Easy2Siksha.com
GNDU Queson Paper 2024
B.A./B.Sc. 5th Semester
POLITICAL SCIENCE
[Comparave Polical Systems (UK & USA)]
Time Allowed 3 Hours Maximum Marks : 100
Note: - Aempt FIVE quesons in all, selecng at least ONE queson from each secon.
The h queson may be aempted from any secon. All quesons carry equal marks
SECTION-A
1.(a) Comment on the legal approach to the study of Comparave Government and
Polics.
(b) Briey discuss the major obstacles on the way of the study of Comparave
Government and Polics.
(c) Explain the scope of Comparave Government and Polics.
2. Discuss in detail David Easton's approach to the study of Comparave Government and
Polics.
SECTION-B
3. Discuss the powers and posion of Prime Minister of U.K.
4. Explain the basic features of the polical system of USA.
SECTION-C
Easy2Siksha.com
5. Explain the powers of House of Commons in UK. Briey discuss its weaknesses also.
6. Explain the basic features of party system in USA. What role, according to you, do
polical pares play in the polical system of the United States of America.
SECTION-D
7. Discuss in detail the principle of Rule of Law in UK. Explain its shortcomings also.
8. Explain the federal features of the polical system of USA. Briey discuss the unitary
trends in USA also.
GNDU Answer Paper 2024
B.A./B.Sc. 5th Semester
POLITICAL SCIENCE
[Comparave Polical Systems (UK & USA)]
Time Allowed 3 Hours Maximum Marks : 100
Note: - Aempt FIVE quesons in all, selecng at least ONE queson from each secon.
The h queson may be aempted from any secon. All quesons carry equal marks
SECTION-A
1.(a) Comment on the legal approach to the study of Comparave Government and
Polics.
(b) Briey discuss the major obstacles on the way of the study of Comparave
Government and Polics.
(c) Explain the scope of Comparave Government and Polics.
Ans: 󹻂What is Comparave Government and Polics?
Easy2Siksha.com
Before we talk about the legal approach, let’s understand what Comparave Government
and Polics means.
• It is the study of dierent governments (like India, the USA, the UK, China) and how
they work.
• We compare them to understand similaries and dierences in laws, constuons,
instuons (like Parliament, President), and polical behavior.
• It helps us know which system is beer, why countries funcon dierently, and how
cizens are governed.
󹻂What is the Legal Approach?
The legal approach is also called the instuonal approach. This was the rst method used
by early polical sciensts to study Comparave Government.
It focuses on:
• Constuons of countries.
• Laws and rules made by governments.
• Structure of government like the legislature (Parliament), execuve (Prime Minister,
President), and judiciary (courts).
• Rights and dues of the people.
In simple terms:
󸅥󷼚󷼛󼏏󼏐󸅦󸅧󸅨󸅩󸅪󼏑󹌖󼏒󼏓󻵴󻵵󻵶󼌧󼏔󼏕󼏖󼏗󼏘󼏙󻵷󼏚󻵸 “The legal approach looks at how countries are designed on paper—what their laws say,
what the constuon says, and how power is ocially divided.”
󹻂Main Features of Legal Approach:
1. Focus on Constuon
o Example: Comparing the Constuon of India (wrien and detailed) and
Britain (unwrien, based on customs).
2. Study of Instuons
o Like comparing the role of the US President (powerful) and Indian President
(mostly ceremonial).
3. Legal Rights and Dues
o It compares how cizens in dierent countries are protected by fundamental
rights.
4. Rule of Law
Easy2Siksha.com
o This means that no one is above the law.
o Example: In the UK and USA, even the Prime Minister/President must follow
the law.
󹻂Strengths of Legal Approach:
1. Clarity and Structure
o Helps in understanding the ocial setup of governments.
2. Easy to Compare
o Since laws and constuons are wrien, it’s easy to compare them across
countries.
3. Foundaon for Polical Study
o Gives a strong base for further polical analysis.
󹻂Weaknesses of Legal Approach:
1. Too Theorecal
o It talks about how things should work, not how they actually work.
2. Ignores People and Behavior
o Doesn’t study the real-life behavior of policians or voters.
3. Misses Social and Economic Factors
o Doesn’t include poverty, educaon, caste, religion, etc.
󷼘󷼙󷼚󷼛󼋐󼋑󷼩󻰉󻰊󻰋󻰌󻰍󻰋󻰎󻰏󻰐󻰑󻰒󼋒󼋓󼋔󻰓󻰔󻰕󻰖󻰗 Example to Understand:
Let’s say you want to compare India and the USA using the legal approach:
Country
Constuon
President’s Role
Judiciary
India
Wrien, long
Ceremonial
Independent
USA
Wrien, short
Execuve head (real power)
Very powerful
This gives us a clear idea of the legal setup but not how power is used in real life.
󷃆󼽢 Conclusion of 1(a):
Easy2Siksha.com
The legal approach is useful to understand the framework of governments. It helps us
compare laws and instuons. However, it misses real-life pracces, social inuences, and
polical behavior, which are also very important to understand how governments truly work.
󷵻󷵼󷵽󷵾 Queson 1(b): Briey discuss the major obstacles on the way of the study of
Comparave Government and Polics.
󹻂Introducon:
Studying Comparave Government and Polics is not easy. There are many challenges or
obstacles that make comparison dicult and somemes confusing.
Let’s look at these problems with simple examples:
󹻂1. Dierences in Historical Background
• Each country has a unique history.
• Example: India was a colony of Britain, so its polical system is inuenced by Brish
rules. But the USA fought for independence and built its own system.
󼨐󼨑󼨒 So, comparing them becomes dicult because their roots are dierent.
󹻂2. Cultural and Social Dierences
• Some countries are mul-religious and mulcultural (like India), while others are
more homogeneous (like Japan).
• These dierences aect vong, polical pares, and laws.
Example: In India, caste and religion play a big role in elecons, but in the USA, race and
economic status are more important.
