Political Science

Comparative way of understanding politics is a general term which can be used and coined to imply the method of understanding politics across regions, countries and other political units (Rose 1991). Its multi- levels of political analysis made this method of political science highly used by many political scientists. Comparative politics has undeniably evolved from the time that it was considered a science two centuries ago. Comparative politics evolution did not come easily before the time of its realization. This branch of political science is always dynamic in finding the most fitting ways to represent the whole discipline (ONeil 2004). Even if it has undergone many years of methodological and disciplinary evolutions, perfecting this way of studying political science is still far from being perfected. This imperfection does not mean that eventually it will be debunked as a method of political science instead it only support the assumption said earlier- comparative politics is dynamic in nature. As a proof to its dynamic nature, comparative politics have developed many ways of approaching the subjects of its study. Leading approaches in this political science branch include historical, ideological, methodological and political analysis of frameworks these are among its other types, varieties and forms (Norris and Inglehart 2004).

Generally speaking, the results of comparative politics can only have value if the assumptions of the analysis before its generalization is properly set and explained. It is intuitive to assume that studies conducted through comparative politics will establish differences and similarities amongst its subjects. However, these similarities and differences will not explain themselves. One of the goals of comparative politics is to find the differences and similarities of their subjects of study and put value to those similarities and differences by showing its implications to the political world. This is a must for anyone who opts to use comparative politics as a method of analysis. Unfortunately, this also makes comparative politics always prone to biases and prejudices. To be effective enough, the usage of comparative politics would require in depth contextualization of its subjects of analysis (Rose 1991).

Comparative politics can be made unbiased by making sure that the study was conducted in full relation and recognition to the inherent differences and similarities of its subjects (Rose 1991). Failing to do so, can render the use of comparative politics unverifiable and even undoable in studying the assumed subjects.

No matter how comparative politics has developed in the last few decades, political scientists are still limited in engaging and using comparative politics (ONeil 2004, 8). The basic limitation encountered by political scientists lie in the two major approaches of comparative politics- qualitative and quantitative. These approaches used by political scientists offer two different sides of comparative politics. The qualitative approach offers in depth and detailed discussions of the subjects compared through comparative politics. On the other hand, quantitative approach to comparative politics uses statistics and other verifiable data of the subjects in finding the points of comparison and analysis (ONeil 2004, 9). After finding the points of possible comparison, those who opt to pursue comparative politics must validate the applicability of the chosen points of comparison. Validation needs to be conducted in the details of comparative politics such as the applicability of the terms used in the study and the value of the empirical data arrived at in the study (Peters 1998).

Developments of Comparative Politics and its Impacts
The difficulties of doing comparative politics are not solely limited to its prerequisites and its need of continuous contextualization. The manner of doing comparative politics is also modified by the recent developments in the field of politics in the key political figures of the world. These developments put the experts of comparative politics in a position that requires adjustments in the manner that the study is to be conducted. There are three main developments in the political world that forever changed the manner of conducting comparative politics (ONeil 2004, 14). First is the sudden growth of the economies in the Asian region in the last few decades. This almost instantaneous economic growth in the Asian region put experts of comparative politics to reassess the predictive capabilities of what was known to be the comparative politics back then. Secondly, the collapse of the USSR and the end of the Cold War made comparative politics experts to question the power of institutions in modeling the political life of a specific country or region. And lastly, the third wave of democracy made comparative politics experts to move away from the old bias of using American and Western democracy as the benchmark of what was known as democracy (ONeil 2004, 14). The third way of democracy forced comparative politics experts and users to point out the major problem of using the classification of democracy. The usage of the Western form of democracy makes a fatal mistake by failing to contextualize the possible implications of the use of the term democracy as a point of comparison. The usual mistake committed in the field of comparative politics in terms of contextualizing democracy is focusing too much on matured democracies such as in the Western countries neglecting the possibilities that the maturing democracies might hold better points of comparison and analysis (Stoker 2006, 500).

There are other notable developments in the whole world that can pose more questions and requirements in doing comparative politics. These three are the major developments but there are still more minor events that bespeak development. In this essay, the role of recognizing the implications of these developments are valuable in this study because it exposed the limitations of the two conventional approaches to comparative politics which are qualitative and quantitative (ONeil 2004, 14). Having said so, this essay will further press the need to reinvent the manner of conducting comparative politics.

Popular Approaches in Comparative Politics
Today, there are six major approaches in conducting comparative politics. These are the Wiarda, Organizations in mlange, Political culture, Corporatist, Political economy and new institutionalism approaches. These approaches in conducting comparative politics analysis have branched out from the two basic approaches- qualitative and quantitative. These six approaches are just few of the resulting approaches after the critical developments in the political world. These approaches are the experts answers in re-contextualizing and reinventing the conduct of comparative politics to avoid failing to account for what the two basic approaches failed to account for particularly during the time of the developments in the political world.

