Term paper
Question one.
1.
(a) Compare
and contrast two states in the Middle East (your select country and another
country of your choosing) in relation to their executive, legislative, judicial
and military functions, (b) Critically evaluate the level of democracy in each
state in terms of due process, civil liberties, human rights, equality before
the law, public participation, and peaceful conflict resolution, (c) provide a
reasoned assessment about which state is more democratic and why?
INTRODUCTION
This term paper juxtaposes two states in the
Middle East, namely, Iran and Israel. A comparison of the style of their
government is attempted based on their organs of government, that is, the
Executive, the Legislative and the Judiciary. Also, their military functions
are investigated via secondary sources of gathering information. Information
gathered about the two States strengthens the argument and defends
interpretations and opinions by appealing to reasons why one state is more
democratic than the other.
Although, it is observed that most states in the
Middle East practice other forms of government such as Theocracy in Iran but
their constitution depicts a democratic set up to a certain degree. It is this
question of- “to what extent is one state more democratic than the other?” that
this term paper seeks to answer.
Already published thoughts of
scholars corroborates the original thoughts provided majorly at the tail end of
this term paper.
Similarities and Differences in Iran and Israel’s
Style of Governance
Before providing the pieces of information
gathered from secondary sources, it is important to give a very brief
background of how these two states, Iran and Israel arrived at their present
state of government.
Hassan (2016) provides that Iran experienced a
violent revolution in 1979. This revolution overthrew the monarchical system of
government that spanned for centuries. It replaced the monarchical system of
government with the present government practiced today. An Islamic republic was
established and has been maintained ever since.
Based on information retrieved from Israel’s
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2006), a 2000-year-old account of Israel can be
found in the Bible. From the biblical information, it can be gathered that the
monarchical system of government was practiced in the early times until the
establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 that ushered in the new system of
government practiced to date.
From the very brief background of the two states,
Iran and Israel, it is discovered that both states initially practiced a
similar system (monarchy) before their independence. Although Israel had undergone
series of government vicissitude based on the Babylonian invasion that led to a
Jewish dispersal around the world. They grew in exile and record has it that
there were up to 6 million Jews under the Roman empire before the birth of
Jesus Christ (Strong, 1997).
In contrast, the new independent states are
modelled according to religion manuscripts. While Iran’s constitution is
modelled according to the Islamic beliefs, Israel’s rebirth is based on a
Jewish democratic framework that was founded on liberty, justice, and peace
based on biblical underpinnings (Facts about Israel, 2006).
Both States’ political structures depict a
democratic set up to some extent. While Iran’s government has been given so
many names by political scholars, such as a democratic theocracy, Oligarchic
theocracy, religious tyranny and the like, the Islamic Republic of Iran has
some characteristics of democracy like a constitution and a parliament (Kurun,
2017).
Scholars have reached a consensus about the style
of government in Israel. Literature suggests that Israel practices a
Parliamentary Democracy that consists a legislative arm, an executive arm and a
judicial branch just as the Islamic Republic of Iran.
A Comparison of Israel and Iran’s Executive,
Legislative, Judicial and military functions
Facts about Israel (2006) reveals that Israel’s
institutions practice the principle of separation of powers where the executive
arm, that is, the government is not above the legislative arm known as the
Knesset, and the Judiciary is independent of other arms of government by law.
Whereas, as Jones (2009) posits, the Islamic
Republic of Iran might be democratic constitutionally, but in practice, its
claim of Democracy is questionable. This is based on its political structure
where a Supreme leader dominates the affairs of the state. He wields an
ultimate religious and political authority over every branch of government. The
position of the Supreme leader is a life time one until his death or his
impeachment which has never happened and does not seem to, because he is viewed
as a direct descendant of Mohamed and reverenced as divine (Jones, 2009).
Israel’s Executive Functions
According to Facts about Israel (2006), the major
functions of Israel’s executive branch includes attending to matters regarding
Internal and Foreign affairs which includes security matters. It is made up of
a cabinet of ministers that meet once a week and can meet at any time if urgent
matters arise.
