Category: Political Science Notes

After reading this article you will learn about the organisation and role of communist party of China.

Organisation of the Communist Party of China:

The Communist Party of China is a well structured party organised on the basis of the principle of democratic centralism. The party admits ‘democracy’ by providing for the election of all party organs, as well as by accepting the principle of free discussions before decisions are taken.

Further, each lower level party organ participates in the election of its higher level organ. ‘Centralism’, however, also stands incorporated by the adoption of the principle that all obey the decisions of the Communist Party, and each lower organ carries out the commands of its higher organ. The party is a disciplined party and each person obeys the decisions of the party even over and above the decisions of the state.

1. Membership of the Communist Party:

The membership of the Communist Party is open to all citizens of China who have attained a minimum age of 18 years. However, securing of party membership is a difficult and complex affair. A person wishing to become its member has to submit an application for this purpose. This application has to be endorsed by two regular members who know the candidate, his ideology, character and personal history.

In case the application is found complete and fit, the candidate is put on probation for one year. Thereafter if he is found to be capable, he is admitted as a member. In case he is found deficient, his probation can be extended by one year and in case he still fails to satisfy the party, he is rejected and the party membership is denied to him.

The qualities of the probationers are judged by their work, by their acceptance of the party programmes and ideology, by their devotion towards the party work assigned to them, by their willingness to pay membership dues and by their faithfulness in carrying out the directives of the party.

A member can at any time resign his membership, but this is never done by him for it can mean an end to his political ambitions and career. The party can expel any member on charges of violating the ideology or policies of the party or on grounds of anti-party and counter­revolutionary activities.

Now rich businessmen can also become members of the CPC. It has been decided to make it an all—people party representing all ethnic groups.

2. Organisational Structure of the Communist Party:

The Communist Party of China is a tightly organised party. It stands organised on the basis of the principle of Democratic Centralism.

Cell or Primary Party Organisations (PPOs):

At the lowest level of party organisation are Cells or Primary Party Organisations which are located in factories, offices, schools, streets or bazaars. A cell generally consists of 20 members. The PPOs work for cementing the ties of the workers and peasants with the party and its leading bodies.

They do the propaganda work among the masses. They organize study circles for understanding and propagating properly the ideology of Marxism-Leninism as interpreted, applied and supplemented by Maoism.

A PPO with a membership of 100 or above, and acting with the consent of the next higher level committee, can hold a general membership meeting for electing a primary party committee which manages the activities of the concerned PPO.

3. Party Congress at the County Level:

All the PPOs of a county, or autonomous county or municipality work under the supervision of a Party Congress (PC). The Party Congress is elected by the general meeting or delegate meeting of all PPOs which are at work in a county.

The PC is elected for a term of two years. It meets once a year for discussing policy matters of local nature. It elects the delegates to the next higher level body-the Provincial Party Congress. It also elects its Party Committee which acts as its executive committee.

4. The Party Congress at the Provincial Level:

At the provincial/autonomous region or municipality (directly under the central control) level, there is the Provincial Party Congress (PPC). It is elected for a period of three years by the Party Congresses working within the province.

It meets thrice a year for discussing and deciding matters of regional importance. It supervises and guides the Party Congresses the province or region. It elects delegates to the National Party Congress. It also elects its party committee which acts as its executive.

5. National Party Congress:

The National Party Congress is the highest organ of the Communist Party of China. It is elected by the principal/regional party congresses for a term of five years. It is expected to meet at least once a year. In actual practice, its meetings are held after long intervals.

It determines the party policies and line of action. To receive and examine the reports of its Central Committee and other central organs of the party is its important function. It alone can amend or revise the party constitution. It carries out its work through its central committee.

6. Central Committee:

The Central Committee is elected by the National Party Congress for a term of five years. It has 198 full members and 158 alternate members (November 2002). It is continuously at work because of the rule that a Central Committee goes out of office only when a new central committee succeeds it.

It has the responsibility to carry out the party work during the interval between the two sessions of the National Party Congress. The Central Committee has the responsibility to elect the chairman and other officials of the Communist Party of China. It also appoints various central organs of the party.

The Party constitution states that the Central Committee guides and supervises the work of the various branches of the Central Government “through leading party members’ groups within them.” It conducts relations between the Communist Party and other mass organisations and democratic parties operating in China.

It directs the work of the party units in the armed forces. All provincial and regional party organisations are responsible before the Central Committee.

7. Politburo and Standing Committee:

In the hierarchy of the Communist Party, the really powerful organ is the Politburo which is appointed by the Central Committee in its plenary session. It has now 24 members. Along with it, a Standing Committee, a General Secretary (initially called the chairman), a Central Commission and the Secretariat are also appointed by the Central Committee.

When the Central Committee is not in session, its powers are exercised by the Politburo and the Standing Committee. The Standing Committee is the real centre of power because it always consists of the top ranking seven leaders of the Communist Party. It is always in session and takes all decisions, which, however, are subject to the approval of the Politburo and the Central Committee.

The General Secretary is the top leader and his ideology/views/ideas always have a big influence on the decisions of the Standing Committee. During his life time, Mao remained the Chairman of the Party and wielded supreme power in the Chinese political system.

However, after the emergence of the concept of collective leadership in the Post-Mao period, other members of the Standing Committee also started playing an active role.

Af
ter the political leadership upheavals of the post-Mao years, Mr. Deng Xiaoping emerged as the top leader and continued to be at helms of the affairs of the Chinese Communist Party (CPC) till his death on February 20, 1997.