The Wiarda approach seeks to buffer the proneness of comparative politics analysis to prejudices and biases. This comparative politics approach pays particular attention in exploring the patterns of political interactions, political processes and the regularities among the subjects political systems (Wiarda 2005, 20). The developments in this approach is deemed to be the possible needed approach in studying societies without the burdens and possibilities of becoming ethnocentric. As comparative politics experts put it, the Wiarda approach is the possible long lost antidote against ethnocentrism.
 
The Organizations in mlange approach focuses on the interactions of state and non state actors in forming a holistic political world (Migdal 2002, 70). This approach focuses on the interplay of these sectors, including the constructive attributes and detrimental impacts they may cause to each other. In this approach, the subjects of analysis are focused on the existing institutions in a country or region (Migdal 2002, 70). However, it is differentiated from institutionalism because it does not only study institutions it study how institutions are positioned to their society. The positions of the institutions when identified will pave the way for a contextualization of the strengths and weaknesses of the existing institutions in a society may it be a state or a non state institution (Migdal 2002, 70).

There is also an approach that focuses on the political culture of the subjects of the comparative politics analysis. This approach stresses the point that political culture is the start off point of all political activities in a country or region. In a way, it can be said that that political culture explains the differences and similarities of institutions, political processes, policy making and political outputs (Norris and Inglehart 2004, 20). The themes of comparison in this approach are economical, religious, cultural and political evolution (Norris and Inglehart 2004, 20).

The Corporatist approach in comparative politics moves away from the primary assumptions that comparative politics can only be done through politics and economics. The corporatist approach provides a new perspective of studying politics such as social interactions and political culture. This approach put special attention to those that are considered as neglected institutions. In this approach, the state is also relegated to a position different from what the pluralist theories would say that the state is just an umpire of all the political processes.

The Political economy approach delves in the common process of doing comparative politics analysis which is through politics and economics (Buchanan 1989). In this approach there are two main subgroups of political scientists- conservatives and liberals. The conservatives stick to the point that comparative politics analysis can only be done through politics and economics. On the other hand, liberal experts on political economy approach raise the issues of national identity and globalization as integral parts of explaining politics and economics (Buchanan 1989).

Lastly, the new institutionalism approach reinvents institutionalism by bringing back the state. In this new approach, institutions can be both informal and formal. However, institutions in this approach are seen as dynamic entities which can change depending on the needs of societies. These institutions can also have active and passive effects on individuals. These institutions are also seen as the representation of the shared values of the society where the institutions are situated.

The Chosen Approach
Among these approaches, the Corporatist approach will be used in studying the two countries which will be the subjects of this essay. This approach is chosen because it offers the widest spectrum of possible discussions. It is not confined to the perspective of institutions such as implied in new institutionalism. It is not bias on putting comparative politics analysis fully dependent on politics and economy as said in the political economy approach. The Corporatist approach is also seen as a better option for Organizations in mlange approach because it focuses other factors aside from institutions. It is also does not assume extreme points of analysis such as political culture. And lastly, the Corporatist approach can integrate the Wiarda approach because of its wide spectrum of analysis. An ethnocentric result often occurring in comparative politics analysis will be avoided through the contextualization that can be achieved by the many aspects of political life that will be viewed and tackled in the Corporatist approach.

Reinforcement as a concept is mainly used in behavioral sciences where it is acknowledged that certain behaviors need to be encouraged for the good of all. Reinforcement refers to strengthening, and is applied in psychology to refer to any condition that strengthens or increases the likelihood of a specific response (Heffner, 2001). The concept of reinforcement is especially useful in any setting where human beings are in close contact. This study seeks to identify the reinforcement strategies used by law enforcement agencies and to establish how they differ from those used by managers in organizations. The focus then shifts to the specific strategies used to reinforce behavior in organizations and the effectiveness of each strategy.

Reinforcement can be used to strengthen appropriate behaviors right from the family level, to schools, workplaces and in society as a whole. In society, behaviors are reinforced using the law. The law consists of a system of rules and regulations which a certain people are subject to. The law is enforced in the sense that anyone who willfully disregards it is brought to account for any such violations of the law. Zaal (1994) argues that the success of the enforcement of any law, say traffic laws, is dependent on its ability to create a meaningful deterrent threat to road users. To achieve this, the primary focus should be on increasing surveillance levels to ensure that perceived apprehension risk is high. The law creates this apprehension fear by meting out punishment whenever such laws are broken.

Heffner (2001) classifies this system of deterring certain behavior by law enforcers as a form of reinforcement called punishment. Heffner further observes that this kind of reinforcement works on the principle that punishment is not desired and to avoid it people will avoid doing those things that attract such punishments. This line of thought has however come under severe criticisms where the laws are accused of not doing enough to reinforce behavior. The emergence of certain flawed arguments like, rules are made to be broken have brought the effectiveness of traditional law enforcement under sharp focus. This has led to the adoption of non-conventional strategies of reinforcing behavior by law enforcers. For instance, to deter people from driving under the influence of alcohol, Zaal (1994) recommends that publicity campaigns should always be an integral component of enforcement strategies. This will help to reinforce the desired behavior i.e. driving while sober.