󹻂3. Language and Terminology Problems
• Polical terms like “liberalism”, “democracy”, or “socialism” may mean dierent
things in dierent countries.
Example:
• In the USA, “liberal” means someone who supports social reforms.
Easy2Siksha.com
• In Europe, “liberal” may mean someone who supports free markets.
This creates confusion while comparing.
󹻂4. Dicult Access to Informaon
• In closed countries like North Korea, researchers cannot get real data.
• Also, in many countries, governments hide facts or control media.
So, comparison becomes incomplete or biased.
󹻂5. Constant Change in Polics
• Governments change quickly. A democrac country today can become authoritarian
tomorrow.
Example: In Pakistan, somemes the army controls the government, somemes civilians do.
This unstable nature of polics makes comparisons hard.
󹻂6. Bias of the Researcher
• Every polical scienst has some bias or opinion.
• A Western scholar might not fully understand the culture or values of an Asian or
African country.
This leads to unfair or incomplete comparisons.
󹻂7. Too Many Variables
• There are hundreds of factors (economy, religion, geography, language, etc.) that
aect polics.
• It’s very hard to study all of them together.
So, the comparison may be oversimplied.
󷃆󼽢 Conclusion of 1(b):
There are many obstacles in the study of Comparave Government and Polics — history,
culture, lack of data, and bias. But if we are careful, use correct methods, and avoid
assumpons, we can sll make meaningful comparisons.
Easy2Siksha.com
󷵻󷵼󷵽󷵾 Queson 1(c): Explain the scope of Comparave Government and Polics.
󹻂What is meant by Scope?
Scope means:
• What all things we study under Comparave Government and Polics.
• It tells us the range of topics, areas, and importance of the subject.
󹻂Scope is Broad and Dynamic
Comparave Government and Polics is not just about instuons and constuons. It
includes:
• Polical ideas
• Behavior of leaders and cizens
• Polical pares
• Social and economic factors
• Global trends
󹻂Major Areas Covered in Scope:
1. Constuons and Laws
• Study of how countries are organized legally.
• Example: Comparing the federal system of India and the unitary system of France.
2. Polical Instuons
• Comparison of Parliaments, Presidents, Prime Ministers, Courts, Police, Bureaucracy.
• Example: Role of the US President vs Indian Prime Minister.
3. Polical Behavior
• How people vote, why they protest, how polical opinions are formed.
Easy2Siksha.com
• Example: Youth in India are more acve on social media; in the USA, they are more
acve in university polics.
4. Polical Pares and Elecons
• How elecons are held, party systems (single-party, two-party, mulparty).
• Example: China has only one party (Communist); India has mulple pares.
5. Ideologies and Theories
• Study of liberalism, communism, socialism, fascism, etc.
• How these ideas aect countries.
Example: The USSR followed communism; the USA follows capitalism.
6. Public Policy and Governance
• How governments make and implement policies.
• Example: Welfare schemes in India (like MGNREGA) vs welfare policies in
Scandinavian countries.
7. Polical Development and Modernizaon
• Study of how countries develop polically — moving from colonies to democracies,
or from dictatorships to republics.
• Example: Study of Africa’s journey aer colonialism.
8. Polical Economy
• How polics and economy are connected.
• Example: How economic crisis aects elecons, like in Sri Lanka.
9. Globalizaon and Internaonal Inuences
• How foreign countries and global events aect a country’s internal polics.
• Example: Inuence of USA’s foreign policy on Middle East countries.
Easy2Siksha.com
󹻂Why is Scope Important?
• Helps us understand why some countries are peaceful and others are in conict.
• Helps in making good policies by learning from other countries.
• Helps students and researchers become more aware and responsible cizens.
󷃆󼽢 Conclusion of 1(c):
The scope of Comparave Government and Polics is very wide and dynamic. It includes
everything — from laws and elecons to people’s behavior and global inuences. It is one of
the most important areas of Polical Science today.
2. Discuss in detail David Easton's approach to the study of Comparave Government and
Polics.
Ans: 󷃆󼽢 Introducon to David Easton
David Easton was a famous polical scienst from Canada who made a big contribuon to
how we study polics. Before him, the study of polics was mostly about laws, instuons
(like parliaments or courts), and constuons. But Easton brought a new and modern
approach. He said we should study how the whole polical system actually works in real life,
not just what is wrien on paper.
To explain this, he used the systems approach — an idea borrowed from biology and
engineering. This made polical science more scienc and praccal.
󼨐󼨑󼨒 What is the Systems Approach?
The systems approach says that polics is like a living system — just like our body or an
ecosystem.
Imagine this simple example:
Think of a school. Students make complaints (like classrooms are dirty), teachers pass them
to the principal, and then the principal takes acon (like ordering cleaning). This cycle
connues.
This is exactly how Easton saw polics:
• People demand things.
• The polical system makes decisions.
• These decisions aect society.
• Based on results, people react again — either with sasfacon or more demands.
Easy2Siksha.com
This is called a "polical system" — a cycle of inputs, decision-making, and outputs.
󷃆󹸃󹸄 Main Elements of Easton’s Polical System
David Easton divided the polical process into the following parts:
1. Input
These are the things people demand from the government.
󷵻󷵼󷵽󷵾 For example:
• People want free educaon.
• Farmers want subsidies.
• Students demand beer internet in schools.
These demands are inputs.
There are two types of inputs:
• Demands – what people want (e.g., jobs, roads, security).
• Support – how much people follow laws or pay taxes (i.e., supporng the system).
2. Conversion Process (Black Box)
This is the decision-making part.
Once demands come in, the government (or polical system) discusses, debates, and
decides what to do.
Easton called this stage the "Black Box", because we oen don’t see everything that goes on
inside — like meengs, lobbying, or polical strategies.
󷵻󷵼󷵽󷵾 Example: If people demand cheaper electricity, the government might:
• Make a new law,
• Provide subsidies, or
• Reject the demand due to lack of funds.
3. Output
This is the result or acon the government takes.