After his death Jiang Zemin emerged as his successor and controlled the party till 2002. In November 2002, the 16th National Congress unanimously elected Hu Jintao as the General Secretary of CPC and it meant the retirement of Jiang Zemin.

8. The Central Commission and the Secretariat of CPC:

The Central Commission has the responsibility to maintain discipline among the members. It has 17 regular and 4 alternate members and it works through several Control Commissions. The Secretariat looks after the routine work of the party administration and works under the direction of the Politburo, the Standing Committee and the General Secretary.

The Communist Party of China is a well organised political party. We can call it a tightly organised party-organised on the basis of the principle of Democratic Centralism. Its structural organisation reflects an arrangement of wheels within a wheel. Further, the governmental organisation also follows closely its pattern of organisation.

Despite the separation made between the Party and the Government by the 1982 Constitution, the Communist Party of China continues to be fully involved in the working of the government. The decisions are definitely first made at the party level and then got legalized from the Government which again is under the thumb of the party.

Role of Communist Party of China:

(A) Role in the Making of Revolution:

Originating in 1921 as a very small group of just thirteen members who held their first meeting in Shanghai, the Communist Party of China registered a spectacular rise, particularly after 1935 when Mao emerged its leader. From 1921 to 1935, the Party had to live with a weak structure and a limited role. In 1927, it received a big setback when the Soviet representative Borodin was expelled from China and Chiang-Kai-Shek decided to control firmly the growing ‘Communist menace’ in China.

However, the march of events resulting from the Japanese threat to the sovereignty, independence and integrity of China, and the outbreak of the Second World War created conditions in which Chinag’s Kuomintang accepted ‘Cooperation with the Communists’ for safeguarding Chinese national interests and integrity.

Further, the emergence of Mao-Tse- Tung as the undisputed and dynamic leader of the Communist Party, helped the party not only to revitalize its organisational network but also to capture the attention and support of the Chinese people, particularly the peasants working in the rural areas. Mao’s strategy of first spreading ‘Communism’ in the rural areas and then surrounding the cities through guerilla tactics paid rich dividends. The whole-hearted support that the (erstwhile) Soviet Union gave to the Communist Party enabled Mao to be in a position to challenge Chiang’s regime.

By the time the Second World War ended, Mao was successful in bringing China to the verge of socialist revolution through a war of people’s liberation which finally broke out in 1945. Within four years, the ‘liberation’ was achieved. Chiang-Kai-Sheik, along with his followers was forced to flee to Formosa.

The mainland China came under the Communists and on October 1, 1949, China came to be the People’s Republic of China. A People’s Democratic Dictatorship was established by the Communist Party under the leadership of chairman Mao Tse-tung. Thus, within fourteen years of his leadership, Mao was successful both in revitalizing the Communist Party as well as in staging through it a successful socialist revolution in China.

(B) Role of the Communist Party of China After the Revolution (1949-1954):

After 1949, the Communist Party of China, acting as the highest form of class organisation, started playing a core role in every aspect of country’s life. Its leadership of the people as the vanguard for securing the gains of the revolution in the post-1949 period, was acknowledged by one and all.

On the one hand, the Communist Party started acting as the defender of the revolution, the leader and guide of the people, the supreme educator and the body responsible for initiating the process of nation-building in China.

On the other hand, it began exercising all power and authority on the basis of a common programme and the organic law as formulated by the party under the supreme guidance and direction of Mao.

Between 1949-54, China was governed by a provisional government with one organ-the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. This body consisted of 662 delegates who represented all the political parties including the Communist Party, several mass organisations, the People’s Liberation Army and the overseas Chinese.

It was, however, dominated by the Communist party and it worked on the basis of the Organic Law for realising the ‘Common Programme’ as conceived and formulated by Mao Tse-tung.

1. Role of the Communist Party under the 1954 Constitution:

The organisation and role of the Communist Party of China in the post-1954 period can be discussed either by dividing it in two parts—

(i) Role and organisation in the Mao period, and

(2) Role and organisation in the Post-Mao period or by analysing its positions under different constitutions.

For the sake of an in-depth study, we shall follow the latter course and discuss in detail these two aspects under all constitutions of India.

In 1953, a committee headed by Mao Tse-Tung was constituted for drafting a constitution for the People’s Republic of China. The Communist Party played a key role in drafting the constitution. This Constitution came into force in 1954.

The Constitution of 1954 did not give constitutional recognition to the Communist Party. Nevertheless, its role was clearly recognized in the deliberations held in connection with the drafting of the constitution.

Liu Shah-Chi clearly stated in his report before the drafting committee that the leadership of the Communist Party was essential not only for the Chinese people’s democratic revolution, but also for the realization of socialism.

Its leadership and core role in the Chinese political system was accepted by one and all. Its ideology-Marxism- Leninism as defined and supplemented by Maoism was adopted as the ideology of China. The Communist party continued to work as an extra-constitutional supreme decision-making and directing body.

Its success in overthrowing the Chiang-regime and in securing a socialist revolution provided it with a huge credibility.

Its success enabled it to work as “the highest form of class organisation committed to play a disciplined, dedicated and core leadership role in the Chinese political system.” All governmental institutions, all constituent party organs, all other organisations obeyed the commands of the Communist Party.