Similarly, certain behaviors need to be reinforced at the workplace so as to help the organization achieve its purposes objectives. The only difference is that unlike in society, where the law does more to dissuade people from engaging in certain behaviors, the script changes a little at the workplace. Here, the management is keener on encouraging the repetition of certain good behaviors that are considered favorable for the attainment of the firms objectives.

Managers use various reinforcement strategies either singly or in combination. These include positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement and continuous reinforcement. Positive reinforcement is defined by Griffin and Moorhead (2007) as reward or any other desirable consequence that follows behavior (p. 104). Negative reinforcement on the other hand, differs from positive reinforcement in that rather than receiving a reward, one is presented with an option of avoiding bad consequences by performing a certain activity. Continuous reinforcement according to Griffin and Moorhead (2007) has to do with the schedule of reinforcement. It occurs when good behavior is rewarded whenever it is done or performed. Other reinforcement strategies used include extinction and punishment reinforcement as used in law enforcement.

Managers have traditionally employed the use of extrinsic rewards to motivate employees to certain desired behaviors. Extrinsic rewards, as Thomas (2000) points out, refers to money or other tangible items given to employees to motivate them. This approach to motivation is in congruence with most of the motivation theories that are upheld up until now. Maslows hierarchy of needs and Jeremy Benthams Carrot and the Stick Approach (as cited in Shah,  Shah, n. d.) seem to agree with the use of extrinsic rewards as motivation. At the base of Maslows pyramid are physiological needs i.e. the need for food, shelter, clothing, medicine. Traditional managers equated these things with money. This was and remains true to some extent because according to Maslow, until these needs are attained to a sufficient degree, then the person will not ascend to a high degree of needs.

The Carrot and Stick approach is even more blatant on the utility of extrinsic rewards as a tool of motivation. It compared these rewards to a carrot that is dangled in front of a donkey. The carrot motivated the donkey to keep moving in the hope that it will reach the carrot that kept dangling in front of it. In this analogy, the stick is used to force the donkey to move. The stick in an organization would represent fear of punishment, of losing ones job etc all of which are powerful motivators whereas the carrot represents any reward such as money, promotion, bonuses etc.

Extrinsic motivation as Liz (2009) points out is anchored to an external stimulus-something outside the individual. Managers employ extrinsic motivation in various ways. According to Liz (2009), a manager may for instance, use money, fame and recognition, awards and prizes, status and privileges to motivate employee towards certain desired courses of action. A manager who adopts these strategies intends to use these rewards to strengthen the desired behavior. As such a manager is said to be employing positive reinforcement since the rewards are as a consequence of certain desired efforts.

Liz (2009) further points out that a manager may also use threats and punishments as extrinsic motivators. An employee in this case would seek to act in a certain way motivated by the desire to avoid the negative consequences that may result from violation. A manager who employs such a strategy is said to be using negative reinforcement to strengthen and encourage the repetition of a desired behavior. Such an approach is based on the fear of the consequences attached to failing to do what is expected.

Intrinsic motivation as the name suggests, is driven by internal factors. Thomas (2009) observes that intrinsic rewards come principally from the work that the employees engage in. An intrinsically motivated worker is driven by the satisfaction that is derived from the job. Thomas (2009) identifies several factors that are intrinsic motivators to employees. These include sense of purpose, ability to choose how tasks are managed, a sense of progress and a sense of competence (p 39).

Extrinsic motivation has the advantage of being able to stimulate an individual to perform a certain task even if there is no interest in it (Liz, 2009). A case in point would be the performance of repetitive and routine tasks that do not yield satisfaction for the employee. The energy to perform such tasks heavily relies on the extrinsic rewards that are to be expected.  Liz further points out that extrinsic motivation provides a means by which employees set personal goals and achieve them. In an effort to attain a certain reward, an employee may set individual goals and work hard to attain them. This is of mutual benefit to both the employee and the manager. This technique has been widely practiced by sales managers to motivate employees to achieve their targets.

Liz (2009) however points out that reliance on extrinsic motivation has several drawbacks. These include the fact that extrinsic motivation is not sustainable, it has diminishing returns and its use undermines the importance of intrinsic motivation, which is equally important as a motivation tool. Relying on rewards to attract certain behavior from employees in effect implies that a manager has to use the same bait to sustain such behavior. Liz (2009) notes that diminishing returns occur when, motivation gradually fades away when the punishment or reward stays at equivalent levels. Employees are therefore not motivated to outperform themselves when the rewards are bound to remain at the same level.

