The History Of Comparative Politics Law Constitutional Administrative Essay

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

Andres Vega

Professor Norden

Comparative Politics

Cuba and Iran have very different political structures, yet similar positions of power. Iran is a theocracy outside the traditional left-right wing political spectrum. It is based in Islamic ideologies. It has a Supreme Leader, an elected president, a parliament (the Majlis), an assembly of experts, and local councils. Cuba on the other hand, is one out of five communist countries in the world; it is constitutionally defined as a socialist state. The execute branch in Cuba is the Council of Ministers and the Legislative branch is between the Council of State and the National Assembly of People's Power. Despite their differences, the two political structures result in oppressive systems that stifle the voice of the people.

In all regards, Iran is a theocracy. Being a theocracy, it is of utmost importance for all laws and officials to be dedicated to Islamic values. In addition to traditional positions there are unelected organizations that are in place to try to protect the Islamic character of the nation. Joseph Weatherby a highly acclaimed writer discussed in his journal " The Politics of Religion in the Middle East and North Africa" he shared something that really resonated with me which was "Religion allows the individual believer to accept life with all of its hardships in the expectation that there is a better existence to come". This quote makes it clear why religion in this area is so crucial thus leading them to believe that theocracy is their best way to go towards a system. The most powerful political position in the Islamic Republic is the Supreme Leader. He uses the scarce economic resources to repress opposition, buy political loyalty, and maintain political power. (Journal of third world studies page 248). His duties and powers include the appointing of many high profile positions, such as commander of the armed forces, the director of national radio and television network, prayer leaders in city mosques, members of the national Security Council, and major religious foundations. He also appoints important members of the courts, such as the chief judge, the chief prosecutor, special tribunals, and half of the Guardian Council.

In Cuba the highest position is the president. The president is simultaneously head of the Council of State, the legislative branch, and of the executive branch, the Council of Ministers. He cannot make laws; he can however pass decrees that have the same bearing as laws. The president shares his executive position with The Council of Ministers. They are an authoritative unit of the Republic of Cuba. Its members are the President, the First Vice President and the seven Vice Presidents of the Council of State, the Secretary of the Controlling Committee, the active of the civic ministries, and added associates as accustomed by law. The Council of Ministers direct Cuba's foreign policies and trade, and enforces laws authorized by the Council of State.

By definition the president is not as powerful as the Supreme Leader of Iran. In practice however, it is very similar. Iran subverts the elections and candidates through selective electoral candidates and circular voting, while Cuba, outside claims of it being overt in its oppression and corruption, manages to function as an essentially totalitarian regime/dictatorship due to the President being head of both the legislative branch and the executive branch. While it is legal to be of a different party, it is illegal to gather or publicize their existence, and in 2003 there was only 1 candidate for each seat in the National Assembly.

The second highest office in Iran is the president. He is elected by all citizens over 18 years of age, and holds the position for 4 years. Again, the Guardian Council must permit his election. The president is responsible for carrying out the Constitution except when it directly relates to the Supreme Leader. He coordinates government decisions and selects government policies to be presented to legislature. There are 10 vice presidents under the president, as well as a cabinet of 21 ministers.

The Council of State is a 31-member body of government in Cuba, elected by the National Assembly of People's Power. It is the legislative authority for most of the year. The National Assembly of Peoples Power only meets twice a year, therefore, the Council of State is the more often than not, the legislative force. It is however held accountable if that which is proposed is not successful. It consists of the President, a Secretary, a First Vice President, 5 Vice Presidents, and 27 added members. The President, the Secretary, the First Vice President, and the 5 Vice Presidents are all associates of the Council of Ministers as-well.

The Guardian Council is a 12 person assembly consisting of 6 Islamic Faqihs, experts in Islamic law, and 6 jurists, experts in different areas of law. The Faqihs are elected by the Supreme Leader of Iran, and the jurists are elected by the Majlis. However they are only selected from someone deemed fit to be elected, as chosen by the head of the Judicial Power. The Judicial Power is elected by the Supreme Leader, creating a circular election process. The Guardian Councils duties include interpreting the Constitution, approving candidates for president, the Majlis, and parliament, and ensuring the compatibility of the legislation with Islam and the Constitution. It can veto any law of the popularly elected Majlis. It frequently disqualifies reform-minded candidates, even if they are popular. And it has heavy influence over the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, an ideological fighting force separate from the Iranian army. It frequently does this by stating that the candidate is not dedicated enough to Islamic values. It arbitrarily disqualifies candidates from elections. It repeatedly vetoes bills in favor of woman’s rights, electoral reform, and the prohibition of torture and ratification of international human rights treaties.