2. Role of the Communist Party under the 1975 Constitution (1975-78)-Communist Party as the only Constitutionally Recognized Party of China:

The 1975 Constitution accepted the supreme reality of the Chinese political system by giving constitutions’ recognition to the Communist Party. It declared: “The Communist Party of China is the core of the leadership of the whole Chinese people”, and “The working class exercises leadership over the state through the vanguard of the Communist Party of China”.

Even the highest organ of state power-the National People’s Congress (Chinese National Parliament) was placed under the leader
ship of the Party. All key power holders of the state were nominated by the Central Committee of the Communist Party and the state power merely legalized the appointments thus made.

The control over the Chinese Armed Forces – the People’s Liberation Army was also exercised by the party.

The Preamble of the 1975 constitution narrated the achievements of the Communist Party during the past 20 years and committed the People’s Republic of China to ‘the continuing revolution’ under the direction of the party. It was reaffirmed that China was committed to eliminate all enemies at home and abroad through national efforts as organised, guided, directed and controlled by the Communist Party of China.

3. The Communist Party under the 1978 Constitution and Role of the Communist Party in the Post-Mao Years:

In 1978, China adopted a new constitution and this new constitution did not make any change in the status and role of the Communist Party in the Chinese political system. It maintained the constitutional status of the party. Its Preamble recounted “the heroic struggle of the Chinese people led by the Communist Party and headed by our great leader and teacher, Chairman Mao Tse-Tung.”

The party was again given credit for ushering China into an era of prosperity and all-round development. It called upon the people of China to support whole heartedly the Communist Party and its policies.

Article 2 of this constitution once again described the Communist Party as “the core of the leadership of the whole Chinese people and that the working class exercised leadership over the state – through the Communist Party of China at its vanguard.”

Under this constitution, the state authority was exercised in accordance with the decisions and recommendations made by the Central Committee of the Communist Party.

4. The Communist Party under the 1982 Constitution or the Communist Party in the Contemporary times:

After Mao’s death, a review of the working of the Communist Party was undertaken and it was found that under Mao, the party organisation had come to be a centralized organisation in which a small group of Mao loyalists-‘the Proletariat headquarters’-had become all powerful.

The Cultural Revolution of the 1960s and the post- cultural revolution changes created a situation in which revolutionary committees were given all powers and the former party organs, central and local commissions were abolished. The Eleventh Party Congress held in September 1977, which met for the first time without Mao and Chou, decided to overhaul the party and restore the traditional organisational set up of the party.

It led to the revival of the central and local commissions. It involved a qualified rejection of some principles and policies of Mao. The power struggle between the Maoist conservatives arid the liberal factions of the Communist Party became a reality. The new need for socio- economic development in all spheres gave rise to a demand for liberalisation.

The 1982 Constitution, while accepting the importance and utility of ‘the thoughts of Mao’, introduced several subtle changes. The Preamble, while upholding Marxism-Leninsm and Mao Tse-Tungs thought, also talked of ‘upholding truth, correcting error and overcoming numerous difficulties and hardships’.

This Constitution secured a separation between the Communist Party and the government and did not make any mention of or gave any constitutional recognition to the Communist Party. Article I of the Constitution says: “The People’s Republic of China is now a socialist state under the people’s democratic dictatorship led by the working class and based on the alliance of workers and peasants”.

Article 2 of the 1978 constitution which gave constitutional recognition to the Communist Party got dropped. Further, the provision for the control of the party over the Armed forces was also abolished. The Chinese Premier was now not to be nominated by the Central Committee of the Communist Party.

He was to be chosen by the National People’s Congress on the basis of the nomination made by the President of the Republic. The party constitution now recorded that the party is to work in accordance with the Constitution and the Law.

However, despite this separation and scaling down of the status, the Communist Party still continues to be the leader of the people and their vanguard in the march towards the national goals. The Communist Party continues to be the ruling party, and all decisions of the government are designed to carry out the commands of the party.

The role of the Communist Party in the Chinese Political System has been, continues to be, and is destined to continue in future as a formidable role as the core of leadership and vanguard of the people in their struggle to develop further in accordance with the socialist objectives that stand accepted by the principle of collective leadership in the Post-Mao period.

It continues to be a monolith-a single all dominant party (other parties can exist only as its satellites), whose members accept Marxism- Leninism-Maoism as interpreted and applied by its leaders.

It is the governor and the guide, the preacher and the teacher and the decision-maker, the pleader and the executor of all decisions. The power struggle within the Communist Party in the Post-Mao period has not materially changed or nor can it change its dominant position.

The Communist Party continues to lead the Chinese in their march towards securing of their development objectives and the unity, integrity and strength of the country. It provides top leadership to the country. It governs both directly and indirectly- directly by capturing power in the state and indirectly by maintaining its popularity as the party of all the people and workers.

Even while demanding democracy and decentralization, the people do not question or challenge the role and status of the Communist Party as the maker of modern China and as the vanguard of the people in their march towards progress even in this 21st century.

China continues to be a single party system. However, under the leadership of Deng Xiaoping (1978- 97), the party underwent several changes in respect of its economic policies, and these even continue today.

These changes acted as a source of economic liberalisation of China. The leadership of Ziang Zemin also subscribed to economic liberalisation, but he preferred to describe it as socialism with Chinese characteristics or socialist-market economy. At present Hu Jintao has been controlling the affairs and policies of the party.

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This article throws light upon the four new innovations in the discipline of comparative politics summarised by Gabriel A. Almond and G. Bingham Powell, Jr. The four new innovations are: 1. The Search for a More Comprehensive Scope 2. The Search for Realism 3. The Search for Precision 4. The Search for a New Intellectual Order.