Intrinsic motivation unlike extrinsic motivation does not rely so heavily on close supervision. As Thomas (2000) observes, this is especially useful in modern day organizations where close supervision and detailed rules are no longer possible (p. 7). This owes to the fact that intrinsic motivation relies on factors inherent in the nature of the work or the individuals personal characteristics, that keep a person motivated to do the job well. The use of intrinsic motivation provides assurance that employees will perform their duties even when they are not under supervision from management.

Emphasis on intrinsic reward does not however render extrinsic rewards irrelevant. Extrinsic rewards remain an integral means of motivating employees. Liz (2009) points out that harnessing the power of extrinsic motivation lies in the ability to keep it in balance. A balance needs to be maintained between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Extrinsic motivation will serve to initially attract people to a job but in the long haul people need intrinsic rewards to keep going and to perform at their peak(Thomas, 2000, p. 8).

To sum it up, both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation can and are used by present day managers to motivate employees. They are further used to reinforce certain behaviors that the managers want strengthened. Positive reinforcement that encompasses both the use of intrinsic and extrinsic rewards is preferable. Negative reinforcement is subject to the same weaknesses as extrinsic motivators i.e. it cannot be sustained over a long time. Additionally, negative reinforcement requires close supervision from management. Continuous reinforcement should only be used to strengthen those behaviors that are desirable and that management wants to see repeated.

The president is a very instrumental figure of a national leadership.  In most nations, the president is above the law while others defined a president who is subject to the law.  However in history, many countries have been found to fight over leadership with some even resulting in genocide.  United States of America like any other State or country in the world has history of the presidents that have ever led the nation. The following is a list of those presidents who have lead and propelled the activities of the Unites State since the office existence. It the 18th Century, there were two presidents that are in the record George Washington and John Adams.

In the 19th Century there was the third to the twenty fifth in the give order. Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, John Q. Adams, Andrew Jackson, Martin V. Buren, William H. Harrison, John Tyler, James K. Polk, Zachary Tayler, Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan, Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford Hayes, James Garfield, Chester Arthur, Grover Cleveland, Benjamin Harrison, Grover Cleveland, and the twenty fifth being William McKinley closing the 19th Century presidents.

The 20th Century was opened by the twenty sixth presidents and was closed by the forty second president.  They include Theodore Roosevelt, William H. Taft, Woodrow Wilson, Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald R. Ford, James Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and William J. Clinton closing the twentieth century.
 
The twenty first century was started by the president George W. Bush the son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, then the current president Barack Obama who is the number 44 president of the United States of America and the first African -American president to serve the U.S.   The political science ranking of the presidents of the U.S state that George Washington of the 18th Century as the best so far, followed by Abraham Lincoln of the 19th century and the third position is taken by Franklin D. Roosevelt of the twentieth century.

The current constitutional review of the duties and roles of a president in the U.S are as described below.  The roles of the president may either be inherent or expressed according to the U.S constitution.  The powers of the president is a guideline to the kind of president the nation expects of a president while in office and it is constitutionally accepted that the president must work in accordance with the stipulations and those presidents who go against this are said to be defiant.

However, some of the presidents have not bee able to work in accordance to the constitution and have therefore expanded their powers thus making the office more of an imperial office than a presidential one.  The expressed presidential powers include that he is the commander in chief of the armed services. The president has the authority to pardon or grant amnesty.  He is also mandated to formation of treaties as per the agreement with his senate. The president appoints different officials as the ambassadors, senior officers of his government as well as the judges to the supreme court of the United States of America. The president makes appointments to the vacancies that may be found during the senate recess sessions as well as to welcome public ministers and ambassadors.  He is also bestowed with the mandate of taking great care of law that he makes sure that the law execution is as per the agreement in the constitution.  Apart form these roles, the president may also make recommendations to the proposed bill as well as propose bills. He has the veto powers over the congressional bills. 

In addition, the president in the U.S has inferred powers which a president may assume by the virtue of his position in office such that his decision can not be objected to.  Inherent power as per the statement by Campbell Black, is a necessity in vital leadership positions especially in maters of emergencies where he says that the inherent powers makes the presidential powers difficult to limit. 

As a result, some presidents like George W. Bush made war attacks in the name of the inherent presidential powers that by virtue of his position as the president, he was the commander in chief of the armed forces thus he had the authority to stage war with Al Qaeda terrorists and make use of the army to combat them regardless of the cost implications in the war.  He also made approvals to the NSA wire tapping through the inherent presidential powers.  Although the inherent powers are supposed to be limited by the congresses as well as the judicial sector of the government, to some extend some presidents have not been able to adhere to it. For example, President Bush claimed to be above the law and that he would declare war as long as he found it necessary. Some inherent role of the president can extend from the presidential elections to the media influence among other departmental roles that are quoted in the constitution or elsewhere in the inherent presidential roles by the founders of the constitution.  Some of these papers are still in use especially if the judges are needed to clarify if the president is correct to have taken a certain role as an inherent decision of his position.  However, the papers are not the constitution but they are important and are acceptable in the legal practices of the supreme courts to obtain guidance to the powers of the president that may be hidden to the public.
The presidential election inherent powers encourage the citizens to vote for a president that they feel will be good to their leadership and that the president is elected from a combination of the fifty State election and not from a national voting session.  The president is inherently expected to support civic education through the States so as to be sure that all or the majority of the citizens understand the role of the president before they cast their votes. The media can also give an opinion of the president in order to influence the public or the congress thus the media will have used the presidential inherent powers.

