India China Political System, Environment, Political Structure, Function

The Indian political system, structure, and function is much like that of the UK, although it also resembles the U.S. In some ways. The Indian political structure has a President, typically a ceremonial role however; it much resembles the British monarch. In the role of President, the head of state advises members of the Parliament, and may serve as an advocate for the people. In emergent times the President may also advise and warn the people of upcoming warfare or political concerns. If there is an issue of Public Policy the Parliament is unable to decide on, one that is critical, then it may be cause for the President to declare state of emergency, in which state there is a lower house in the Parliamentary which typically has a term of 5-years (as opposed to the upper house which may have a permanent term if warranted).

Much of what happens with regard to public policy occurs within the Parliamentary, who advises and councils with and amongst one another, standing in as advisors for the public and people. The national parliament and state legislators are part of an electoral college and may vote in the Presidential election. There is like in the U.S. A Vice President who serves with the upper house in Parliament, which is known as Rajya Sabh. The Prime Minister is in charge of the government, whom the President appoints following nomination by the major part of the Lok Sabha.

The Prime Minister recommends ministers whom the President then appoints who make up the Council of Ministers. The Lok Sabha or House of the People makes up the Legislative Branch, making up no more than 552 members, representing the people of the states of India. This includes up to 20 members of the people of the Union Territories, and two members representing the Anglo-Indian communities. Elections take up to 28 days.

The Upper House is Rajya Sabha or Council of States. It has up to 250 members, 12 of which the President chooses for their expert services in art, literature, social services and science. The rest are elected by state and other legislatures according to the population of the territories. Uttar Pradesh has the largest population. Each member may stay in office six years.

Each house shares legislative authority except with regard to finances with the lower house having veto power, as this house has higher numbers of people.

With regard to Political Parties in India there are two, the National and State Parties. A political party has to have representation by four or more states to be authorized. There are 28 states within India, with the largest being Uttar Pradesh, with over 175 million people. This state is big enough to be its own country. Given India's political history, while India used to be very centralized, it has become increasingly corrupt (Wax, 2008). It is still caste based; in general elections, politics are often violent, and many of Uttar Pradesh's political representatives have faced criminal charges (Wax, 2008). Multi-party allegiances and political assassinations are common. Right to Information legislation, passed in 2005 is often used to attack corruption, resulting in murder (Wax, 2008). Yet, India remains a functioning democracy.

China

Within China, many have argued as to what political system exactly governs the country as a whole. There are several theories however; China as a whole is a communist state, but the political structure is a single-party socialist republic; and perhaps authoritarian, with other characteristics. A constitution outlines the leadership of the Communist party. The Communist Party dictates state power, along with the Central People's Government and their local departments. This is what is commonly referred to as a dual or bi-partisan leadership system. Voters elect members to the People's government, who oversees local government. Higher levels of government are handled by the Communist party. State power parties include the National People's Congress and the President, along with the State Council. There are 29 ministers and heads of State.

Political Socialization

Agents of political socialization include family, media, schools, and political parties. School is perhaps the most influential for children, because children spend so much time in school. Family influences are another prime resource, because children spend much time with...

The media can influences children because it provides information to children, and these days' children see more media advertisements more than ever before (Becker, 1975). Religious institutions particularly in India where Hinduism is more popular than ever is also a source of political socialization.
In China the NPC is the highest of organizations of state power. Since family has less influence in China and school, media outlets and government agencies so much influence, the state powered NPC meets each year for 2 weeks to review and approve new policies and their direction, any personnel changes and laws. In China, there is a policy in place that limits the number of children a family can have to 1. There are some agricultural families that get around this by reporting their family size falsely to the annual census. However, if they are found out, there is a possibility of torture, death, or paying other very costly consequences. The hope is that in the upcoming years, the population (China is currently overpopulated, with dwindling natural resources) will decline significantly so this public policy may be lifted.

Interest Articulation & Aggregation- describe how this occurs in each country.

In India, governmentalization of social and economic structures is the framework for interest and articulation. Party and bureaucratic structures must be in place for trade and business associations or even trade unions to be recognized; political bargaining may not occur without the proper bureaucratic structures in place. Only agencies that have authorized claim to the government may mediate exchanges through the government; no interest groups may apply unless they have formal membership with the government, or they have direct party affiliation.

Within China, the Political Party of China handles interest articulation; they are forums for citizens allowing the leaders of China to get in touch with citizens and society (Dillon & Tcakik, 2006). They then gather information for decision-making and interest aggregation. The government must then reconcile interest circulation and aggregation. There is somewhat of a hierarchical structure in place to handle this.

How Public Policy Crafted Each Countries

In India, the Parliament consisting of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha is responsible for crafting public policy to which the Council of Ministers is then responsible under the Constitution. In China, public policy has to go through formal channels of the communist government before it can be accepted. There is a system in place currently that makes it look as though the system is more democratic in nature. Theoretically the government will change to become more democratic in nature.

In China, the PRC is responsible for Public Policy. They control 22 regions, and represent the whole of China. Everything in China is centralized, and for the most part monopolized by the state. The whole of china is overcrowded and considered by many to be over-abundant. China adopted a one-child policy that has left many people unhappy feeling they are forced to restrict their families which goes against what they feel to be there basic rights (2010).

In conclusion, students will hypothesize the direction in which they believe each country will head in the future. Will these countries become more or less democratic? How will their political cultures change with increased economic prosperity? How might interest aggregation and public policy creation change in the future?

At this point in time, India is in a place to be prime to represent a fully democratic nation. India has problems more related to the social caste system than it does related to the structure of the government. The government can work toward addressing corruption, and this may benefit the people more in the long run than any other structural changes. Corruption is a problem in any country. The level of corruption in government can dramatically affect the level of success a ruler is going to have. If corruption is really distinct, as it is in India, a government is going to have to focus on corruption alone until the problem is solved. No policy is going to be adequate in the face of corruption. If the government remains corrupt, then every policy that comes out of the hands of politicians is going to be corrupt, and nothing will ever change within government.

Public policy changes that would greatly help India and fight corruption would include changes that would include foreign investment in product that would help the community, like electronic voting systems that could detect corrupt voting practices. This is a simple investment that even candidates up for election could promote (provided they weren't corrupt officials. These types of policy changes would help India head in the right direction with regard to true democracy and a legitimate governmental system. Any other policy changes that would help…