Innovation # 1. The Search for a More Comprehensive Scope:

The effort is:

(i) To break out of parochialism and ethnocentrism,

(ii) To give equal importance to the study of non-western governments and political processes along with studies of political systems, and

(iii) To make comparative politics studies comprehensive by including the efforts of all political scientists and area specialists for theory-building in political science. Past as well as present political systems form an integral part of contemporary studies of comparative politics.

Innovation # 2. The Search for Realism:

It means rejection of all formalism and the dominant concern with law, ideology, and governmental institutions. It includes an examination of the structures and processes involved in politics and policy-making.

The study of governmental processes, viz., rule-making, rule-application, and rule-adjudication, political parties, interest groups, electoral processes, political communication and political socialization processes dealing with the European and non-Western areas is included in its scope. It emphasizes the study of the dynamic forces of politics.

Innovation # 3. The Search for Precision:

Like other social sciences, particularly psychology, economics, sociology and anthropology, there have emerged voting behaviour and electoral behaviour studies in political science also. Studies through precise measurement and controlled observations have started becoming very popular with American, European and non-western, non-European political scientists.

A large number of political scientists have produced “studies of electoral trends based on voting statistics, studies of factors affecting voters” choices based upon sample surveys; studies correlating quantitative social data and the characteristics of the political system, studies of political culture and socialization based on sample surveys, clinical case studies, and anthropological field observations, quantitative studies of political elite recruitment; quantitative content analysis of political communication, observational studies of political of judicial decisions; and the development of mathematical models for the analysis of political processes.

Organisation and analysis of opinion polls and exit polls and social surveys have become important features of modern comparative politics studies. All these attempts have been directed in the direction of securing precision in comparative politics studies.

Innovation # 4. The Search for a New Intellectual Order:

The above three tendencies have strained the traditional theoretical frameworks and conceptuational vocabularies beyond their capacity to codify and assimilate the new insights and findings of political science research. Concepts such as the state, the constitution, representation, rights, duties etc., cannot codify such activities as the extra-constitutional activities of political parties, pressure groups, and the media of mass communication.

Theoretical experimentation, relying primarily on sociological, psychological and anthropological concepts and frameworks, has become common, and new concepts such as political culture, political elite, political socialization have already become very popular.

Comparative Politics has developed and is still developing a new intellectual order. These four directions have greatly revolutionaries the contemporary comparative politics studies. These have been definitely directed towards the buildings of a science of politics.

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Here is an essay on the ‘Executive’ for class 11 and 12. Find paragraphs, long and short essays on the ‘Executive’ especially written for school and college students.

Essay on the Executive

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Essay Contents:

1. Essay on the Definition of Executive
2. Essay on the Different Forms of Executive
3. Essay on the Functions of Executive
4. Essay on the Principal Requisites in the Organisation of the Executive in a Democracy
5. Essay on the Public Service

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Essay # 1. Definition of the Executive:

The term “executive” means that branch of the government which executes or implements the will of the state. In a democratic government, the laws represent the will of the people and there the executive department must exist to give them effect according to the judgment of the judiciary.

In its wide amplitude, the executive includes all those agencies and officials who are directly concerned with the implementation of the day-to-day administration of the country. Put in the narrow sense, the executive includes the principal functionaries of the state except those who are included in the legislature and the judiciary.

This is nicely stated by Herman Finer:

“The executive is the residuary legatee in a government after other claimants like the parliament and all law courts have taken their share.”

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Essay # 2. Different Forms of the Executive:

There are three forms of the executive, namely nominal executive, political executive and permanent executive. The scope of the executive will be better known by distinguishing among these three forms of executive.

We shall discuss them one-by-one:

1. Nominal Executive:

Nominal executive is one that possesses all powers in law, but does not make any use of that power which is discharged in effect by another person or body called the real executive. He is the head of the state like the King or Queen of England. He is also likened to the President of India. In England, as also in India, all government actions are done in the name of the Queen or the President who is the nominal executive. Behind the nominal executive there is a real executive which is the council of ministers.

Although in the language of the constitution the President is the constitutional head, in reality he is just a rubber stamp. The nominal executive may be directly or indirectly elected. He may be nominated or have a hereditary title. The President of India is indirectly elected. The Governor-General of Canada and Australia are nominated by the British Queen. The Queen of England or her successor gets the throne as a birth right.

2. Political Executive:

The political executive is the real executive as distinguished from the nominal executive. In India the council of ministers is the political executive and its members are chosen by the President. Same is the case in England. In the USA the President is the political executive, there being no nominal executive in the USA.

He is elected directly by the people. In the USSR and Switzerland the political executive is elected by the legislature. Whatever may be the mode of appointment, the political executive is the real executive. He formulates and directs the policy of the state and controls the administration.

Kinds of Political Executive:

Political executive may be either parliamentary or presidential depending upon whether the political executive is responsible to the legislature or not. The parliamentary executive is responsible to the legislature. It remains in power so long as it enjoys the confidence of the legislature. The presidential executive has practically nothing to do with the legislature. It cannot be outvoted except by the difficult procedure of impeachment.

Again, the political executive may be single or plural. If the executive authority is vested in a single person as in the case of the President of the USA, it is a case of single executive. If the executive power lies in a number of persons, it is a plural executive. In Switzerland there is a Federal Council of seven members and in the former USSR there was a Presidium of thirty-three members. Thus we find plural executive in both Switzerland and the defunct USSR.