The leadership of significant presidents in the 21st Century has been highlighted here in this review to make readers understand why the presidential office in America is significantly important and that it needs not be taken for granted.  The discussion of the leadership of the president George W. Bush the 43rd president of the United States of America gives a clear picture of the role of strong leaders for strong nations as well as give a hint of whether of not the president was a performer or a bully or even an oppressive one.  Was he constitutionally right or he assumed his powers a different script which would be an expected of the congress and the citizens  There is also some explanation of the future prospects of presidential leadership and the direction of America in terms of the office of the president. President George W. Bush led between the year 2001 and 2009 as the number 43 president of America. He entered office on the 20th January 2001 and re-elected after his first term in office on the 2nd November 2004 ending his office term in the January 2009 when he was succeeded by the current president of the U.S Barack Obama.  Before his presidency, he had been a governor for Texas State for six year.  Bush, having some fundamental knowledge in his scholarly work after a degree in History and a masters degree in Business Administration acquired by 1975, would effectively take the lead as a president later after assisting in the campaigns for his fathers presidency. President Bush was well known for his bipartisan leadership approach.  His leadership policies include the extension of freedom to all, provision of more security at home and the best of his policies being the No Child Left Behind Act. In his era, he expanded educational programs for all children to be educated.

In his first term, President Bush supported education for all children as well as cutting down of the federal taxes.  He also set good targets on the creation of jobs for most unemployed American Citizen thus gaining fame as a president.  He at the same time worked towards the modernization of Medicare. In the Medicare, provisions had increased the benefits of drug prescription that made more than 40 million people in America gain better access to the required medicine.  He is said to have initiated the global HIVAIDS which has saved many live that would otherwise have gone into a waste. The president is said to have widened the transaction program of NATO by signing a significant agreement with India on the non proliferation of nuclear weapon.  This made India to comply with the global organizations that dealt with anti-nuclear proliferation which was a promotion towards world peace. He is known to have implemented free trade agreement with many nations in the region thus promoting the so called culture of life through the formation of an empowered army system for security provision.

The former American president is commended for the improvement of quality energy supply and good environmental conditions.  His efforts in the transformation of strong armed forces aimed at more protection for the States encouraged more security in both business and individual activities.  In 2001 when terrorists attacked the Unite States of America killing close to 3000 persons, Bush strategically countered the terrorism in a bold manner that resulted in protection and more security measures to the Americans.   The formation of more security departments in America, like the Homeland security department, was a sure way to increasing security for the American citizens. Bush is also credited for the role he played in the set up of global. The imperialism of the American presidency is rather a controversial issue since it has always been feared that there would be any president who would dominate and dictate the law and constitution of the State.  A number of constitutional amendments have taken place towards the reduction of the presidential powers making the president a subject to the congress, a president who constitutionally needs support from the congress in many ways. For example, the president may not fire the vice president from the office while the president too can be fired through an impeachment. 

President Gorge W. Bush was one of the national presidents who functioned as though to implement imperial presidency.  During his eight year legacy, he stretched his powers beyond the legal requirements of a president in the United States of America.  He introduced the already feared imperialism.  The U.S has since time immemorial feared imperial leaders because they take the nation to war yet this was the role of the congress.  The presidents remark in 2007 was that he did not think that the congress would lead a war and as a result he declared war to Iraq.  The congress which was supposed to fund the wars would not object since that president had dictated in his capacity. Although the United States of America constitutional framework as framed by the constitutional reviewers who were against the formation of kingdom or imperial leaderships in their nation, found there goals hit a wall.  President Bush was assuming more powers than it had been in the constitution. According to Edmund Randolph, the constitution was designed to guarded against the imperialism and that this was so due to the reduced powers of the president thus he called it the foetus of a monarchy. Edmund was the first attorney general in the U.S. as well as delegate in the constitutional convention. 