The president elects candidates from the Knesset who stand a chance to
be elected as Prime Minister. The Presidential position is seen as a ceremonial
one. It is important to note that while the president heads the state, the
Prime minister heads the government and heads the executive branch which gives
him the ultimate power. As the head of the executive, he is charged with certain executive functions such
as the opening of the first session of a new Knesset, engaging in foreign
relations activities like accepting the credentials of foreign envoys, signing
agreements and ratifying laws passed by the legislature also called the
Knesset. Part of the functions of the president is to appoint the
head of the judiciary, the Governor of the bank of Israel and heads of
diplomatic missions. It should be noted that these appointments are based on
the recommendations of the appropriate bodies. He also pardons prisoners and
commutes sentences based on the advice of the minister of justice. The
President runs for 7 years and is allowed to serve only one term. (Israel Democracy and Elections, 2011).
Iran’s Executive Function
Based on information retrieved from state
document (2018), the Islamic Republic of Iran’s executive function is dominated
by the Supreme Leader who is elected to a life time position by a body of
religious leaders known as the Assembly of Experts. The current Supreme Leader,
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been in office since 1989. His writ dominates every
arm of Iran’s government. Whatever he says is final irrespective of the
constitution (The Structure of Power in Iran, 2018).
Jones (2009) posits that the Supreme leader is
the singular executive based on the premise of his mastery of religious
practices and laws. It is believed that he cannot do wrong as he is perceived
as divine. Simply put, his voice is the voice of Allah.
While the president heads the executive branch in
the state of Israel, the President in Iran is the second highest ranking
official in Iran. His powers are limited according to the Iranian constitution
which subordinates the entire executive duties to the Supreme leader. The
President of Iran merely plays administrative roles. The functions of the
Supreme Leader as listed by VOA includes-ultimately choosing the President
although the presidential candidates are vetted through councils, setting
Iran’s domestic and foreign affairs, nuclear program inclusive, He commands the
armed forces of Iran, declares war and peace and charged with the duty to
appoint and dismiss army officials.
While the President of Israel serves just one
term for 7 years, the Iranian president can run two terms in the space of 4
years per term (VOA, 2012).
Israel’s Legislative Functions
The Knesset as they are called are in charge of
Israel’s Legislature. They operate in plenary sessions through committees.
Their function include- conducting debate on government policies so as to
formulate the best policies which can be passed on to the executive arm for
implementation. The Knesset is Israel’s Parliament and it has 120 members
(Facts about Israel, 2006).
Iran’s Legislative Functions
The Iranian Parliament is in charge of this
branch of government. It comprises of 290 members unlike Israel that has 120
members. These 290 members are publicly elected every four years. This arm of
government is charged with the functions of drafting legislation, ratifying
International treaties and approving the country’s budget. It is also important
to mention that the Parliamentary system in Iran is Unicameral just like the Israeli’s Knesset (Constitution of Iran, 1989).
?? isn’t Israel Unicameral as
well?? Yes it is.
?? I see a lot of reference to the
president of Israel?? Whats the role of BIBI, the Prime Minister?? I think he’s
the face of Israel on the global stage True. I have fixed that. Check it.
?? Prior to the formation of the
state of Israel, and the killing of the Jews, I’ll agree they were somewhat
under the rule of the Roman empire which was a monarch, right? A king rules a monarchical system,
an emperor rules an empire. So, it was somewhat a series of different systems
like the judges before the king, but the Monarchical system was prominent. So I
guess we should leave it that way.
*Israel style of governance is
somewhat fashioned to that of the US, except for the Prime Ministers role. Israel practices a parliamentary system, America does not.
Although shares same view with America on civil liberty and democracy… A parliamentary system has a Prime Minister as
the head of government but to inculcate democracy, they practice a mixed system
so their system of government is seen as a Parliamentary democracy. You dig?