3. Permanent Executive:

This kind of executive is also called permanent civil service or public administration. This type of executive consists of a vast body of officials who hold a permanent tenure but abstain from any active participation in political life. The change of the government does not affect their services.

They are ordinarily recruited into service on the basis of merit in a competitive examination. They enter the service at a prescribed age and retire on attaining the age of superannuation. They are organised into several departments under the charge of a political minister.

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Essay # 3. Functions of the Executive:

The dominant function of the executive is to execute or enforce the laws of the state. In a modern state the functions of the executive are enormous. Since a modern state is a positive state it is imperative that all the needs of the people and their aspirations are to be met by the executive. The result is that the functions of the executive are ever-increasing. We may now go to discuss the various functions of the executive.

1. Maintenance of Law and Order and Administrative Functions:

The primary job of the executive is to maintain law and order. For that purpose the executive is to rely on an administrative staff to control, direct and superintendent the public administration. It is the executive that determines the organisation, recruitment and training of the administrative staff. It explains to them the policy of the government and provides them with powers and responsibilities. It is apparent that the executive is to detail a police force under the command of the administrative wing.

2. Military Functions:

It is common knowledge that the defence of the country against foreign aggression is a basic function of the executive. The executive appoints the top army, air and naval staff and allocates funds and purchase defence equipment from friendly countries. The executive is to build-up arms in the frontier and keep a vigil over the border.

3. Diplomatic Functions:

A modern state cannot be an island to live a hermit’s life. A world-wide function is a necessity for any modern state. So the executive of a modern state must have diplomatic relations with each other. So foreign policy is an important function of the executive. Thus every executive is endowed with treaty-making powers. His routine includes visiting4hc foreign countries on a goodwill mission and also to receive the dignitaries of the foreign countries as visitors in his own country.

4. Public Utility and Social Services:

The executive is not only to maintain public utility services but some public welfare works also. Thus railways, posts and telephones, irrigations, etc. are some of the important public utility services of the executive. In the list of the social services will come education, public health and labour welfare measures.

5. Financial Administration and Planned Economy:

The executive regulates the financial business of this country in the form of what is called the budget. It is on this chessboard that income and expenditure of the country is regulated. But a present government is to think of long-term measures like the Five-Year-Plan for boosting the national economy. So planning the economy is another function of the executive of a modern state.

6. Emergency Functions:

When an extraordinary situation arises the executive can switch on the red light and declare national, constitutional and financial emergency and thereby suspend some of the provisions of the constitution and curtail the fundamental rights. The national emergency may be necessary to meet a situation that may take the form of an armed rebellion or foreign aggression.

The constitutional emergency may be necessary for a situation when the administration cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of the constitution. In the first case, the fundamental rights can be suspended. In the second case, the President will take over the administration of the province. There is a third type of emergency called the financial emergency. It is a financial crisis, to meet which the executive may make a cut in the salary of the public servants.

7. Legislative and Judicial Functions of the Executive:

Whatever functions we have so long narrated above are the executive functions of the executive. But the executive may overstep its executive field and travel into other’s sphere of action like legislative and judicial.

(a) Legislative functions of the executive:

The following are some of the legislative functions done by the executive:

(i) In the parliamentary form of government all bills are introduced by the executive, usually by a minister. This is a major legislative function of the executive.

(ii) When the legislature is not in session the chief of the executive can promulgate ordinances which are also the laws of the land.

(iii) The chief executive head summons and prorogues the legislature. He can and does dissolve the lower house before the expiry of its turn.

(iv) When a bill is passed by the legislature, it must go to the chief executive who may accept it or reject it. It will not become law until it is assented by the chief executive.

(b) Judicial functions of the executive:

The following are some of the judicial functions performed by the executive:

(i) The chief executive can play the role of a judge by granting pardon to the criminals and amnesty to political offenders. In case of death sentence appeal lies to the head of the executive.

(ii) The executive appoints the judges and the judicial commissions.

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Essay # 4. Principal Requisites in the Organisation of the Executive in a Democracy:

There are various factors that go to determine the efficiency of the executive. They are mainly four, namely the mode of choice, terms of office, nature of powers and character, i.e., whether singular or plural.

1. Mode of Choice:

The following are the four modes of choosing the executive:

In the first mode, the head of the executive is just a hereditary person having only nominal powers. Although this method did not find favour with most of the countries of the world, it is most popular in England. The western democratic countries consider a hereditary monarchy an obnoxious element in a democratic body.

In the second method, the head of the executive is directly elected by the people. The President of Germany under the Whimper Constitution was directly elected. Although the system is in keeping with the democratic spirit, the argument against this system is that it makes the highest executive a plaything in the hands of the illiterate and unintelligent masses. The majority opinion tilts in favour of not directly electing the highest executive.

Electing the highest executive by the legislature is recommended as the third method. This practice is in vogue in Switzerland and the former USSR. This method finds favour with Sir John Stuart Mill since it involves the participation of the elected representatives who have better credibility and efficiency in the art of choosing the best candidate than the masses who possess neither the intelligence nor the competence to choose a candidate for so important an office.

But the minus side of this system is that it violates the principle of separation of powers by degenerating the chief executive as a handiwork of the legislature or a puppet in the hands of the legislature.

The last method of electing the chief executive is by way of an indirect election by the people. This is the system in India. This method is recommended widely by the constitutional experts on the ground that it leads to the choice of the right person without any violence or tension associated with an election.