The perception of the presidential involvement and authority in war is skeptical.  It was speculated that the president wanted fame from the war if it succeeded.  James Madison who was famously known as the father of the constitution warned that the executive powers of the president would be expanded leading to his patronage in his position in war.  Criticism in the Bush presidency immensely negated the constitutional definitions of the presidential powers as they appeared in the constitution.  President Bush stated that he was the commander in chief of the armed forces yet this was not so in the constitution of the U.S.  It was then felt that the president amassed himself some powerful titles and would be the overall in leadership dictating all that he wanted the nation to do thus assuming the leadership of a king or and emperor which is not what the constitution had defined.  The position of the president in the constitution of the United States was that he would only be the top ranked official in matters of war but this did not mean that he was the commander in chief of the armed forces to dictate whatever the nation was to do in terms of war.
 
However, President Bush startled the functioning of the congress to extend that they sought to write him empty checks for the war funding.  This was aimed at paralyzing his position in that war that he had declared.  The constitution allowed the allocation of army funding for a maximum of two years rather than the long duration that Bush intended to take in the war. The congress during the President George W. Bush leadership insisted that there was need for the president to respect the constitution and play his assigned role of a president and not to behave as though he had been a king which he was not.  This called for the mobilization of the State to support the role of the congress and negate the idea that they had developed that the congress was overstepping their roles in the management of presidential powers. 

The former president George Bush of the U.S had always insisted that he remained the sole decision maker for the constitution of the U.S and that he would not be held responsible for the judicial or congressional power checks.  To him, no one had the authority to deter him as the president from any action he considered right in his sound mind. Most are the times he reminded the congress that he had the power to declare imprisonment or detention of any of the Americans as rebel suspects as long as he thought it was necessary.  He said that he had the authority to tap any of the American Phone conversations without any warrant which he would achieve through the Secrets privileges of the State. It is believed that in his last term of rule, the president had a dictatorial authority like the Roman emperors.  He did not only dictate war matters but also business and economic affairs, in which he ordered some companies on revenue collection with high tax allocations depending on what he thought was justifiable.  It was even feared that he would deny the next president the chance to succeed him. However, the change over ceremony was peaceful and remarkable as he gave way to the next president, Barack Obama in 2009.

On the other hand, the current president Barack Obama, being the first African  American to take leadership has his own leadership personalities well founded within his strengths to mobilize masses in many ways.  However, it is beginning to sound like the Obama leadership is a continuation of president Bush legacy after records on Obamas statements that the secrecy privileges of the State in the constitution did not merely prevent the federal government from airing matter of the State leadership that were thought to be sensitive but more to it that the federal government could as well restrain the whole lawsuit and fire the litigants as it wills. 

These sentiments have down washed the majority of the Americans expectations on what he had promise the U.S during his campaign in 2008.  He promised the people a change in the kind of leadership and reforms that are now not visible thus they are almost loosing trust in his formerly displayed audacity of hope character.  It is undisputable that Obama at first in his presidential power gave a signal of change. Obama issued distinctive orders that pleasantly scaled down the executive powers of the secrecy of state matters as well as the bar of torture to American citizens by the administration.  Although the Obama administration admits that the president is not above the law and that he stands to be checked by the judicial and congressional roles, it is rather heart breaking that the president should utter such commends as they contradict the expectations of the citizens.

However, president Obama promises to give a more encouraging package of what the presidential roles are in serving the people and not participating in war.  His team employs war like terms in their description of economic affairs describing it as crisis.  Obama is almost impatient with the slow motion in the passing of important bills that will result in to the reforms and change that he had promised.  He was recorded while pushing for the passing of his stimulus bill, 2009 where he made the following statement, the time for talk is over.  He insisted that it was an emergency to have the pace of acting in the office increased since so much time was spend in talks that were not fruitful. 

It seems that the president has long been underestimated and therefore he needs to stand his ground and deliver the change he had promised unless he wants to be classified as a non performer.  That is possibly the reason as to why he finds himself contradicting the views of the citizens or the congress.  He feels that although he did not have the excess power to make changes in the security unit of the Nation without consultation, he can do any changes in the financial sector authorities. Obama seems to have inherited the undoubtedly Americas extremely powerful presidency historically.  The conservative have always pressurized for the amendments of the presidential powers to give more authority of the president but now they are on the watch unless they influence Obama.

The future of the presidency in America is rather controversial with the current president expressing his desire to work with the economies and little interest in the war matters that jeopardizes the state of security in the States. However, this is not a major problem since there is the congress which does the funding of wars and the Judicial service that checks on the matters of security in the States.  More emphasis is required in the scientific development due to the raising global warming and environmental degradation that has already taken route.

The former president Bush embarked more on the war to combating the terrorists and managed little in science and less even in the economic development of the U.S.  The formerly appointed scientific representative to the president Bush, Marburger failed in his advisory role to the president in matters of science although many argue that he had no power to advice the dictatorial president who only thought of combatants especially in his second phase of presidency where he only embarked on the exploitation of nuclear power to enlarge his power supply systems for his nation. President Obama is also expected to think of investing in the war against cancer, missile defense, as well as have a sound mind in the improvement of environmental conservation.  He should also be allowed to take unrestrained roles towards the war to global economic development and make key decisions towards global warming and climatic change as a whole.