󷵻󷵼󷵽󷵾 Example:
• New law is passed,
Easy2Siksha.com
• New school is built,
• Tax policy is changed.
This is called the output of the polical system.
4. Feedback
Aer the government takes acon, people react.
󷵻󷵼󷵽󷵾 Example:
• If students are happy with free Wi-Fi in schools, they give posive feedback.
• If farmers are unhappy with policies, they protest — this is negave feedback.
Feedback helps the government understand if its decision worked or not.
5. Environment
This refers to everything outside the polical system that can inuence it — like:
• Economic condions,
• Internaonal events,
• Cultural values,
• Natural disasters.
󷵻󷵼󷵽󷵾 For example:
• If there’s an economic crisis, people may demand more job support.
• If there's a war, people may demand stronger naonal security.
The environment plays a big role in shaping demands.
󷨕󷨓󷨔 Easton’s Contribuon to Comparave Government and Polics
Now let’s understand how Easton’s model helps in comparave polics — which means
studying dierent polical systems (like comparing India, USA, UK, China, etc.).
󷃆󼽢 Easton's approach is useful because:
1. Focus on Actual Funconing
He said we shouldn’t just study what’s wrien in the constuon, but how polics really
works.
Easy2Siksha.com
󷵻󷵼󷵽󷵾 For example:
India's constuon gives equal rights to all, but in real life, issues like caste or religion sll
aect polics.
Easton's model helps us study these real-world behaviors, not just legal texts.
2. Works for Any Country
Easton’s system can be applied to any polical system — democrac or authoritarian.
󷵻󷵼󷵽󷵾 Example:
• In a democracy like India, people protest and make demands openly.
• In a dictatorship like North Korea, demands may come secretly or through elite
groups.
Both systems can be studied using Easton’s model.
3. Helps Compare Systems
Because Easton's model is general and simple, we can use it to compare countries.
󷵻󷵼󷵽󷵾 Example:
We can compare how inputs (demands) are handled in:
• The UK: where media and parliament play strong roles.
• China: where the Communist Party controls inputs.
This helps us see dierences in polical processes.
4. Focus on Change and Stability
Easton believed that polical systems must adapt and respond to feedback to survive.
󷵻󷵼󷵽󷵾 Example:
• If a government ignores people’s demands, protests may increase, leading to
instability or even revoluon.
• If a system takes good feedback and improves, it becomes stable.
This shows how important adaptaon is in polics.
󼨻󼨼 Cricisms of Easton’s Approach (in simple terms)
Though Easton’s system is very helpful, some people cricized it:
Easy2Siksha.com
1. Too General
It’s so broad that somemes it misses details of specic polical issues.
2. Doesn’t Explain Power Struggles
Easton talks about the system but doesn’t explain who has more power, how decisions are
manipulated, or how corrupon happens.
󷵻󷵼󷵽󷵾 Example:
• In real polics, some groups (rich people, big companies) have more power than
others — this is not deeply covered in his model.
3. Hard to Use in Pracce
Somemes, it’s hard to clearly divide inputs, outputs, and feedback, because they all mix in
real life.
󷗭󷗨󷗩󷗪󷗫󷗬 Conclusion
David Easton gave polical science a new way to study governments and polics. Instead of
only reading constuons or legal books, he encouraged us to look at how polical systems
work like machines — taking demands, making decisions, and giving results.
His systems approach made it easier to:
• Understand how dierent parts of polics are connected.
• Study polics sciencally.
• Compare dierent countries easily.
Even though his model is not perfect, it is sll one of the most useful tools for students and
scholars of comparave polics.
SECTION-B
3. Discuss the powers and posion of Prime Minister of U.K.
Ans: 󷃆󼽢 Introducon
In the United Kingdom (U.K.), the Prime Minister (PM) is the most powerful polical leader.
While the King (currently King Charles III) is the head of state, the Prime Minister is the head
of government.
You can think of the Prime Minister as the "captain of a ship" (the government), who takes
all major decisions, leads the team (ministers), and guides the country’s direcon. The PM is
Easy2Siksha.com
like the manager of a company, while the King is just a symbolic gure who doesn’t interfere
in daily maers.
Let’s now understand the posion and powers of the Prime Minister in a simple and student-
friendly way.
󷃆󼽢 Posion of the Prime Minister in the U.K.
1. Leader of the Government
The PM is the real execuve authority in the U.K. This means all major decisions are taken by
the PM. The King does not interfere in the working of the government and acts only on the
advice of the Prime Minister.
Example: If the U.K. wants to sign a trade deal with another country, the Prime Minister and
his team will plan and nalize everything. The King may just sign the nal approval, but the
real decision is made by the PM.
2. Leader of the Majority Party
To become Prime Minister, a person must be the leader of the party that has a majority in
the House of Commons (the lower house of Parliament).
Example: In a school elecon, the student who gets the most votes becomes the Head
Boy/Girl. Similarly, the leader of the winning party becomes the PM.
3. Member of Parliament (MP)
The Prime Minister is also an elected Member of Parliament (MP). This means the PM is
directly answerable to the people and speaks on their behalf in Parliament.
Example: Just like a class monitor is a student himself/herself but has more responsibilies,
the PM is also a member of Parliament but has the biggest role.
4. Chief Adviser to the Monarch (King)
The King performs only ceremonial dues and always follows the advice of the Prime
Minister.
Example: The King may formally declare a war or pass a law, but only aer the PM has
suggested it.
󷃆󼽢 Powers of the Prime Minister
Easy2Siksha.com
Let’s now understand the powers of the Prime Minister using simple language and examples.
1. Power to Form the Cabinet
The PM selects the ministers for his/her team, known as the Cabinet. The Cabinet includes
important ministers like the Home Minister, Finance Minister, Foreign Minister, etc.
Example: Think of the PM as a cricket team captain who selects players for dierent roles
(batsman, bowler, keeper).
2. Power to Distribute Porolios
The Prime Minister decides which minister will handle which department.