2. Terms of Office:

There is no uniform tenure for the office of the, highest executive all over the world. It varies from state to state. But the range is between two years and seven years. The disadvantage of the short term is that it cannot take in hand long-term plans. If the term is a long one, the flaw is that one can hide the abuses. So the consensus is that the term of office should not be too short or too long. A four years’ term is the most widely recommended one.

3. Nature of Powers:

The executive has to maintain internal peace and order and at the same time to defend the country against any possible foreign aggression. It is, therefore, but natural that the executive must have wide powers to tackle both the hazards. According to Alexander Hamilton, a weak executive is bound to make the government weak.

France suffered badly in 1791-1792 because of the weak executive. But too much of power is likely to abuse the system as it happened in Germany under Hitler. The best method is controlling the executive by the legislature as it obtains in India.

4. Nature of Singular and Plural Executive:

There should be a kind of unity of organisation for the purpose of ensuring efficiency in the administration. The executive is to be so organised that it can work as a single unit, and not impeded by the division of it. So we arc to accept singular executive and discard plural executive.

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Essay # 5. The Public Service:

There can be no two opinions that in all democratic countries, be it presidential or parliamentary, the ultimate responsibility for the administration of the country lies with the representatives of the people chosen at the periodical elections. But the administration of the country is a huge affair involving a large number of man-power.

Now, can the entire population engaged in the administration of the country be directly elected by the mass people in periodical elections? The answer must be in the negative. It is neither possible to elect the administrative staff nor is it desirable to frequently change the administrative machinery. This will make the government machinery unworkable.

Then how to tide over this problem? There is a solution of this problem by dividing the executive department into two kinds, namely the political executive and the civil services. While the political executive consists of the ministers in the parliamentary government, it is the P
resident in the presidential government. Both have a short tenure of office.

The political executive in a parliamentary system depends on the will of the legislature and the political executive in the presidential system has usually a tenure of four years. But no government or administration can be circumscribed to some periodical limits. On the other hand, it must have a continuous flow. This can be done and ensured by a permanent body called the civil services.

Recruitment of the Civil Services:

The modes of recruitment to the civil services are two. Nomination by the political executive is one of them. The other mode is selecting the cream of the young people through a competitive examination. The system of nomination was the only method of recruitment in the USA until 1883.

The President would pack up the civil services by men of his own party. The American public opinion was very much against this political jobbery since this method of nomination is neither just nor impartial. So came the system of recruitment through a competitive examination. To do away with the elements of nepotism and

This act of 1883 came to abolish the system of nomination, which got the nickname of “spoil system”. In India the civil services were recruited during the British regime in London on the basis of competitive examinations. After independence, the Union Public Service Commission screens the fleet of the administrators.

Role of the Civil Services:

The permanent civil service is also called the permanent executive or public administration. It consists of a vast body of officials who do not take any active part in politics. They rather hold office under a system of permanent tenure which has got nothing to do with the fortunes of the political parties. The change of government has no bearing on their services. They are recruited into the service on the basis of merits or efficiency, determined usually by some system of competitive examination.

They enter into service at a prescribed age limit after passing some competitive examinations. They get promotions and finally retire from service on attaining the prescribed age limit. They are organised into various departments, each of which is placed under the charge of a political minister who is vested with the power of directing and controlling the policy of the department.

Since the public servants are very intelligent and experienced persons they keep the ministers informed of the prospect of new measures. In the words of Harold J. Laski- “It is his business to tell the minister what in his judgment are the probable consequences of any policy, for which the minister proposes to be responsible.” According to Herman Finer, while other executives rule, the civil services administer. So the civil services occupy a high place in the government.

While the ministers lay down the broad principles of the policy of the government, it is the civil service that implements it. It is not that in the making of the policies of the government the civil services have no role. As a matter of fact, the civil services influence the policy-making process too. All ministers have to accept the suggestions offered by the senior members of the public administration.

Again, the civil services exercise some kind of delegated legislative functions in the sense that all laws cannot be passed by the legislature and some are to be left to be drafted by the permanent civil executive. This is called the rule-making powers. These rules play the same role as the acts of the legislature.

It is also to be noticed that the civil services occupy the positions of the judges in statutory tribunals like the Revenue Board, Motor Vehicle Accident Claims Tribunals, etc. For these myriad functions, Max Weber called the civil services as the “core of the modern state”.

Civil Services not Responsible to Public Opinion:

The civil staff in the government who run the administration are variously called the civil services, the public administration and the bureaucracy. They have no contact with the people. They are apt to red-tapism and strong formalities. They are caught in the cobweb of customs and precedents. Therefore, their outlook is conservative. The pomp and grandeur and the routine-work create wastage of public money. What is worst confounded is that they keep a white-collar distance from the general public.

The disadvantage of bureaucracy is somewhat removed by the fact that the political executive, who are the bosses of the permanent civil services, keep close contact with the public. But this cannot remove the wide gap effectively. According to Harold J. Laski, every department of the government should have an advisory body associated with it. It will be the function of this body to render wise counsel to the department. This advisory body will coordinate the department and the public.

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Read this essay in Hindi to learn about the types of economic warfare affecting international politics.

