Australia’s system of government Essay

The Saudi Arabian kingdom is a country that comprise of Arabs and is the largest nation of Arabian Peninsula. Saudi Arabia is sometimes referred to as â€Å"the land of the two holy mosques† and this regards to Medina and Mecca which are the most holy religions in Islamic religion (Wilson & Graham, 1994). The present kingdom in Saudi Arabia is based on the foundations of â€Å"Abdul-Aziz bin Saud†. In 1902, Abdul-Aziz began his efforts and captured the Riyadh ancestral home i. e. Al-Saud. In 1932, the efforts of Abdul-Aziz were culminated with recognition and proclamation of Saudi Arabian kingdom. However, the national origin of Saudi Arabia dates back from 1744 when the first state of Saudi was established. On the other hand, Australia, officially the Australia commonwealth is a nation in southern hemisphere consisting of the smallest mainland continent in the world, the Tasmania major islands, and other several islands in pacific and Indian Ocean (Mackey, 2002). In 1901, the colonies of Australia formed a commonwealth through becoming a federation. Since that federation, the nation of Australia remains as a commonwealth monarchy and has maintained a political system comprising of liberal democratic systems (Farsy & Al-Farsy, 1986). The government of Saudi Arabian central institution is Saudi monarchy. The government basic laws were adopted in 1990s and they declare that the Saudi Arabian kingdom is a monarchy that is ruled by grandsons and son of â€Å"Abdul-Aziz Al Saud†. These laws also provide that the constitution of the nation is the Quran that is governed on Islamic laws (Sharia) basis. According to democratic index of economists, the government of Saudi Arabia is ranked on the ninth position in among authoritarian regimes across the globe (Mackey, 2002). The political system in Saudi Arabia does not recognize national elections and political systems. However, it does recognize local elections and they were held in 2005, and only male citizens were allowed to participate. The powers of the king are tentatively restricted within the boundaries of Saudi traditions and Sharia. The king have to maintain an accord of royal family of Saudi, ulema (religious leaders) and other element that may be important in the society of Saudi. The royal family leading member selects a king from amongst them and is then approved by ulema (Farsy & Al-Farsy, 1986). The kings of Saudi kingdom have developed a central management gradually. The minister council which is appointed by Saudi king, has given views on general policy formulation and has also directed activities of bureaucracy that is seems to be growing. The council comprises prime minister and other twenty ministers (Quandt, 1981). The minister council resolution forms the basis for legislation. However, legislations are ratified through royal decree and they have to be in consensus with Sharia. A Consultative Assembly consisting of 150 members and selected by the ruling king have limited lights of legislation (Wilson & Graham, 1994). The administration of justice is done according to sharia through use of religious court systems. The judges of religious courts are chosen by the ruling king and which are recommended by the supreme council of judiciary (Mackey, 2002). This council of judiciary comprises of 12 senior jurists and the law protects the judiciary independence. The ruling king has the authority to pardon and act as the uppermost â€Å"court of appeal†. There are well formed traditions in the direct access and right to appeal to the high officials in the political system of Saudi Arabia (Wilson & Graham, 1994). On the other hand, the Australia commonwealth is a democracy constitution which is based on federal powers division. Australia employs constitutional monarchy form of government which is composed of government of parliamentary system. â€Å"Queen Elizabeth II† the Australian queen stands in the position of monarch of other commonwealth monarchies. At the federal level the general governor represents the queen while in the state level the governors represent her. The rights of the constitution gives the general governor executive powers but they have to be exercised only when the prime minister gives an advice (Penniman, 1977). Australia has three government branches which include commonwealth i. e. the legislature that comprise the queen, senate and â€Å"house of representative†. Second, the federal council of executive i. e. the executive and comprises of prime minister, councilors and state ministers (Aitkin & Jinks, 1980). Finally, the federal courts and Australia high court i. e. the judiciary. The parliament of bicameral commonwealth comprises the queen, upper house that comprises 76 senators and 150 members of representatives of the house i. e. lower house. The later are designated from constituencies of single members known commonly as seats or electorates which are allocated to the states basing on the population and each state is given five seats as minimum. The senate comprises 12 senators from each state and 2 other senators from each territory (Aitkin & Jinks, 1980). The government of Australia is formed by two main political groups i. e. the coalition and the labor party of Australia. The coalition political group is a formal group comprising of two parties i. e. national party which is minor and liberal party the major party. Numerous minor parties and independent members including Australian democrats and the greens have been represented in the parliament of Australian especially in the upper houses (Appleton, 1983). Contrary to Saudi Arabia where king are chosen from the royal family by the members of the royal family, in Australia there is a compulsory voting for all citizens above 18 years of age. In addition voting in this nation is done at federal, territorial and in state level. There is a compulsory enrollment to vote in all places except in the southern part of Australia (Penniman, 1977). In conclusion even though the Saudi Arabian kingdom is currently stable there are major undercurrents, which are working against royal family. The Saudi Arabia political system is shaped to a greater extent by Faisal king in whom kings have absolute powers. However, the ulema are central in supporting the legitimacy of the rule of the king. The political system of Saudi Arabia has been formalized consultative body. In addition, there are several laws which have been enacted in order to regulate the activities of the modern society. These laws are additions to Islamic laws and are not expected to be against the Islamic laws (Mackey, 2002). In Saudi Arabia the political system is characterized with lack of democracy and there is always opposition due to lack of forums of expressing discontent with the kings and rulers. In addition, the political system in Saudi Arabia is characterized with economic power differences between social groups and therefore leads to opposition. On the other hand, the political system of Australia has been founded in the traditions of liberal democratic. This system seems to be effective since it is based on values of association and freedom of expression, religious tolerance and rule of regulation and law which expresses democracy (Department of foreign affairs and trade, 2008). Reference: Aitkin D & Jinks B (1980): Australian Political Institutions, ISBN 0858965712, Pitman. Appleton R (1983): The Australian Encyclopedia, ISBN 0959660429, Grolier Society of Australia M. E Sharpe. Department of foreign affairs and trade (2008): Australia’s system of government. Retrieved on 17th January 2009 from; http://www. dfat.gov. au/facts/sys_gov. html Farsy F & Al-Farsy F (1986): Saudi Arabia: A Case Study in Development, ISBN 0710301286. Routledge, Mackey S (2002): The Saudis: Inside the Desert Kingdom, ISBN 0393324176, W. W. Norton. Penniman H (1977): Australia at the Polls: The National Elections of 1975, ISBN 0844732397, American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research. Quandt W (1981): Saudi Arabia in the 1980s: Foreign Policy, Security, and Oil, ISBN 0815772866, Brookings Institution Press. Wilson P & Graham D (1994): Saudi Arabia: The Coming Storm, ISBN 1563243954 .