Example: The PM can decide that Mr. A will handle the Health Ministry and Ms. B will handle
Educaon.
3. Power to Dismiss Ministers
The Prime Minister can ask any minister to resign if they are not working properly or if they
are creang problems.
Example: If a team player is not performing well, the captain can remove them from the
playing eleven.
4. Chairman of the Cabinet Meengs
The Prime Minister presides over all cabinet meengs, sets the agenda, and leads
discussions. All decisions are taken under his/her leadership.
Example: Like a class teacher leads the sta meeng and takes nal decisions, the PM leads
cabinet meengs.
5. Control over Government Policies
The PM has the nal say in all major government policies. Whether it’s economic policy,
foreign policy, or defense policy – the PM plays a key role.
Example: If the government is planning to introduce a new scheme for students or farmers,
the idea will be discussed by the PM and approved under his/her guidance.
6. Leader of the House of Commons
Easy2Siksha.com
The PM leads discussions in the House of Commons and speaks for the government. He/she
defends government decisions and answers the opposion.
Example: Like a debate team leader speaks for the team, the PM speaks on behalf of the
government in Parliament.
7. Power to Recommend Dissoluon of Parliament
The PM can advise the King to dissolve the House of Commons and call for fresh elecons.
Example: If the class is not working properly and elecons need to be held again, the PM
can ask for a fresh start.
8. Control Over Civil Services and Administraon
The PM indirectly controls the civil services, which are the permanent government ocials.
These ocers follow government policies decided by the PM and the Cabinet.
Example: Think of the PM as a principal and civil servants as teachers who carry out
instrucons.
9. Power in Foreign Aairs
The PM represents the U.K. in internaonal maers and meengs. He/she meets leaders of
other countries and signs treaes.
Example: When the U.K. wants to improve relaons with another country, the PM will meet
the other country's leader like a team captain talking to the other team.
10. Emergency Powers
In case of naonal emergency like war or crisis, the PM plays a major role in managing the
situaon and taking decisions quickly.
󷃆󼽢 The Increasing Importance of the PM
In recent years, the power of the PM has increased so much that many scholars say the U.K.
is now a “Prime Ministerial government” instead of a cabinet government.
Example: Some say the PM is like the CEO of a company who takes all the nal decisions and
the cabinet is just a support team.
Easy2Siksha.com
󷃆󼽢 Conclusion
To conclude, the Prime Minister of the U.K. is the most powerful polical leader in the
country. Though the U.K. has a King, the real power lies with the Prime Minister, who acts as
the head of the government.
The PM controls the Cabinet, leads Parliament, represents the country internaonally, and
decides the future of naonal policies. In short, the Prime Minister is the central gure in the
Brish polical system, with wide powers and great responsibilies.
4. Explain the basic features of the polical system of USA.
Ans: Introducon
The polical system of the USA (United States of America) is one of the most well-known
systems in the world. It is based on democracy, where people elect their leaders, and there
is a clear separaon of powers among dierent branches of government. The US
Constuon is the supreme law of the land and guides how the government works.
Let’s understand the basic features of the US polical system in a very simple and detailed
way.
1. Wrien Constuon
The USA has the oldest wrien Constuon in the world, which came into force in 1789. It is
a small but powerful document with just 7 arcles and 27 amendments.
󷵻󷵼󷵽󷵾 Example: Just like the rulebook of a school that tells how things should work, the US
Constuon tells how the government should work, what rights people have, and how
power should be divided.
2. Federal System
The USA follows a federal system, which means the power is divided between the central
(federal) government and state governments.
• There are 50 states, and each state has its own government, constuon, laws,
police, and courts.
• But some powers, like defense, foreign aairs, and prinng money, are only for the
federal government.
󷵻󷵼󷵽󷵾 Example: Think of it like a house with one big family (the country) and 50 small rooms
(states). Each room has its own rules, but all are part of the same house and follow the
house’s main rules.
Easy2Siksha.com
3. Separaon of Powers
The US polical system strictly follows the idea of separaon of powers, which means the
three main branches of government are separate and independent from each other.
These three branches are:
1. Legislave – Makes laws (Congress)
2. Execuve – Implements laws (President)
3. Judicial – Interprets laws (Supreme Court)
󷵻󷵼󷵽󷵾 Example: Imagine a game. One person writes the rules (legislave), one plays and
follows the rules (execuve), and one checks if the rules are being followed properly
(judicial).
This separaon prevents abuse of power and maintains checks and balances.
4. Presidenal System
The USA has a Presidenal form of government, which means the President is both the Head
of State and the Head of Government.
• The President is directly elected by the people (through Electoral College system).
• He/She is not a part of the legislature (Congress) and cannot be removed easily by
them.
• The President has real power, unlike the President of India who has mostly
ceremonial powers.
󷵻󷵼󷵽󷵾 Example: In the USA, the President is like the captain of the team, making all major
decisions and represenng the team everywhere.
5. Bicameral Legislature (Congress)
The US legislature is called Congress, and it has two houses:
1. Senate – Upper House
o 100 members (2 from each state)
o Equal representaon for all states
2. House of Representaves – Lower House
o 435 members
Easy2Siksha.com
o Based on populaon of states
󷵻󷵼󷵽󷵾 Example: Just like in a classroom, if all students (states) are asked to vote on something,
the Senate gives equal vote to every student, while the House gives more votes to students
who have more people in their group.
Both houses make laws together, approve budgets, and can check the powers of the
President.
6. Independent Judiciary
The judiciary in the USA is independent and very powerful. The highest court is the Supreme
Court, which has 9 judges.
• The Supreme Court can declare any law unconstuonal if it goes against the
Constuon.
• Judges are appointed for life, which means they don't have to worry about losing
their job due to polics.
󷵻󷵼󷵽󷵾 Example: The judiciary is like a fair referee in a game. Even if a player is famous or
powerful (like the President), the referee can call them out if they break the rules.
7. Checks and Balances
This is a very important feature of the US polical system. It means no one branch can
become too powerful, because the other branches can stop or "check" it.
