In this article you will learn about the Difference between Political and Permanent Executive in Political Science.
Difference between Political and Permanent Executive
The political executive and the permanent executive are two distinct components of the executive branch of government. In this response, we will explore the differences between these two entities.
The political executive is composed of elected officials who hold positions of power in government. Examples include the President, Vice President, and Cabinet members in the United States. These individuals are appointed or elected to their positions and typically serve a limited term of office. They are responsible for setting policy, making decisions, and implementing laws.
The permanent executive, on the other hand, consists of career bureaucrats who work in government agencies and departments. These individuals are not elected and typically hold their positions for much longer periods of time than the political executive. They are responsible for implementing policy, providing technical expertise, and managing day-to-day operations of government.
One key difference between the political and permanent executive is their level of accountability. The political executive is ultimately accountable to the electorate, as they are elected by the people to represent their interests. If they fail to perform their duties satisfactorily, they can be removed from office through the impeachment process or by not being re-elected. The permanent executive, however, is accountable to their superiors within the government agency or department in which they work. They are subject to oversight by Congress, but they cannot be removed from their positions by the electorate.
Main Points of Difference between Political Executive (Ministers) and Permanent Executive (Civil Service) :
1. Ministers and Civil Servants : The political executive consists of the head of the state and ministers. In the USA, ministers are referred to as secretaries who head the departments. The permanent executive, on the other hand, consists of the civil servants who work in government departments and carry out the policies and decisions of the government.
2. Political character of Ministers and Non-political character of Civil Servants : The members of the political executive are political leaders. They are either the elected representatives of the people or the nominees of the head of state. The civil servants are non-political in the sense that they do not take part in active party politics, they are not members of political parties, and they are not involved in the struggle for political power. Whereas ministers are political leaders or persons with political patronage, the civil servants are political neutrals. While the former are always guided by the demands of their political careers and the nature of party-politics that prevails at a particular time, the latter always try to work without any consideration of the political environment. The civil servants carry out their work irrespective of any consideration as to which party is in power.
3. Policy-formulation is the function for Political Executive : Policy-formulation and decision-making are the two primary responsibilities of the political executive. The permanent executive, that is the civil servants, only advises and helps the political executive by the presentation of all possible alternative policies and decisions out of which the latter adopts one as the policy or decision. It is the responsibility of the political executive to get the same implemented through the permanent executive. The latter is responsible for running the day-to-day administration in such a way as can secure best the desired goals of all governmental policies and decisions.
4. Political Executive is Responsible and Accountable to the People : It is the political executive who is accountable to the people and not the permanent executive. In a parliamentary form of government, the political executive is immediately, continuously and directly responsible to the legislature for all its policies, decisions, programmes and activities. It is ultimately responsible to the people and has to seek a fresh mandate from them after the completion of specific terms in office.
5. Political Executive consists of Amateurs, Civil Servants are Experts : The members of political executive are not specially educated and trained in respect of the departments they head. A minister does not have the expert and professional knowledge, skill and training pertaining to the work being done by his departments. As against this, the civil servants are professionals and experts of the subjects which they handle. They enter the civil service only when they have requisite qualifications and have passed the necessary competitive examinations.
In conclusion, the political and permanent executive are two distinct components of the executive branch of government. While they work together to implement policies and run government agencies, they have different roles, levels of accountability, expertise, and job security. Understanding the differences between these two entities is crucial to understanding how the government works and who is responsible for the decisions and actions of the executive branch.
This article on Difference between Political and Permanent Executive in Political Science is contributed by Dipshikha Anand. If you like LawStudyPoint.com do follow us on our Twitter handle.