Political System In The Netherlands

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Case Study: The Netherlands PLSC 2013: Introduction to Comparative Politics November 17, 2011 Table of Contents 1. Why study this case? 3 2. Profile 3 2.1. Regime and Constitution: 3 2.2. Division of power 3 2.3. Capital 3 2.4. People and Society 3 2.5. Geographical Subunits 4 2.6. Branches of government 4 3. Parliament (States-General) 4 4. Electoral System 4 5. Head of State 5 6. Head of the Government 5 7. Council of Ministers 5 8. Judiciary 5 9. Issues and Foreign Relations 5 References 7 1. Why study this case? The Netherlands is worth being discussed in the field of comparative politics as a former great colonial power. Although its power has considerably declined over the years and it is about half the size of South Carolina, it manages to maintain a vital position in the global political scene. It is a founding member of the European Economic Community in 1957 and of the European Union in 1994. It is a country, which act independently when necessary, like keeping neutrality in WWI or voting against the “European Constitution” proposal in 2005 (BBC News, 2010). It also initiates development changes, like all the renewable energy and sustainability projects in the Netherlands and the EU itself. Due to its highly watery and low lands, it has reached a high level of proficiency in combating nature conditions which would destroy many other states. It is an example of how liberal policies and developed social welfare system can be combined. 2. Profile 2.1. Regime and Constitution: It has been a constitutional monarchy since 1815. The current political regime – parliamentary monarchy, and the acting constitution have existed since 1848 (Amsterdam.Info Portal, 2011). 2.2. Division of power: The Netherlands is an independent unitary state of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The other parts of the
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