Israel’s Judiciary Functions
Based on information provided by Israel’s
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the judicial branch of government comprises of
Judges who are appointed by the President upon the recommendations of a
committee of Supreme Court judges, members of the bar and certain public
figures. The appointment is a permanent one but with a mandatory retirement of
members who are 70 years old. Israel’s Judiciary is charged with the functions
of upholding the law by hearing and deciding verdicts. This arm of government
is independent from the other two arms of government which means that no one
arm has the power to dominate the Judiciary and even other arms based on the
practice of separation of Powers (Facts about Israel, 2006). * Check & balance? While Israel’s government is
characterized by a separation of power, that is, a room is opened for check and
balancing, the case is different with Iran where the Supreme Leader’s verdict
is final. This depicts an authoritarian style where the Supreme leader is above
the law and practice does not corroborate the theoretical constitution.
Iran’s Judiciary Function
According to the constitution of the Islamic
Republic of Iran, the Judiciary is largely influenced by the Supreme Leader who
picks the head of the Judiciary who is charged with the responsibility of
appointing the head of the Supreme Court and the chief public prosecutor.
The Iranian court functions according to the law
of the Quran just as the State of Israel’s laws are rooted in the Bible. But
the major difference is that the Iranian Judiciary is not independent like
Israel’s Judiciary. The Judiciary is largely influenced by the Supreme Leader
who has the final say.
?? What’s the difference in head of
Judiciary and head of Supreme Court?? Isn’t the judiciary branch the same as
the supreme court?? Breaking
down the functions, the Supreme leader hand picks the head of the Judiciary and
this head of the Judiciary picks the head of the Supreme Court. The position of
the head of Judiciary his higher than the head of the Supreme court. Although
in a State where proper Democracy is being practiced, the Supreme Court is the
highest court in the Judiciary and should be independent. But in the case of
Iran, the Supreme Leader interferes. If he can pick the head of Judiciary, he
has the Judiciary in his pocket and locked down. Therefore the difference
between Israel’s and Iran”s Judiciary is the separation of power that is, check
and balancing where no one branch of the government has power over another or
interferes with the function of another.
?? What’s the make up of the
Israeli Judiciary & the Iranian Judiciary?? - how many people seat on the
bench in the high court?? & is it a 5 vs 4 case decision or how does it
work? There is so much information on
this to fix into a 7 paged work. Plus it talks about functions not make up. The essence of this term paper is
to investigate which state is more democratic. You dig?
Military Functions in Israel
According to Peri (2002), Israel runs a pattern
of Political-Military Partnership where the military is involved in Politics.
Peri further revealed that decision making in Israel’s government stems from
both the “security cabinet” or “kitchen cabinet” and informal staff of the
Prime Minister. According to Israel’s Ministry of Foreign affairs (MFA), Israel
Defense Forces (IDF) is one of the high ranking military forces in the world
based on its success of defending the Israeli sovereignty in 6 major wars. The
IDF is charged with the functions of defending the sovereignty and territorial
integrity of the State of Israel. It is also charged with the responsibility to
curb terrorism both within Israel and beyond its borders (Facts about Israel,
2016).
Military Functions in Iran
PBS provides that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard
Corps (IRGC) in collaborative effort with the regular army, make up the Islamic
Republic's armed forces. Based on the Iranian Constitution, the Regular army is
charged with the responsibility to protect the independence and territorial
integrity of the country just like the Israel’s IDF.
But the major difference with IDF is that the
regular army of Iran is under the control of the Supreme Leader for the sake of
ensuring that it is committed to Islamic ideology.
The IRGC on the other hand is a revolutionary
army charged with the duty of protecting the revolution and its achievements
(The Structure of Power in Iran, 2018). It is vital to note that, as a revolutional army, members
of the IRGC are radical and the government sometimes have no proper control
over them. Although, they are used to champion the Iranian Islamic course in
other Islamic States around the world. This has raised criticisms about
terrorism. Simply put, most scholars believe this revolution army have some bad
eggs who lends support to terrorists or are even terrorists themselves.
*Sound point on the revolutionary
guard- the government don’t have much influence on them TRUE.- FIXED
Evaluating the level of Democracy in Israel and
Iran (Think
it’s important to point out Israel’s rating aswell?) True.
Israel has been rated as the only
country in the Middle East to practice an ideal Democracy leaving its
government more democratic than Iran’s.
“According to the
Democracy Index 2016 study, Israel is the only democracy in the Middle
East” (EIU Democracy Index, 2016).
