Monday 23 September 2013
WHICH SYSTEM ARE WE PRACTISING IN NIGERIA?
09:01 | 
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FEDERALISM
Federalism, also referred to as
federal government, a national or international political system in which two
levels of government control the same territory and citizens. The word federal
comes from the Latin term fidere, meaning “to trust.” Countries with
federal political systems have both a central government and governments based
in smaller political units, usually called states, provinces, or territories.
These smaller political units surrender some of their political power to the
central government, relying on it to act for the common good.
In a federal system, laws
are made both by state, provincial, or territorial governments and by a central
government. In the United States, for example, people who live in the state of
Ohio must obey the laws made by the Ohio legislature and the Congress of the
United States. In Canada, residents of the province of Québec follow the laws
made by Québec’s legislature and those made by the Canadian parliament. In addition
to the United States and Canada, countries that are considered federalist
include Australia, Brazil, Germany, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, and
Switzerland.
Federal political systems
divide power and resources between central and regional governments. The
balance of power between the two levels of government varies from country to
country, but most federal systems grant substantial autonomy to state or
provincial governments. Central governments decide issues that concern the
whole country, such as organizing an army, building major roads, and making
treaties with other countries. Federalism varies in practice, however, and in
some countries with federal systems the central government plays a large role
in community planning, schools, and other local issues.
DEMOCRACY
Democracy (Greek demos,”the people”;
kratein, “to rule”), political system in which the people of a country
rule through any form of government they choose to establish. In modern
democracies, supreme authority is exercised for the most part by
representatives elected by popular suffrage. The representatives may be
supplanted by the electorate according to the legal procedures of recall and
referendum, and they are, at least in principle, responsible to the electorate.
In many democracies, such as the United States, both the executive head of
government and the legislature are elected. In typical constitutional
monarchies such as the United Kingdom and Norway, only the legislators are
elected, and from their ranks a cabinet and a prime minister are chosen
Although often used interchangeably,
the terms democracy and republic are not synonymous. Both systems
delegate the power to govern to their elected representatives. In a republic,
however, these officials are expected to act on their own best judgment of the
needs and interests of the country. The officials in a democracy more
generally and directly reflect the known or ascertained views of their
constituents, sometimes subordinating their own judgment.
ABSOLUTISM
Absolutism, political system in
which there is no legal, customary, or moral limit on the government’s power.
The term is generally applied to political systems ruled by a single dictator,
but it can also be applied to seemingly democratic systems that grant sweeping
powers to the legislature or executive.
Absolutist regimes usually
take control of social groups such as trade unions, churches, and student
organizations. These groups and institutions are either abolished altogether or
taken over by the official political party of the government. This gives the
absolutist regime deep control throughout society and discourages organized
resistance. The government can use the institutions it allows to survive as
tools for ideological indoctrination in support of the government. In
particular, many absolutist states maintain close ties with churches and youth
groups and use these institutions to maintain loyalty within the population.
For example, until the early 1990s South Africa was under apartheid (a policy
of rigid separation of the races), and the white minority government used a
wide range of organizations and institutions to prop up the government. These
included the pro-apartheid Dutch Reformed Church, which created a theological
justification for the repression of the black majority
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Absence of Competing Political
Parties
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Absolutist regimes do not
permit free and fair elections, and they usually restrict all competing
political parties. Sometimes the ruling party simply outlaws opposition
parties, but many absolutist regimes also use police and party activists to
break up opposition meetings and to violently attack opposition leaders. Only
the official ruling party is permitted to operate openly, and the official
party often takes a direct role in controlling the government and society. In
many cases the ruling party is tied so closely to the government that it
becomes difficult to clearly distinguish the boundaries between the party and
government structures. In the USSR, for example, the Communist Party was
closely intertwined with the government and was an important source of
political power. Some absolutist regimes hold elections to fill seats in the
national legislature but hinder opposition parties by arresting their leaders,
implementing restrictive and unfair electoral rules, and limiting public
gathering
Appearance of Popular Representation;
Historically many absolutist
regimes were openly dictatorial, but in the 20th century most absolutist
regimes tried to make it look as though they represented the interests of the
country and its citizens. In the USSR, for example, the government claimed that
its policies were designed to build a society of equality for the Soviet
people. In reality, however, the regime favored a small group of powerful
people with ties to the Communist Party. Similarly, when Hitler ruled Germany
as a dictator he claimed that his power rested on the will of the German
people. Some absolutist regimes go to extremes to create the appearance of
democracy, holding sham elections that are not truly democratic. They may
conduct a closely controlled plebiscite—a direct vote in which voters must
accept or reject a decision. But plebiscites rarely offer a genuine choice to
the voters. In some cases government leaders have already decided the issue,
and the government alters the results of the vote to fit this decision
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