对比英美政府机构的组成.doc

A Comparative Study on the structure of the central government between UK and USA
During these years, China has taken some measures to improve the structure of the central government to develop the democracy and fit the development of the economy. However, there are still some officials abusing the power which results in harming the benefit of the people. So there is a problem, how can we improve our democracy?
Let’s take the UK and the USA as examples. We can find some similarities and differences between them on the structure of the central government.
There are some similarities between two countries.
Firstly, the head of the central government in both of two countries is the most influential person in their country. ① They, British prime minister and American president, are both the leader of the majority party. ②Besides, both of them have to be responsible to the parliament (the congress) and they also control the parliament (the congress).
Secondly, the organs of legislation are the same. The parliament in the UK and the congress in the USA can make the constitution and other laws, sometimes they will revise the law.
Thirdly, the tenure of the members of the highest judicial organ is the same. They are lifelong tenure, which is different from other organs.
Fourthly, the purpose of designing the structure of the government is also the same. The UK and the USA are two typical countries for their representative democracy. The purpose of the structure is to avoid the generation of dictator and prevent the government from abusing the power, and more importantly, to protect the benefit of the people.
There are also some differences between these two countries. Firstly, they have different parts in their central government.
①In Britain, the central government has four parts, including the Privy Council, the Cabinet, the Prime Minister and the Department Working Personnel. It must be answerable to the parliament.
The cabinet is certainly very influential. It’s a decision-making organ, determining government policies. In cabinet, there are ministers and non-ministers.
The leader of the cabinet is the prime minister. He or she has the power of appointment and has the right to recognize the government.
The department working personnel is a part that is easily neglected by us. They do most of the work of running the department on the minister’s behalf.
②In America, the power of the central government was divided into three branches, including the president, the Senate and the House of Representatives, and the Supreme Court, which is famous as “System of Checks and Balances”.
When the Senate and the House of Representatives make a law, it must be passed by the president and the Supreme Court. When the president wants to pass a resolution, he or she must need the admission of the other two organs. The work of the Supreme Court is also supervised by the president and the congress.
Secondly, the highest judicial organs in the UK and the USA are different. In Britain, although the Privy Council has been gradually replaced by the Cabinet, it still has the formal powers to make some executive orders and proclamations in the presence of the sovereign. It is the Privy Council that is the supreme organ of justice. However, in America, the Supreme Court is the highest judiciary and legal system. It is created by the Constitution and also has the right to review laws to see whether they are in agreement with the Constitution. In other words, the power of the Privy Council is smaller than that of the Supreme Court.
Thirdly, what the head of the government stands for is different. In the U.S.A., the president is not only the head of the government, but also the chief of state, and he or she can control the national army and has the veto power. For example, on May 1st, 2011, president Obama gave an order to the American army in Pakistan to kill Osama Bin Laden. In Britain, the prime minister is just the leader of the government, because the chief of state is the queen, Elisabeth Ⅱ.
Fourthly, the centre of power is different. In the USA, the center of the power is the president because the system of government is presidential form of government. However, in the UK, the parliament has it; in other words, other organs must be answerable to it.
After comparing the differences and the similarities on the structure of the central government of the UK and the USA, we can find that, these two countries have a good way of avoiding abusing the power. Their judicial office is independent, which is more effective to supervise other organs. In 2008, our country has made the resolution of Super-Ministry System, but it still has a long way to develop Socialist Democratic Politics. Maybe we can refer to the UK and the USA, creating a similar but suitable way to improve the structure of the government. After all, a reasonable structure of the centre government is the basis of developing the democracy. If so, the economy will be more and more prosperous and we will live a better life.

Reference: Guiwu Z.2003.Survey Of Britain & America.