For example:
• The President can veto a law passed by Congress.
• Congress can impeach the President.
• The Supreme Court can strike down a law if it is unconstuonal.
󷵻󷵼󷵽󷵾 Example: Imagine three friends running a shop. Each one has dierent dues, but they
also watch each other to make sure no one cheats or takes extra money.
8. Bill of Rights
The rst 10 amendments to the US Constuon are called the Bill of Rights. They protect the
basic rights and freedoms of people like:
• Freedom of speech
• Freedom of religion
Easy2Siksha.com
• Right to a fair trial
• Right to bear arms (keep weapons)
󷵻󷵼󷵽󷵾 Example: Just like students in a school are given certain rights (like speaking freely or
complaining), cizens in the USA have these rights guaranteed by law.
9. Polical Pares
The USA mainly has a two-party system:
1. Democrac Party
2. Republican Party
Other small pares exist but only these two have real power in elecons and government.
• Democrats are oen seen as more liberal (supporng change, welfare, etc.)
• Republicans are more conservave (supporng tradional values, business, etc.)
󷵻󷵼󷵽󷵾 Example: Think of it like a football match between only two big teams. Small teams
exist but usually don't win the nal match.
10. Electoral System
The USA has a unique way of elecng its President through the Electoral College.
• People vote for electors, and those electors vote for the President.
• Each state has a certain number of electors based on its populaon.
󷵻󷵼󷵽󷵾 Example: Imagine vong for a class monitor. Instead of directly vong for the monitor,
you vote for representaves who will then select the monitor.
This system somemes leads to situaons where a person gets fewer public votes but sll
becomes President.
Conclusion
The polical system of the USA is designed to protect freedom, avoid dictatorship, and
ensure jusce. It is a democrac, federal, and presidenal system with a strong Constuon
and clear separaon of powers.
All these features together make the USA one of the strongest and most stable democracies
in the world.
Easy2Siksha.com
SECTION-C
5. Explain the powers of House of Commons in UK. Briey discuss its weaknesses also.
Ans: 󷃆󼽢 Introducon
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Brish Parliament, but it is more powerful
than the upper house, which is the House of Lords. In the UK, the Parliament is the supreme
law-making body, and the House of Commons plays the biggest role in making decisions for
the country.
Let’s understand this like a school classroom. Imagine Parliament is a school, where the
teachers decide the rules. The House of Commons is like the main group of teachers who
decide most of the rules. The House of Lords is like a smaller group of senior teachers who
give suggesons, but can’t overrule the main teachers easily.
󷃆󼽢 Powers of the House of Commons
The House of Commons has many important powers. Let’s discuss them one by one with
examples.
1. Law-Making Power (Legislave Powers)
The most important power of the House of Commons is to make laws. Any new law or
change in the law has to be introduced in the House of Commons rst.
󷵻󷵼󷵽󷵾 Example: If the UK government wants to make a new law about road safety (like wearing
helmets), the proposal (called a "bill") is rst discussed in the House of Commons. Members
of Parliament (MPs) debate on it, make changes, and vote. If the majority agrees, it is sent to
the House of Lords for advice, but the nal decision rests with the House of Commons.
Even if the House of Lords disagrees, the Commons can pass the law again aer a delay —
then it becomes a law anyway.
2. Financial Powers
The House of Commons controls all money maers. Any law related to taxes, government
spending, or budget must start from the House of Commons only.
󷵻󷵼󷵽󷵾 Example: Just like a family decides its monthly budget (how much to spend on food,
electricity, savings), the UK government prepares its budget and presents it in the House of
Commons. MPs can approve, reject, or change it. The House of Lords cannot change
nancial bills, they can only give opinions.
Easy2Siksha.com
So, no tax can be imposed, changed, or removed without the approval of the House of
Commons.
3. Control Over the Execuve (Government)
The House of Commons has full control over the Prime Minister and his Cabinet (the group
of top ministers).
󷵻󷵼󷵽󷵾 If the MPs in the House of Commons feel that the government is doing something wrong
or not working properly, they can ask quesons, start debates, and pass a vote of no
condence. If this happens, the Prime Minister and his ministers must resign.
󷵻󷵼󷵽󷵾 Example: In 1979, the UK government under Prime Minister James Callaghan lost a vote
of condence by just one vote. As a result, he had to resign, and a new elecon was held.
So, the government cannot survive without the support of the majority in the House of
Commons.
4. Discussing Naonal and Internaonal Issues
MPs in the House of Commons oen debate important naonal or global issues, such as war,
economy, health, and educaon.
󷵻󷵼󷵽󷵾 Example: In 2003, there was a huge debate in the House of Commons about whether
the UK should go to war in Iraq. MPs discussed the pros and cons and then voted.
These discussions help the public understand the government's decisions and make sure all
acons are transparent.
5. Representave Funcon
The MPs in the House of Commons are directly elected by the people during general
elecons. This means they represent the voice of the people.
󷵻󷵼󷵽󷵾 Example: If a town has poor water supply, people can tell their local MP. The MP can
raise the issue in the House of Commons, ask the responsible minister quesons, or even
push for new laws or schemes.
So, the House of Commons acts as a bridge between the government and the common
people.
6. Amending the Constuon (Limited)
Easy2Siksha.com
Though the UK does not have a single wrien constuon like India or the USA, the House
of Commons can make or change important constuonal laws by passing new Acts of
Parliament.
󷵻󷵼󷵽󷵾 Example: The Human Rights Act 1998 was passed by the UK Parliament, giving cizens
new legal protecons.
󼿰󼿱󼿲 Weaknesses of the House of Commons
While the House of Commons is powerful, it also has some weaknesses.
1. Dominance of the Ruling Party
In the UK, the party with the majority in the House of Commons forms the government. This
party can easily pass laws without much opposion if it has a big majority.
󷵻󷵼󷵽󷵾 Example: If one party has 400 out of 650 MPs, they can pass any law they want — even
if some MPs from other pares disagree. This weakens true debate and democracy.