Quoting Fisher (2017), “Democracy is difficult to
measure, but few metrics rate Iran highly. One, known as Polity IV, uses a
number of indicators to rate countries from -10 for full dictatorship to 10 for
full democracy. It scores Iran as -7, the same as Cuba and China.”
Evaluation of democracy in each state is made by
investigating certain pointers of democracy.
Due Process
According to CIA’s fact book, the State of Israel
is a parliamentary democracy that is represented by multiple parties creating
room for all her citizens in the world regardless of religion, sex, sex
orientation and age. As long as they are up to the age to vote.
Iran on the other hand, in theory, accommodates
Iranians to decide their fate without being oppressed by authorities but in
practice, it only allows a very limited democracy. This is because it has an
unelected Supreme Leader who wields immense power for life except if impeached
by the assembly of experts which is not likely to happen (Fisher, 2017).
Civil Liberties
Israel goes to the extreme to protect the civil
liberties of her citizens. Citizens of Israel have the right to engage in a
peaceful petitioning of their government.
This is impossible in Iran as historical events
reminds us of the aggression and uncivilized acts of the Iranian authorities
towards her citizens. Example of one case was the protest of the reelection of
the Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2009 which is believed to have been
against the wish of majority of the Iranian voters (Iran and Israel Compared, 2013). This is an example of an undemocratic
act. Majority of the Iranians who participated in the election sensed a foul.
Since Democracy is a government of the people, it is apparent that the
reelection of Ahmadinejad irrespective of the will of the people contradicts
the principles of Democracy and proves that Iran is nepotistic and
authoritative in practice.
* i’m thinking heavy on resources!
About expand? As an uneducated reader, i have no idea what happened in the
reelection of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. And the info provided doesn’t make me learn
anything new about what transpired. I PERFECTLY UNDERSTAND YOU BUT WE HAVE EXCEEDED 8 PAGES
HOPE YOU KNOW? BASED ON TH RUBRICS, 6-8 PAGES.
Human rights
During the Arab spring period in 2010, the wave
spread to Iran which inspired scholars, writers, poets and political activists
to express themselves by revolting against the government. This did not end
well as most were severely dealt with. This is indeed an infringement on
civilians’ rights. While some were killed and maimed, others were jailed without
following due process.
Israel on the other hand promotes due process,
Political Rights and Civil liberties of her citizen. Israel was the only Middle
Eastern country ranked “free’ by the Freedom house 2015 freedom of the press
ranking (Iran and Isreal Compared, 2013).
Israel might have no constitution, but it has
“Basic Laws” that promotes fundamental human rights (Yonah, 2005).
Equality before the law
Israel’s Supreme Court is presided over by a
female chief justice. The justice and legal system in Israel quickly responds
to prosecute perpetrators without prejudice of any kind.
The case is different in Iran where it is
impossible for a woman to hold such strategic position and the availability of
nepotism and favoritism in their system of governance (Iran and Israel
compared, 2013).
Public Participation
In both States, the system enables public
participation both in theory and in practice but public participation is
limited in Iran where an unelected Supreme leader has his hand in virtually
everything.
Peaceful conflict Resolution
While Israel’s Defense Forces (IDF) is charged
with the responsibility of protecting its sovereignty and territorial
integrity, one of its functions is to prevent terrorist activities within and
beyond its borders.
Iran on the other hand has a revolution army
known as Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). This army is made up of
radicals who help Iran’s allies achieve their goals. History reminds us about a
case when the IRGC supported the Shiite Guerilla group called Hezbollah in
1982. Since then, it has been active in supporting Islamic revolutionary
movements in Muslim states around the world.
A Reasoned Assessment about which State is more
Democratic
From the pieces of information provided before,
knowing which State is more Democratic can be easily deduced.
By engaging an original thought, the gospel of
Democracy is perceived by most Middle Eastern States as a major tool of the
United State to control and exploit them. History reminds us of Libya.
Smart States in the Middle East have inculcated
some form of Democracy in their constitution even though this is not so evident
in practice, but in theory, they are seen to have some element of Democracy.
These Middle Eastern states are aware that the
United States of America is the World’s big brother and watch dog with all the
resources to win any war if confronted. So they have diplomatically found a way
to embrace the idea of democracy to let some sort of peace reign and to avoid
confrontation with the US.