Obamas is faced with the role of ensuring that he sets a proper national security budget amidst the severe global financial crisis yet he needs to fund the war in Afghanistan  and Iraq.  He must be able to counter the healthcare needs for his military body and the increasing costs of livelihood within the United States.  He is expected to manage appropriate strategic risk management programs within their regular investment and lay appropriate warfare trends.  The president will need to come out strongly in the super power developmental management plans not forgetting that he is also to work hard in the counter terrorism to avoid putting the nation at risk of being attacked any how.  More of his authority is needed in the control of generation of mass destruction weapons and the management of traditional warfare with the restructuring of non-military war management associations within the region to build world peace.

However, with his recent remarks in the senate that the time for talk is over, it seems that the president has now decided to be a role model and a team leader to his reluctant group of congress members that he will assume inherent presidential powers to force his way forward towards achieving the goals that he has set before his people.  This shows that unless America has an authoritative president there will be a lot of time wasted in the policy implementation and this may lead to a non performing president as well as increased insecurity to the States and the subsequent loss of the superpower nature of the U.S.
In conclusion, the office of the president has grown to be very powerful of late, with the strong foundation laid down by the former president George W. Bush whose legacy has a role to play in Obamas rule.  It is true that the president has to inherently take strong roles in decision making in matters of war and economic crisis management.  Yes, the office of the president is and has got to be an imperial one due to the nature and character of people the president is working with.  Majority of them are racists, and reluctant to support the bills and policies needed for reforms to take place as the president had promised before he his office assumption.

Institutional Affiliation Goes Here
Global society is the integration of people belonging to different ethnicities, religions, political systems, economic systems and social systems into one society. The aim is to facilitate cross-cultural interaction and also have the access to global markets and resources in order to remain competitive.

Today, the buzz word is diversification which opens the door for corporations to globalize and the world has become borderless. This has happened due to the advancement of technology which has made communication and travel cheaper and faster. So, flow of human capital from one state to another is not a hindrance to the personal goals or the organizational goals anymore.

World population is rising very sharply and has reached 6.8 billion according to the statistics of August 2009 there is no way that it will come to a halt or decline in the near future. This creates the need for an effective system which can distribute the limited world resources on equity according to the relative value addition to the society. Around 3.5 billion of worlds population lives under 2 per day so it is the need of time to have a global society where the issues are taken global level and solved after collective effort. Income inequality, lack of educational facilities and debauched health facilities in third world countries are a big concern for the world.

BOP is a very large portion of worlds population interested in the fast moving consumer goods, telecommunications and other services. There is wide opportunity for MNCs and TNCs to target these segments by making global marketing strategies especially for China and India. Furthermore, going globally has increased the sales profits of the companies worldwide but there is a necessity to have effective management system and avoid the involvement in any wrong doings. There have been examples where TNCs have exploited the labor and caused environmental degradation. This raises the alarm in people who want Globalization to actually make world a better place for living and give everyone a better environment to live. It is the innate right of every person to have a good society where he can progress and feel secured. The weak states have to be given military and economic assistance to feel immune to the threats by coercing countries.

Globalization has played a significant role in improving life standards and making lives easier for people. Today, technology has enabled everyone to process documents in the world due to word processing programs, but this would not have been possible without the global distribution. On the contrary, computer viruses are a nuisance to the productivity and the efficiency of the companies and households. So, its not the technology itself that is harming the world population but the way people use it to influence the society.

Global research and development efforts have made lives easier and better in many scenarios. Billions of dollars are spent on RD to develop new products and services from innovative ideas. Creativity and innovation are the main forces behind the successful global organizations. The borderless world has opened the access to the potential markets and the competition has increased causing the quality to improve and the prices to be competitive. Human resource is the biggest assets of any organization and today the global talent is screened to hire the people with best skills and abilities. The MNCs have a common practice of hiring the local staff for operations in foreign countries which strengthens the notion that globalization has increased the employment opportunities worldwide. This also gives the local people a chance to have experience of working for global popular brands and visit other countries where they get to interact with people of different cultural backgrounds. Understanding of various cultures is very important now days, it includes differences in social norms, values and the languages. For example one brand failure was Toyotas Fiera in Puerto Rica where fiera means ugly olden woman.
Globalization has also changed the way businesses were carried out some decades earlier, today companies have their production facilities spread across the world in order to utilize the tax laws and tariffs in their favor. The supply chain is a system of inter related technologies, people, raw materials and activities involved in transferring a product or the service from the supplier to the consumer. Global organization are using global resources, supplier, technologies (acquired or transferred) and people to operate. This has inter-linked many countries in the supply chain, for example DELL may have production facilities in China, suppliers worldwide and technology developed in USA. The income becomes the bread and butter for many geographically dispersed people. However, during recession the production volume goes down and all the players of supply chain are affected due to their dependence on each other. People have different opinions on this inter-dependence some economists say that this is good for the recovery of the industry as the costs remain lower as compared to producing goods locally in one place and ignoring the opportunity costs. Global Supply chain is also in line with the utilitarianism principle which states that an action is justified if the outcome favorably influences a wide population. So, sharing of the technologies and the information is helping in equitable distribution of the income and resources.