2. Less Independent Thinking
Many MPs oen vote according to what their party leaders say, not based on what is right or
what the people want.
󷵻󷵼󷵽󷵾 This is called party whip — MPs are told how to vote. If they disobey, they may be
punished or removed from the party. This reduces free and independent thinking.
3. Limited Role of Opposion
The opposion pares do ask quesons and debate government acons, but in reality, the
ruling party can ignore their suggesons if it has a big majority.
4. Lack of Time for Serious Discussion
Because of limitedme and a large number of issues, many important bills are rushed
without deep discussion.
󷵻󷵼󷵽󷵾 Example: In some cases, laws are passed late at night with very few MPs present, which
reduces the quality of decision-making.
5. Inuence of Media and Pressure Groups
Easy2Siksha.com
MPs somemes focus more on popular opinion shown in media or on social media, rather
than thinking about what’s best for the country long-term.
󷃆󼽢 Conclusion
To sum up, the House of Commons is the most powerful part of the UK Parliament. It has the
main power to make laws, control money, monitor the government, and represent the
people. However, it also has some weaknesses, such as too much control by the ruling party
and limited discussion me.
Sll, it plays a very important role in UK democracy, and reforms are being suggested to
make it even more eecve and accountable.
6. Explain the basic features of party system in USA. What role, according to you, do
polical pares play in the polical system of the United States of America.
Ans: 󷇴󷇵󷇶󷇷󷇸󷇹 Introducon
The United States of America (USA) has a unique polical system, and polical pares are an
important part of it. In simple words, a polical party is a group of people who have similar
ideas about how the country should be run. They try to get their leaders elected so they can
make laws and decisions.
In the USA, there are many polical pares, but two of them are the most important. These
are the Democrac Party and the Republican Party. This system is called a two-party system.
Let’s now look at the basic features of the party system in the USA, and how these pares
play a big role in American polics.
󹻂 Basic Features of the Party System in the USA
1. Two-Party System
This is the most important feature. The USA mainly has two big polical pares:
• The Democrac Party (generally more liberal or le-leaning)
• The Republican Party (generally more conservave or right-leaning)
Even though there are smaller pares like the Green Party or Libertarian Party, they rarely
win major elecons.
󹳴󹳵󹳶󹳷 Example: In most presidenal elecons, only the Democrac and Republican candidates
are taken seriously by voters. For instance, in the 2020 elecon, Joe Biden (Democrat) and
Donald Trump (Republican) were the main candidates.
Easy2Siksha.com
2. Decentralized Structure
Polical pares in the USA are not very centralized. This means the naonal party leaders
don't control everything. Each state has its own state-level party organizaons. These state
pares can have their own rules and ways of working.
󹳴󹳵󹳶󹳷 Example: The Democrac Party in California may focus more on climate change, while
the same party in Texas may focus more on healthcare.
3. No Ocial Membership
Unlike in countries like India, where you ocially become a party member, in the USA,
people don’t always formally join a party. Instead, when they register to vote, they may say
they prefer one party, or they may call themselves "independents" if they don’t support any
party.
󹳴󹳵󹳶󹳷 Example: A person in Florida can say, “I support the Republican Party,” but they don’t
have to pay fees or aend meengs to be considered a supporter.
4. Candidate-Centered Campaigns
In the USA, elecons focus more on individual candidates than on pares. The candidate's
personality, image, and media presence are very important. People oen vote for a person,
not just the party.
󹳴󹳵󹳶󹳷 Example: Barack Obama became very popular during his campaigns because of his
speeches, vision, and personality—even more than his party.
5. Primary Elecons
Before the main elecon, pares hold primary elecons. In this system, voters choose the
party’s candidate for the nal elecon. This is dierent from many other countries where the
party leaders decide who will be the candidate.
󹳴󹳵󹳶󹳷 Example: In 2020, Joe Biden won the Democrac primaries by defeang other
candidates like Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, and Elizabeth Warren.
6. No Party Symbol on Ballot
Unlike in some other countries, the USA does not use party symbols like a hand, lotus, or
elephant on the ballot paper. Instead, the names of the candidates and their party names
are wrien.
Easy2Siksha.com
󹳴󹳵󹳶󹳷 Example: A vong machine will show names like “Joe Biden – Democrac Party” and
“Donald Trump – Republican Party” without any symbols.
󷨕󷨓󷨔 Role of Polical Pares in the US Polical System
Polical pares in the USA play many important roles in the working of the government,
elecons, and public opinion. Let’s look at them one by one.
1. Providing Choices to Voters
Pares give people a clear choice between dierent ideas and policies. For example,
Democrats may promise beer healthcare and educaon, while Republicans may focus on
tax cuts and strong naonal security.
󹳴󹳵󹳶󹳷 Example: In every elecon, voters get to decide which party’s ideas match their beliefs.
2. Forming the Government
The party that wins the majority of seats in Congress (the US Parliament) or wins the
presidency gets to form the government. The President usually belongs to one of the two
major pares.
󹳴󹳵󹳶󹳷 Example: In 2020, Joe Biden (Democrac Party) won the elecon and formed the
government.
3. Acng as Opposion
The party that loses the elecon does not disappear. It becomes the opposion party. Its
role is to keep a check on the ruling party, cricize wrong policies, and provide alternave
soluons.
󹳴󹳵󹳶󹳷 Example: Aer losing the 2020 elecon, the Republican Party became the opposion
and connued to speak out against Biden’s policies.
4. Making Laws and Policies
Members of Congress from both pares propose new laws, discuss bills, and vote on
policies. Pares try to pass laws that match their party’s ideas.
󹳴󹳵󹳶󹳷 Example: Democrats oen support climate change laws, while Republicans may focus on
business-friendly tax laws.
Easy2Siksha.com
5. Polical Educaon of Cizens
Pares help in educang people about naonal issues through speeches, TV ads, rallies, and
debates. They shape how people think about the government and society.
