Introduction
Comparative politics is a scientific concept that is widely applied in the study of political science. This concept and ideology are used to study different political units of countries, pointing out how different they run their political affairs while at the same time noting differences. According to Caramani (2020), comparative politics rely on comparative methods that benchmark one country’s political system to another to understand the failure or success of various countries’ political systems. There are several mythological approaches to studying political science, including statistical, case study, and experimental methods (Chilcote 2018). In simpler terms, comparative politics applies comparative approaches in examining two or more countries to assess various political functions. The two countries chosen for this research paper are Canada and the United States. Therefore, the concept of comparative politics will be applied to the two selected counties’ political unit systems to point out both similarities and differences.
Canadian and American Government
Countries and states have specific rules and statutes that have different contents. This implies that the laws apply differently in states or countries. Therefore, Canada and Unites States are different countries; the two have political systems and units that differ in operation and how the vital process occurs. According to John Wesley Dafoe (2022), the political systems of the United States and Canada exhibit some similarities and differences. Despite the numerous changes that have occurred in both countries’ systems, they are still a replica of one another with slight variations. John Wesley Dafoe (2022) educates that the Canadian Dominion and the American Commonwealth explain the two countries’ political system development. However, John Wesley Dafoe (2022) noticed that Canada has stayed under the umbrella of Great Britain and therefore is practicing parent-state laws.
On the other hand, the United States is a sovereign state and drives its principles from the European constitution (Floridi 2020, p. 371). Therefore, from the country’s profiles, it is clear that the two have different government operations with some similarities.
Canada and the American government have similarities and differences worth discussing in this paper. Floridi (2020, p. 372) reports that the two countries’ governments have central authority with many supporting local administrations literary, known as states in the United states and provinces in Canada. In both countries, the central government or authority has enormous power and is entitled to national issues, including the local administration’s security and integrity (Palsson et al. 2020, p. 1269). Other studies, however, report that Canada is not yet an independent state and thus depends on the imperial power of England (Gilmore, Kousky and St.Clair 2022, p. 216).
This means that the laws governing Canada are from England’s laws. From this claim, Canada, therefore, has no power or voice to proclaim war or do its affairs independently without involving the great power of England (Gilmore, Kousky and St.Clair 2022, p. 218). As such, it can be noted that the great power of England is the parent rock of the Canadian constitution.
The two countries’ governments also differ remarkably when the power assumed by the respective central governments is compared. According to Dauvergne (2018, p. 579), the Dominion government’s powers include all that federal laws grant. On the other hand, the opposite is true because the central government seems to have equal powers with the federal government. Coming to the judicial systems of the two countries, it is crucial to report that there are also some similarities and differences in how court proceedings are carried out in each country. The judicial systems are similar in that the Canadian system consists of many federal courts at the province level, equivalent to the United States federal courts in different states (Dauvergne 2018, p. 581). However, Canada is reported to have one federal court compared to the United Supreme Court because these two courts presume enormous power. One noticeable difference in the judicial system of the two countries is that there is no federal court in each province as there are courts in each state.
Political Parties
Democracy in any country is nurtured when citizens can express their voices and interests by choosing the leaders they want. A group of federal representatives defines the United States democratic system voted for by the United States citizens. The modern politics witnessed in the United States is a result of two major parties, the Democrats and the Republicans, which have been the dominating parties since the dawn of Unites States politics (Dippel 2022, p. 33).
Ethnicity, race, originality, religion, and money are the major factors that impact United States political party system. In their research, Hess and Renner (2019, p. 420) found that the United States Federal government consists of three legislative, executive, and judicial branches. About democracy the United States practices representative democracy, where leaders are elected to represent other citizens in the national senate, congress, and local governments (Hess & Renner 2019, p. 423). Although there are some minority parties in the United States political system, the state could be referred to as a two-party political system because the country only has two dominant parties with high odds of winning an election.