आर्थिक युद्ध से अभिप्राय उन आर्थिक नीतियों से है जिनका अनुगमन युद्धकाल में सैनिक कार्यवाहियों के सहायक के रूप में किया जाता है । 

इसका लक्ष्य सैनिक और रणनीति की दृष्टि से महत्वपूर्ण स्रोतों पर अधिकार जमाए रखना, शत्रु राज्यों को उन स्रोतों से वंचित रखना है, ताकि अपनी सेना अधिकतम शक्ति के साथ लड़ सके और शत्रु राज्य की युद्ध क्षमता क्षीण हो जाए । प्रथम और द्वितीय विश्वयुद्ध में युद्धरत पक्षों ने आर्थिक युद्ध के उपकरणों को अनवरत प्रयोग किया था ।

आर्थिक युद्ध के प्रमुख उपकरण इस प्रकार हैं:

(1) परिवेष्टन (Blockade):

परिवेष्टन का अर्थ है नाकेबन्दी करना । नाकेबन्दी करने का उद्देश्य शत्रु देश को निर्बल बनाकर उसे आत्मसमर्पण के लिए विवश करना है । नाकाबन्दी से शत्रु देश की आवश्यक सामग्रियां उस तक नहीं पहुंच पाती हैं और उसे उन वस्तुओं का अभाव खलने लगता है और उसके युद्ध प्रयत्न ढीले पड़ जाते हैं ।

आजकल युद्ध में आर्थिक पहलू का महत्व इतना अधिक बढ़ गया है कि, परिवेष्टन का प्रयोग आर्थिक शस के रूप में होने लगा है । इसका उद्देश्य दूसरे राज्य पर दबाव डालना होता है और दबाव डालने वाले देश के जहाज उसके बन्दरगाहों और तट को ऐसा घेर लेते हैं कि अन्य देशों के साथ उसका व्यापारिक सम्पर्क  बिल्कुल समाप्त हो जाता है ।

(2) काली सूची (Black List):

काली सूचियों से तात्पर्य उन सूचियों से होता है जिनमें लिखित वस्तुओं का निर्यात एकदम बन्द कर देना होता है । द्वितीय विश्वयुद्ध के समय अमरीका ने इन काली सूचियों का विशेष उपयोग किया था जिसमें अमरीका और लैटिन अमरीकी पूंजीपतियों पर कतिपय विशिष्ट सामग्री को धुरी राष्ट्र के देशों को निर्यात करने पर पूर्ण रोक लगा दी गयी थी । ब्रिटेन तथा अन्य मित्र राष्ट्रों ने भी इस प्रकार की सूचियों का प्रयोग किया था ।

(3) पहले से ही माल खरीद लेना (Pre-Emptive Buying):

यह वह तरीका है जिसमें एक राष्ट्र किसी तटस्थ देश से सामरिक वस्तुओं की पूर्व में ही खरीद कर लेता है ताकि वे वस्तुएं शत्रु राष्ट्र के हाथ में न पड़े, पूर्व में ही माल खरीद लेने का मूल भाव यह है कि शत्रु राज्य के हाथ में वह सामग्री न पड़े, चाहे व्यापारिक दृष्टि से इस खरीद से हानि ही उठानी पड़े द्वितीय विश्वयुद्ध के दौरान जर्मनी ने पहले से ही माल खरीदने की नीति का विशेष सर्तकता से पालन किया ।

द्वितीय विश्वयुद्ध आरम्भ होने से पूर्व ही जर्मन विक्रेताओं ने बाल्टिक और बाल्कान क्षेत्रों का सामरिक महत्व वाला प्रसाधन खरीदने में बड़ी तत्परता दिखायी थी । यह कोई सरल नीति नहीं है । जिन देशों में पूर्वक्रयण होता है, वहां वस्तुओं के दाम बहुत बढ़ जाते है और स्थानीय उद्योगपति इसका विरोध करते हैं ।

(4) प्रलोभन (Rewards):

आर्थिक प्रलोभन के उपकरण भी अपनाए जाते हैं । द्वितीय विश्वयुद्ध के समय स्वीडन को मित्र राष्ट्रों ने प्रलोभन दिया कि यदि वह जर्मनी को निर्यात कम कर दे तो मित्रराष्ट्र उसे तेल प्रदान करेंगे जो कि स्वीडिश सेना की तात्कालिक आवश्यकता  थी । स्पेन को आवश्यक सामग्री प्रदान करके मित्रराष्ट्रों ने उसकी जर्मनी पर निर्भरता कम कर दी थी ।

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This article throws light upon the six major roles of development commissioner in community project administration. The roles are: 1. Liaison with the Union Ministries 2. Field Guidance and Control 3. To Run Headquarter Administration 4. Adviser of Political Executive and Assistant of State Legislature 5. To Cement Public Relations 6. A Coordinator at State Level.

Role # 1. Liaison with the Union Ministries:

The ministry of community development and the department of planning send their schemes, instructions, and clarifications to the Development Commissioner for implementation at the state level. He may seek guidance and support from Union headquarters regarding a specific question. He meets Union officials in the annual con­ferences to discuss the common issues.

Role # 2. Field Guidance and Control:

Being the head of the Panchayati Raj department, he is to take steps on behalf of the state government to constitute these bodies, advance them loans and grants-in-aid, settle jurisdictional disputes, frame rules and regulations and deal with prob­lems of local bodies. He is assisted by a Joint Development Commissioner to perform these duties.

Role # 3. To Run Headquarter Administration:

He allocates duties to the officers at headquarter level, exercises general supervision and deals with administrative matters such as granting of leave, writing of annual confidential report of superior officers and performing other duties of a Head of the Department.