󹳴󹳵󹳶󹳷 Example: During elecons, party leaders hold debates and explain their posions on
healthcare, educaon, or foreign policy.
6. Selecng Leaders
Pares select candidates to run for elecons—from city mayors to the President. This gives
voters dierent choices.
󹳴󹳵󹳶󹳷 Example: Every four years, the Democrac and Republican pares select their
presidenal candidates through primaries and party convenons.
7. Bringing People Together
Polical pares help to unite people of dierent backgrounds around common beliefs. For
example, both pares have members from all races, religions, and economic classes.
󹳴󹳵󹳶󹳷 Example: A young woman in New York and a farmer in Texas may both support the same
party because of shared values like educaon or gun rights.
󷃆󼽢 Conclusion
In simple words, polical pares are like teams that try to run the government based on
their beliefs and policies. In the USA, the party system is mostly a two-party system, and
both the Democrac and Republican pares play a huge role in elecons, government, and
law-making.
Even though smaller pares exist, they usually don’t have much power. Polical pares also
help cizens understand polics beer and give them a chance to parcipate in democracy.
So, in my view, polical pares in the USA are essenal. Without them, voters would be
confused, governments would be disorganized, and democracy would not funcon properly.
SECTION-D
7. Discuss in detail the principle of Rule of Law in UK. Explain its shortcomings also.
Ans: 󼪺󼪻 Introducon
Easy2Siksha.com
The "Rule of Law" is a basic principle of Brish democracy. It means that no one is above the
law, not even the Prime Minister or the King. Every person, rich or poor, must follow the
same law. It also means that the government must work according to the law and not
misuse power.
This principle was mainly explained by A.V. Dicey, a famous Brish constuonal scholar, in
the 19th century.
Let’s understand this concept deeply with simple language and examples.
󹴷󹴺󹴸󹴹󹴻󹴼󹴽󹴾󹴿󹵀󹵁󹵂 Meaning of Rule of Law
The Rule of Law means:
󷵻󷵼󷵽󷵾 The law is supreme and should be applied equally to everyone.
󷵻󷵼󷵽󷵾 The government and its ocials must act within the law.
󷵻󷵼󷵽󷵾 Every cizen should be protected from misuse of power.
󷽰󷽱󸚌󷽲󷽳󷽴󷽵󷽶󸚍󷽷󸚎󸚏󷽸󷽹󸚐󷽺󷽻󸚑󸚒󷽼󷽽󷽾󷽿󷾀󷾁󷾂󷾃󷾄󷾅󷾆󷾇󷾈󷾉󸚓 A.V. Dicey’s Three Main Principles of Rule of Law
1. Supremacy of Law
• It means the law is above all.
• No one can be punished unless they break a law that is already wrien.
• The government cannot act in a way that is outside the law.
󼪺󼪻 Example:
If a police ocer arrests someone, they must do it legally. They can't arrest anyone just
because they don’t like them. If they do, the court will punish the police ocer.
2. Equality Before the Law
• Everyone is equal in the eyes of law.
• No special treatment for policians, celebries, or the rich.
• Every cizen has to face the same legal consequences for breaking the law.
󼪺󼪻 Example:
If a rich businessman steals, he should be punished the same way as a poor man would be. A
minister cannot say, “I’m powerful, so I won’t be punished.”
Easy2Siksha.com
3. Predominance of Legal Spirit / Constuon is Result of Ordinary Law
• Dicey said that rights like freedom of speech, liberty, etc., are protected by courts,
not by a separate wrien document.
• The UK does not have a single wrien Constuon, but people’s rights are sll
protected through court decisions and common law.
󼪺󼪻 Example:
If someone’s freedom is taken away, they can go to the court, and the court will protect their
right. There is no need to look into a wrien Constuon.
󷫋󷫌󷫍󷫎󷫏 Rule of Law in the UK System
The UK is famous for following the Rule of Law. Even though it does not have a wrien
Constuon, its system is based on:
• Parliamentary supremacy
• Independent judiciary
• Legal checks on government power
In the UK:
✔ The police and army must follow legal rules.
✔ The courts can queson the acons of ministers.
✔ If any government acon is unlawful, the court can stop it.
✔ The public has the right to go to court if their rights are violated.
󹳦󹳤󹳧 Shortcomings / Cricisms of Rule of Law in the UK
Although the UK strongly believes in the Rule of Law, there are some weaknesses and
problems too. Let’s look at them in a very simple way:
1. Parliament is Above the Law
In the UK, Parliament is supreme, which means Parliament can make or change any law —
even unfair ones.
󼪺󼪻 Example:
If Parliament passes a law tomorrow saying, “Only rich people can vote,” legally it is valid —
even though it is against equality. So, Parliament can make bad laws, and courts can't stop
them.
Easy2Siksha.com
2. No Wrien Constuon
Because there is no single wrien Constuon in the UK, there is no xed document to
protect people’s rights.
󼪺󼪻 Example:
In India, people can go to court if their Fundamental Rights are violated under Arcle 32. But
in the UK, people depend more on judges and past cases. This makes the rights less clear
and guaranteed.
3. Unequal Access to Jusce
Legal help in the UK is expensive. Poor people may not be able to aord good lawyers.
󼪺󼪻 Example:
If a poor person wants to ght against a rich company or the government, they may not have
the money to ght the case. So even if everyone is "equal under law," in real life, some
people have more power and advantage.
4. Government Interference in Some Cases
Somemes, the government makes decisions (especially in emergencies or naonal
security) that go against personal rights.
󼪺󼪻 Example:
Aer terrorist aacks, the government has detained people without trial in the name of
naonal security. This is against the Rule of Law, which says a person must not be punished
without a fair trial.
5. Ministerial Discreon
In the UK, ministers have discreonary powers, which means they can make decisions
without following full legal procedures.
󼪺󼪻 Example:
A minister might reject someone's visa or cancel a passport without giving proper
explanaon. Though courts can review these decisions, the common person may suer
during the process.
