Category Archives: Comparative

The Contradictory American Presidency: Why An Elected Executive Head of State Can Only Be a Divider, Not a Uniter

Posted on 2012/06/02 by J.W.J. Bowden

Authority Makes the Presidency Unifying as Head of State; Power Renders Him Divisive as Head of Government When campaigning for the presidency, George W. Bush, then Governor of Texas, famously proclaimed, “I’m uniter, not a divider.” I aim to show … Continue reading →

Posted in Loyal Opposition, Parliamentarism v Presidentialism, Reaffirmation of, Separation of Powers | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The Deleterious Effects of Bipartisanship and the Separation of Powers on Good Government

Posted on 2012/05/30 by J.W.J. Bowden

Recall Election in Wisconsin: Wisconsin Would Have Solved Its Political Standoff Last Year Under A Parliamentary System! Governor Walker of Wisconsin now faces a recall election, scheduled for June 5th. I couldn’t help but conclude that if Wisconsin operated under … Continue reading →

Posted in Loyal Opposition, Parliamentarism v Presidentialism, Separation of Powers | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

The Macdonald-Laurier Institute’s Debate on Prime Ministerial Power: Andrew Coyne vs. Sheila Copps

Posted on 2012/05/17 by J.W.J. Bowden

Introduction On 10 May 2012, the Macdonald-Laurier Institute held a debate on “Power Corrupts Canadian Prime Minister”, the fourth instalment of its History Wars series. Theoretically, Andrew Coyne argued in favour of the resolution and therefore against prime ministerial power, … Continue reading →

Posted in Conferences and Speeches, Confidence Convention, Constructive Non-Confidence, Crown (Powers and Office), Prime Minister's Powers, Reform | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Constitutional Issues in the Albertan Leaders’ Debate

Posted on 2012/04/13 by J.W.J. Bowden

This leadership debate dredged up several interesting constitutional issues and revealed a great deal of ignorance toward the principles of Responsible Government, the use of direct democracy (in this case, initiative-referendums and government-led referendums)in Canadian history, and the role of … Continue reading →

Posted in Constructive Non-Confidence, Direct Democracy, Fixed-Date Elections, Reform | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Abolishing the Crown of Canada: Political Difficulty versus Constitutional Significance

Posted on 2012/03/29 by J.W.J. Bowden

Christopher Moore, a Canadian author and historian, runs a blog called “History News,” which used to appear on my blogroll until I reciprocated Moore’s gesture of deletion. Yesterday, he wrote “Abolishing the Monarchy – What, Like It’s Hard?” in response … Continue reading →

Posted in Monarchism v Republicanism | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments