Session 9 : Structures

Kenneth Waltz in explaining the national and international politics relies on the definition of structures. In his three part definition, structure is defined by the way a system is ordered or arranged. If the ordering is changed, so is the system. Moreover it is also defined by the functions of different units and their capabilities.

The authors goes on to contrast the American and the British system and how the President of the USA and the Prime Minister of Britain are different in the way they conduct the business of the government because of the differing structures domestically that have evolved over the years.

In case of Britain, the Prime Ministers who are theoretically the most important and most powerful people in the country, are not able to yield power absolutely because of the fact that any decision they make need to get the approval of the party members without which the implementation and execution of the decision cannot take place. This is so because of the close link between the prime minister and the parliament in enacting any decision.

This is different from the American system because the President is in some way (not hundred percent) independent from Congress and can unilaterally take and implement decisions.

  

Another reason is also the way candidates are decided for the position of Prime Minister and President in UK and USA respectively. Whereas support of the party members is required in both UK and the USA, the tenure of the President does not depend on securing majority support from the Congress.

Through this example, the author has tried to demonstrate how differing systems, in this case, the political governments, operate in varying structures.