are unitary govt; confederations; alliances, leagues, trade blocs?
Another time federalism is helpful
What is when the country is divided so that there is an ethnic minority?
Necessity of interpretation and enforcement of constitutions
What are things that without them, the constitutions can still be violated?
Judicial activism
What is when judges ESSENTIALLY rule on whether they like the law or not rather than whether the law is constitutional or not?
One answer to how to make the govt able to govern w/out making it able to tyrannize minorities
What is create independent courts and a rigid constitution?
Number of world's 200+ countries that are federations
What is 20 or 30, but these are often the biggest countries (7 out of 10) in terms of both population and landmass?
What the real defenses against tyranny will always remain dependent on
What are fuzzier things, such as political culture, social norms, and the rule of law?
Argument that judicial review is undemocratic
What is the argument that the legislature is the voice of the people and so should be the one to make the laws (and thus have the final say), and also that the will of the people is being thwarted by unelected deciders-for-life?
Constitutions
What are the rules for making rules?
Given the above answer, how the one on the losing side preserves its autonomy
What is 1. it is usually written into the constitution, 2. Bicameralism w/ the 2nd legislature representing the states esp. one where small states are overrepresented, and 3. other things such as the electoral college?
Logic behind more rigid constitutions
What is these types of constitutions make more sense because if the constitution embodies a higher law, it makes sense that it should be harder to amend than ordinary laws?
Reasons why long terms of judges is good
What is they aren't beholden to the congress, president, or special interest groups; they can make decisions in a pressure-free environment, without having to worry about the next election; and they aren't governed by what the current passions of the people are?
Goodness of constitutions
What is they are better than nothings but pretty much still not very effective?