Role # 4. Adviser of Political Executive and Assistant of State Legislature:

He is the adviser of the minister concerned. He prepares notes and memorandum for cabinet meetings and legislative sessions. He suggests new legislation and also amendments in the existing legislation pertaining to Panchayati Raj. He prepares answers to the legislative questions and assists the M.L.As and legislative committees in their findings.

Role # 5. To Cement Public Relations:

He is to cultivate cordial relations with the leaders of public opinion through periodical briefings, news releases, talks and sympathetic hearing. He is to demonstrate “genuine interest and responsiveness of the department to creative suggestions and legitimate grievances.”

Role #  6. A Coordinator at State Level:

He is the chairman of the various coordinating com­mittees which bring about co-ordination amongst the various departments dealing with opera­tional policy. When a question of operational policy is to be decided, it is referred to the co­ordination committee, which is presided over by the Development Commissioner.

Since the duties of the Development Commissioner are fairly extensile, a very senior officer generally of the rank of the Chief Secretary or Additional Chief Secretary holds the post.

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After reading this term paper you will learn about the meaning and types of decisions.

Term Paper # 1. Meaning of Decision:

Dictionary defines the term ‘decision’ as “the act of determining in one’s own mind upon an opinion or course of action.” It is choosing one alternative among several alternatives given in a particular situation.

In the words of Terry, it is “the selection of one behaviour alternative from two or more possible alternatives.” In fact, decision is a conclusion to long deliberations. In the words of Weihrich and Koontz, “Decision-making is the selection of a Course of action from among alternatives: it is the core of planning”.

According to Haynes and Massie, “Deci­sion making is a process of selection from a set of alternative courses of actin which is taught to fulfill the objective of the decision problem more satisfactorily than others”.

To quote Terry again:

“A decision is usually made within the guides established by policy. A policy is relatively extensive, affects many problems, and is used again and again. In contrast, a decision applies to a particular problem and has a non-continuous type of usage.”

It may, however, be mentioned that policy itself is the product of a decision. Decision is a means: it is not an end in itself Decisions have to be made and re-made in the light of the ends to be achieved. Decisions are not permanent in so far as they have to take cognizance of the changed circumstances.

Deci­sions have to be responsive to varying situations. This is illustrated by the defence given to the generalship of U.S. Grant by President Abraham Lincoln before a committee which had met to complain against the General.

The Committee Chairman said, “Why, Mr. President, certainly you know that General Grant is making a lot of decisions. He is making one right after another, and some of them are all wrong.”

Lincoln listened patiently, was silent for a moment and then raised his head and said: “Well, Mr. Chairman, I guess you are correct all right, but I reckon that if he makes a bad decision, he soon finds it out, and changes it without delay. Gentlemen, I propose to keep right on with General Grant.

In decision-making, three aspects of human behaviour are involved:

(i) Cognition, those activities of the mind associated with knowledge,

(ii) Conation, the action of the mind implied by such words as ‘willing’, ‘desire’, and ‘aversion’; and

(iii) Affectation, the aspects of the mind identified with emotion, feeling, mood and temperament.’

Based on these facts, decision-making has been defined as “a conscious and human process, involving both individual and social phe­nomena, based upon factual and value premises, which concludes with a choice of one behavioural activity from among one or more alternatives with the intention of moving toward some state of affairs.”

Term Paper # 2. Types of Decisions:

Decisions may be of the following different types:

(i) Organizational and Personal Decisions:

A decision made to achieve the interests of an organization is called organizational decision. When an executive acts in his official capacity and formally takes a decision on an official matter it becomes the organizational decision. Such a decision can be taken at subordinate levels also if so authorized.

Personal decisions are made by an executive as an individual and not as a part of organi­zation. An executive who changes job making a personal Decisions to marry, to buy a house, to purchase a car are examples of personal decisions which though concerned with the personal life of an executive, may sometimes affect the organization directly or indirectly.

(ii) Individual and Group Decisions:

When a decision is taken by an individual in the organisation, it is called individual decision. Such decisions are generally of routine nature and taken in smaller organisations. Group decisions are those taken by a group of persons consti­tuted for the purpose.

Decisions by the Board of Directors or a committee are examples of Group decisions. Such decisions involve consultation and opinion seeking and are generally thoughtful more balanced and unbiased.

(iii) Routine and Strategic Decisions:

Routine decisions are made repetitively following prescribed rules, regulations and procedures. Such decisions are generally taken at the middle and lower management levels. Strategic decisions are decisions on important matters and gen­erally taken by the top level executive. Launching new programmes and installation of comput­erized system in the organization are examples of strategic decisions.

(iv) Programmed and Non-Programmed Decisions:

Programmed decisions are concerned with relatively routine problems on which information is already available. Such decisions have short term impact and are relatively simple and require little thought and imagination.

Non-programmed decisions deal with unique and unusual problems which cannot be tack­led in a pre-determined manner. There are no cut and dried solutions to such problems which require a high degree of executive judgement and deliberation. To order firing on a mob, to impose curfew in the city or opening a branch are the examples of non- programmed decisions.

(v) Policy and Operative Decisions:

Policy decisions are taken by the top management. They effect the entire organisation and are concerned with important policy matters, for ex­ample, giving bonus to the employees, waiver of loans to the formers, decrease or increase in interest rates, disinvestment in public enterprises, privatisation or industrialisation of transport. Operating decisions are taken at the lower levels in order to implement the policy decisions.

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