1) In Part | of "Comparative Potitics in Transition", Jonn McCormick describes and analyzes Liberal Democracies. His
description includes a comparative analysis of different types of democracies-elite v. group or pluralist. My question is,
which of the theories of democracy seems most compelling when applied to the British and American systems: elitism,
pluralism, or perhaps a combination of the two?
2) in Chapter 1, McCormick covers the United States. Based both on McCormick's analysis and your own opinion would
you say that American democracy is functioning well or not very well? Make sure to define your terms carefully here…
3) This assignment concludes with a few comparative questions regarding America and Great Britain (from Chapter 2):
a. What are the main differences between the American presidential model and the British parliamentary model of
government? Which do you prefer and why?
b. Would a President's Question Time (such as the British Prime Ministers Weekly Question Time (Links to an external
site.)Links to an external site.) be a useful addition to the way the US is governed? What difference might it make?
c. Which election system do you prefer: elections with fixed terms such as in the United States OR elections with flexible
calendars where parties determine when they will be held as in Great Britain? Which system better serves its country in
your opinion? Keep in mind, sometimes parties switch leaders without public accountability (recent switch in PMs-
Cameron stepped down and May takes an over-for example)
Sample Solution