The case of Iran’s political structure raises a
whole lot of questions because its constitution supports both election and nonelection at the same time. It is so strategically designed in that the unelected
position is given absolute power of a life time while the
elected offices have tenures and are controlled by the non-elected Supreme
Leader who has his hand in virtually every sphere of the state.
From this point of view, it is evident that Iran
practices a Totalitarian form of government under the guise of Theocratic
Democracy while Israel on the other hand practices a transparent form of
Parliamentary Democracy modelled after that of the United States and no wonder
they are strong allies of the United States. Israel fully supports equality
among gender and civil liberty.
It is on this note that Israel is picked as a
more Democratic State than the Islamic Republic of Iran because it upholds the
tenets of Democracy as displayed in practice unlike Iran that is democratic
constitutionally but in practice, there are limitations to Democracy.
Good Job big bro!! you did so well!
i like the style of writing; simplistic and evidential. It showcase the amount
of research. Moreover, It might just need some little cleaning & some you
might chose to ignore after going through the thoughts I highlighted in red. Already did justice to them.
I so much like the last section
because it was what I was thirsting for while reading the whole paper. I needed
more of original thoughts… gathering information and putting them together in
your own word! Thanks blood. I promised you a good
job.
I’m guessing this is APA style
right? Don’t the referencing sources
come alphabetically? Yeah, alphabetically. APA style.
So you left computer science to my
field?
You are welcome.
Did I tell you WES has evaluated my
Naija certificate?
References
Central Intelligence Agency. (2011).The World
Fact Book. Retrieved from Cia.gov
Constitution of Iran. (1989). Constitution of the
Islamic Republic of Iran. Retrieved from https://fis-iran.org/en/resources/legaldoc/constitutionislamic)
Economist Independence.
(2016). Unit EIU Democracy Index. Retrieved from www.infographics.economist.com
Facts about Israel.
(2006, June 12). Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Retrieved from http://mfa.gov.il/MFA_Graphics/MFA%20Gallery/Facts%20About%20Israel%202008/FactsEng2010.pdf
Fisher, M. (2017, May
17). How Iran Became an Undemocratic Democracy. New York Times. Retrieved
from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/17/world/middleeast/iran-presidential-election-democracy.html
Hassan, G. (2016).
Iranian Revolution: Effects on Identity. (Bachelor Dissertation). Retrieved
from https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/138834/hassan2016-final_thesis.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y
How Iran Government
Works. (2012, February 6). Voice of America. Retrieved from
https://www.voanews.com/a/how-irans-government-works-138874059/175447.html
Iran and Israel
Compared. (2013, March 28). Nation Master. Retrieved from http://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/compare/Iran/Israel
Israel Democracy and
Elections. (2011). Embassy of Israel document. Retrieved from http://embassies.gov.il/pretoria/AboutIsrael/State/Pages/Israeli-democracy.aspx
Jones, S. (2009). The
Islamic Republic of Iran: An Introduction. (Research Paper). Retrieved from
http://www.refworld.org/pdfid/4b41bca92.pdf
Kurun, I. (2017).
"Iranian Political System: 'Mullocracy'?" Journal of Management
and Economics Research 15(1): 113-129).
Peri, Y. (2002). The
Israeli Military and Israel’s Palestinian Policy. From Oslo to the Al Aqsa.
Retrieved from Intifada https://www.tau.ac.il/institutes/herzog/peaceworks.pdf
Strong, S. (1997). Law
of Religion in Israel and Iran: How the Integration of Secular and Spiritual
Laws affects Human Rights and the Potential for Violence. Michigan Journal of International Law. Volume 19. Issue 1.
The Structure of Power
in Iran. (2018). An Overview of the Iranian Government and Political System.
Retrieved from https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/tehran/inside/govt.html
US Department of State.
(2018, June 14). Israel. Retrieved from https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/160463.pdf
Yonah, Y. (2005).
Israel As a Multicultural Democracy: Challenges and Obstacles. Israel Affairs. Vol.11, No.1, January 2005, pp.95 – 116.
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