Professor Question 7

THE Presidency

1. Even though most modern democracies favor parliamentary or semi presidential systems over a strong presidential system, why has the U.S. Congress been willing to delegate so much authority to the chief executive?

2. Discuss the formal and informal resources available to the President as she/he attempts to persuade others to help them meet their goals?

3. From where do other nations’ leaders derive their power? For example, compare the source of power in both the British monarch and the Prime Minster to our president.

THE Executive Agencies 

4. What factors complicate the president’s effort to manage the Executive Branch?

5. Why do executive officials frequently disobey presidential directives? What does this behavior reveal about the motivations and incentives that executive officials sense and that influence how they do their jobs?

6. How much power do executive agencies, their executives, and their civil-service employees exercise? What are the sources of their power?

THE Federal Judiciary

7. Is the Supreme Court the “least dangerous branch,” as once described by
Alexander Hamilton? Justify your answer based on the material in the chapter.

8. Which position makes the most sense to you, judicial activism, or judicial
 restraint? Justify your position. Is a Republic or Democratic judge more
 likely to favor judicial restraint? Explain your answer.

9.   Why do we have federal, state, and local courts instead of a single court
  system?

10.   How are the courts organized, and which type of courts have which
  roles?

11.  What criteria do federal appellate courts use to determine which
 cases to hear?

12.  Are the courts really the least dangerous branch of the U.S.  
 government or do they verge on becoming an imperial judiciary?