The Council of Ministers is the accomplished baronial controlling and authoritative physique of the Republic of Cuba, it constitutes the nation's government. It consists of the President, the First Vice President and the seven Vice Presidents of the Council of State, the Secretary of the Controlling Committee, the active of the civic ministries, and added associates as accustomed by law.

Regarding their judicial system, in Cuba the People's Supreme Court is the accomplished authoritative body. It is written that all civilian liberties can be denied to anyone who opposes the Cuban people in their attempt to remain socialist. They analyze final appeals from lower courts, including all criminal, civil, and administrative, activity law, and bread-and-butter cases. Superior Courts are at the next level. Every province has its own court. They adjudge which cases are able to canyon to the Supreme Court. The Courts of First Instance is the cloister on all above bent matters, civilian cases, adolescent cases, authoritative law, and activity law. Appeals are handled in the Above Courts. The Courts of Peace handle small claims and accessory bent offenses such as petty theft. They are not allowed to address to any higher courts.

In Cuba the National Assembly of People's Power is the legislative branch. It is the aldermanic assembly of the Republic of Cuba and the absolute physique of State power. Its associates (currently 614) are adopted from single-member balloter districts for an appellation of 5 years. The accumulation meets twice a year. Between sessions it is represented by the 31 affiliate Council of State. It can amend the Constitution, appeal and amend laws, approve plans for economic development, the state budget, and financial programs, and set guidelines for domestic and foreign policies.

Iran is a theocracy, while Cuba is socialist. Iran has made it illegal for politicians and political decisions to not be in line with Islamic beliefs. This is mirrored in Cuba in that it is illegal to not have political decisions that do not pertain to socialism. These are both qualitative rather than quantitative measurements, leading to flexibility in their application.

These types of governing bodies have the capacity to dramatically repress the beliefs and wishes of the people in favor of the Supreme Leader's or President's personal agenda. Regarding Iran, this is due to a few facts. First and foremost, the Supreme Leader elects half of the Guardian Council. The other half is elected by the Majli, however the Guardian Council has the final say as to who can be eligible to be elected into the Majli. This circular election process with the Supreme Leader at the top allows the Supreme Leader to be the main deciding factor as to the entire infrastructure of the political system. Despite the fact that the people elect the Majli, due to the Guardian Council being able to make any candidate ineligible without due process, the Supreme Leader can largely circumvent the people and their vote. However there is also a question of dishonesty. The Supreme Leader appointed multiple members of the Guardian Council and other positions of power to people with no obvious qualifications. And only 2 hours after the closing of votes in Iran the results were announced. Many people believed it impossible to count all the votes that quickly, and due to reporting discrepancies, it was believed that the votes were manipulated. This sparked a series of protests that received international coverage. In the protests of 2009 of presidential candidate Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, despite the peaceful nature of the protests, the police and Basji, a paramilitary group, suppressed the protestors using pepper spray, batons, sticks, and occasionally firearms. There were claims that thousands of people were arrested and tortured in prisons around the country due to their participation in the protests or riots. Iran claimed 27 deaths, despite other reporting agencies reporting 150 which do not include the people that disappeared. And in additions families claimed to be forced to sign that people that died in protests died of meningitis or heart attacks. The scandals do not all center around the elections either. When Hugo Chavez died, president Ahmadinejad went to the funeral and hugged Hugo Chavez's mother. It is against the Islamic religion for a man to comfort a woman outside of his family. This made what he did against the law. The president said the image was a fake, and presented a photo of him in the same position but with a man. Iran released it as an official image, but it was proven that the man, an Egyptian politician, was not present, and the image that was released by the president was photo-shopped.

Cuba proclaims that it is a democracy. Superficially it has similarities to a democracy. In terms of political parties, there is the Communist Party, Christian Democratic Party, Cuba Socialist Democratic Current, Democratic Social- Revolutionary Party, Democratic Solidarity Party, and Liberal Party. Suffrage is non-compulsory and is afforded to Cuban citizens who have not lost their right to vote nor are mentally handicapped. Cubans that are in other countries are denied the right to vote. Despite the fact that there are multiple parties, Cuba is a 1 party system. And until the 1990s it was illegal for other parties to exist. But it is illegal for political parties to gather or speak publicly. This prevents the policies/people to be voted on from having competition. Therefore everything on the ballot is in line with the government in power. In addition, Cuba has one of the most censored/filtered Medias according to the Press Freedom Index. This makes messages, information, and political accountability very low. Another very oppressive rule in Cuba is that in the Cuban criminal code it is legal to imprison someone before they commit a crime on the suspicion that they might commit an offense in the future. One must remember that it is a crime to contradict socialist norms, therefore it can incarcerate people for doing peaceful marches or organizing independent unions by claiming they are a political threat.