Canada exhibits a different political system from that of the United States. According to Tanguay (2021, p. 741), the Canadian political system is based on the context of parliamentary egalitarianism. Canada is a constitutional country, unlike the United States, and thus enjoys a multiparty system of state and legislative practices. Even though Tanguay (2021, p. 742) identifies the Liberty Party of Canada and the Conservative Party of Canada as the major parties, other research has also pointed out minority parties in Canada. These include New Democratic Party, Green Party, and the Quebec nationalist Bloc (Tanguay 2021, p. 742). Just like the other two dominating parties in Canada, these minority parties have found relevance in Canada which brings a different picture when compared to other parties in the united stated, a part from the discussed major parties.
Political Culture
Culturally, the two countries under investigation show different political orientations from one another. The critical literature search found that Canada has adopted an egalitarian type of leader for decades (Budd 2019, p. 138). This leadership model benefits citizens greatly because it supports social amenities and steers economic freedom and multiculturalism. Thus, Canada emphasizes social equality, which entails individual rights and inclusivity (Budd 2019, p. 143). The Canadian political system is democratic, resulting in universal healthcare, gun control, and social and foreign aid programs. On the other hand, American political culture could be well explained based on Elazar’s theory. Elazar’s theory holds that American political culture is divided into distinct cultures, including moralistic, individualist, and traditionalistic (López 2022, p. 100367). Elazar’s theory portrays American political culture as moralistic in that the government is seen as a means that caters to society by ensuring citizens’ welfare (López 2022, p. 100367). Moralistic political culture enhances transparency and honesty, which are the key pillars of democracy.
Elazar’s theory also states that the United States system could also be experiencing an individualist political culture. This culture is the type in which the government is portrayed as a tool that solves and addresses citizens’ issues. The government must provide vulnerable citizens with healthcare services and feeding programs in an individualist culture. According to Elazar et al. (2022), the individualist political culture is practised in states such as New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania (Elazar et al. 2022). Finally, some states in America also exhibit a traditionalist type of political culture that enhances prejudice against other ethnic groups while perpetrating white dominance (Elazar et al. 2022).
This is true because, in the recent past, the United States has witnessed mass demonstrations criticizing how black police officers treat Americans (Updegrove et al. 2018, p. 3). A good example is the demonstrations about black lives matter. This was a result of the death of George Floyd, who died after police brutality and excessive use of force (Updegrove et al. 2018, p. 6). As such, the traditionalist political culture tends to uphold white supremacy while discriminating against black Americans
Election Laws and Process
Comparing election laws and electoral processes between the two countries is another crucial area to cover as comparative politics is concerned. According to Howard, Woolley and Calo (2018, p. 81), Canada and the United States present diverse differences in election laws and how the process is conducted. One similarity that can be pointed out is that independent bodies conduct elections in both countries (Howard, Woolley and Calo 2018, p. 82). Another similarity in the election process is that the winning presidential candidates usually form the major dominating political parties. However, elections laws and the electoral process differs in some functionalities. In Canada, the law only allows 36 days campaigning period. On the other hand, the United States laws do not restrict citizens on how to campaign, provided that the president has been elected (Howard, Woolley and Calo 2018, p. 84). Moreover, Canadians do not elect the prime minister directly, as the United Citizens elect the president by exercising their voting rights. As such, election laws and processes in the selected countries show similarities and differences.
Conclusion
Studying comparative politics is crucial to political scientists as it allows them to learn about other countries’ political affairs, which is an important way to benchmark one’s political systems. Moreover, comparative politics helps university students taking political science in colleges and universities know the political systems of the world as such, help be aware of what is happening beyond their borders. From this research paper, it has been noted that comparing political systems worldwide is important. This is because it allows one country to learn each other political systems to improve what they are not doing well to boost or nurture a democratic system. Comparative politics can be done through various statistical and empirical analyses. In this paper, comparative politics has been applied to Canadian and United States political systems and has pointed out the similarities and differences that exist as the political system units are concerned. The systems that have been compared are the government functionalities, political parties, political cultures, and election laws and electoral processes.
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