6. Delay in Jusce
Courts in the UK are somemes slow. Jusce delayed is jusce denied.
Easy2Siksha.com
󼪺󼪻 Example:
If a person has to wait for 10 years to get a decision, it’s as bad as not geng jusce. This
delay weakens the Rule of Law in pracce.
󷃆󼽢 Conclusion
The Rule of Law is one of the most important principles of the UK’s legal and polical
system. It ensures that:
• Everyone is treated equally
• No one misuses power
• Courts protect people’s rights
However, there are shortcomings like:
• Parliamentary supremacy
• Lack of a wrien Constuon
• High cost of jusce
Even with these issues, the UK connues to respect and follow the Rule of Law beer than
many countries. But there is room for improvement — especially in making jusce more
accessible and ensuring that Parliament doesn’t make laws that harm equality.
8. Explain the federal features of the polical system of USA. Briey discuss the unitary
trends in USA also.
Ans: 󹺿 Introducon
The United States of America (USA) is known for its federal system of government, which
means power is shared between the central (naonal or federal) government and the
individual state governments. However, even though the USA is a federal country, some
unitary trends (centralizaon of power) have also emerged over me.
In this answer, we will explain:
• What is a federal system?
• What are the federal features of the US polical system?
• What are the unitary trends in the USA?
• Examples to understand these points easily.
󹻀 What is a Federal System?
Easy2Siksha.com
A federal system is a type of government where power is divided between a central
government and state governments. Both levels of government have their own powers, and
neither can completely control the other.
For example:
• In India, the Constuon also divides power between the Centre and the States.
• In the USA, there are 50 states, and each has its own government, laws, and courts.
But there is also a Federal Government that works for the whole country.
󹻀 Federal Features of the USA
Let’s now understand the main features of federalism in the USA with simple examples.
1. Wrien Constuon
The USA has a wrien Constuon, adopted in 1787, which is the supreme law of the land.
• It clearly divides powers between the Federal Government and the State
Governments.
• Every branch of government (Execuve, Legislature, Judiciary) has its powers
menoned clearly.
Example:
The US Constuon says that only the Federal Government can print money or declare war.
But only State Governments can give licenses for teaching or driving.
2. Division of Powers
The powers in the USA are divided into three categories:
• Federal Powers (Naonal Powers): These are powers only the Federal Government
has, like foreign aairs, prinng money, and defense.
• State Powers: These powers are given only to states, like educaon, police, and local
transport.
• Concurrent Powers: These are shared powers between both Federal and State
Governments, like collecng taxes or building roads.
Example:
Both the USA Government and the California Government can collect income tax from the
people.
Easy2Siksha.com
3. Supremacy of the Constuon
In the USA, the Constuon is above everyone, including the President or any state.
• If any state law or federal law goes against the Constuon, it will be declared invalid
by the Supreme Court.
Example:
If a state passes a law that denies people their right to vote based on gender, the Supreme
Court can cancel that law because it violates the Constuon.
4. Independent Judiciary
The US has an independent judiciary, especially the Supreme Court, which plays a major role
in protecng federalism.
• The court seles disputes between states and the Federal Government.
• It makes sure no one crosses their limits of power.
Example:
If Texas and the Federal Government ght over who should control immigraon rules, the
Supreme Court gives the nal decision.
5. Dual Cizenship
In the USA, every cizen is a cizen of both the country and their state.
Example:
A person living in New York is a cizen of the USA and of the State of New York. They have to
follow the laws of both.
6. Bicameral Legislature
The US Congress (Parliament) has two houses:
• Senate: Equal representaon from every state (2 members from each state).
• House of Representaves: Representaon based on populaon.
This system ensures that both small and big states have a say in law-making.
Example:
California (a big state) gets more seats in the House, but Wyoming (a small state) sll gets 2
seats in the Senate — just like California.
7. Wrien and Rigid Constuon
Easy2Siksha.com
The US Constuon is dicult to amend (change). Any amendment needs approval from:
• Two-thirds of Congress, and
• Three-fourths of the State Legislatures
This keeps the federal balance strong and protects states’ rights.
󹻀 Unitary Trends in the USA
Even though the USA is a federal country, some unitary (centralized) features have
developed over me. Let’s look at them with examples.
1. Increased Powers of the Federal Government
Over me, the Federal Government has taken more control in areas like:
• Health (Medicare, COVID-19 guidelines)
• Educaon (federal educaon laws)
• Environment (climate regulaons)
This reduces the autonomy (freedom) of states.
2. Financial Control by the Centre
The Federal Government collects a large poron of taxes, then gives money to states as
grants.
• These grants oen come with condions.
Example:
If a state wants federal funds for schools, they may have to follow naonal educaon
policies.
This makes states dependent on the centre and weakens federalism.
3. Emergency Powers
During naonal emergencies like war, terrorism, or pandemics, the Federal Government can
override state laws.
Example:
During the COVID-19 pandemic, federal agencies gave naonal-level guidelines that aected
all states equally, even if some states disagreed.
Easy2Siksha.com
4. Intervenon in State Maers
The Federal Government can somemes interfere in state maers, especially when there is a
violaon of civil rights.
Example:
If a state tries to stop African-Americans from vong, the federal courts or agencies can step
in.
5. Judicial Acvism
Somemes, the Supreme Court makes decisions that expand federal power, reducing states'
freedom.
Example:
The Supreme Court’s rulings on aboron or same-sex marriage have applied across all states,
even if some states disagree.
󺭨 Conclusion
To sum up:
• The USA has a strong federal system, where power is divided between the Centre
and the States.
• The Constuon, dual government, and independent judiciary protect federalism.
• But in recent years, unitary trends like central nancial control, federal grants, and
judicial decisions have made the Federal Government more powerful.
So, while the spirit of federalism is alive in the USA, some centralizing (unitary) features are
also visible.
“This paper has been carefully prepared for educaonal purposes. If you noce any mistakes or
have suggesons, feel free to share your feedback.”