Nowadays, terrorism is the greatest threat to globalization of businesses. Terrorism threatens the productivity and efficiency of organizations that are going global and raises uncertainty of global ventures. The differences between the west and the Islamic countries have widened due to ideological differences and some miscommunication as none of the parties are willing to negotiate. There are elements in the Islamic states that are against globalization and want to eliminate the non-muslims from their Muslim states. Suicide bombings have become a common tool used to sabotage globalization efforts.

The volatility of the worlds economic and political situation also threatens the world population. The impact of any anomaly reaches every corner of the world. A good example is sub-prime loan crisis in USA that impacted the global banking sector and various financial institutions worldwide slowing down the economic activity.

Global society should focus on sustainable growth which aims to achieve goals for today keeping in mind the need of future generations. Global organization should try to provide product and services keeping in mind the long term strategies of environmental and ecology protection. The distribution of limited resources of the world should be based on the utilitarianism. Efforts should be made to discover new resources and develop alternative sources of energy which can meet the needs of the next generations. Worlds population is in need of basic utilities like water, food and shelter so global bodies like UN and other human right organizations should work to ease their pain. Similarly, the developed countries should continue to provide Aid packages to the developing countries. It will require strong collective effort from the governments, MNCs and the global bodies like UN to overcome the rising issues of world population.

Adam Smith came up with the notion that the market should be allowed to work freely without interference from the governments as the competitive forces, self-interest and the supply and demand will ensure the effective allocation of the resources by the market. He was against the protection of the local businesses as it decreases the competition. Since then it has become a common practice to promote competition. In fact the concept of globalization is based on the principal of competitive advantage which states that a country or a firm should produce those goods or services that have lower opportunity cost than others. This also results in effective allocation of worlds limited resources.
The diversity and separation of the worlds populations based on differences in religion, culture, language, national, ethnic and tribal loyalties, class, gender and race impedes unified world government. However, some success has been achieved by formation of bodies like European Union (EU) which has bonded 27 member countries for regional economic development they have developed a common currency and have free flow of people, capital, goods and services.

Today, the market structures are on a continuum between completely regulated markets and un-regulated markets. The markets have matured and realized the significance of the liberty from government rules and regulations to remain competitive and profitable. The interferences by governments are often regarded as inefficiencies in the system and threatens the globalization which has an agenda to create a free-trade world where the tariffs, subsidies and taxes not a hindrance to the global trade. However, the WTO has failed to live up to its objectives since the less developed countries (LDCs) saw it as favorable to the developed countries that have exploited the labor laws, environmental laws and trade laws in the past themselves. The level of mistrust is the main reason for the failure to establish a completely free trade world without government regulations.

I believe it is the need of the time to have partially regulated market since this will circumvent the exploitation of the labor, irreparable damage to ecology and environment by companies in race for global recognition. The government should set price ceilings for the prices of the necessary items used by people and have price flooring for the labor to avoid possible exploitation. The exploitation of the labor and influence over the political leaders in third developing countries by MNCs to amass wealth has caused the governments to become active in monitoring the market agents. The governments should not interfere with the demand and supply forces of the market but should make laws to facilitate the globalization of the markets in order to allow free flow of goods, services and people keeping the workable standards of living. The Jehadis and the MacWorld systems should not be allowed to violate the human rights. Jehadis is against modernization, science and colonialism whereas Macworld takes advantage of people and supports authoritarian ruler in countries, main beneficiary of this system are TNCs. Both of these systems are against the democracy which is the most successful, widely adopted form of government.

The role of the global organizations is to become a facilitator in the global market system by becoming competitive in price and quality. The revenues will increase due to wider customer base despite the fewer prices. They should not forget their moral and ethical obligations to the global societies e.g. analyze the cultural, political and religious differences before carrying out business in any country. The unequal distribution of income, education and the health facilities to people results in civil chaos that can lead to the resistance of global business efforts so it is important to fulfill corporate social responsibility. Similarly, developing global strategies to penetrate the markets and having a clear vision is very important for success globally.

The perfect competition market structure is the ideal structure for any state as there are rare entry barriers and none of the players is able to influence demand or supply. It can contain monopolistic, oligopolistic and monopolist players but generally the market is competitive and the consumer needs are the focus of attention. This reduces the pressures on the governments to interfere with the market forces but still some legal regulations are imposed to protect the people. All the mature and potential growing markets have become competitive and support the free trade via free trade agreements (FTA) with specific countries to raise volume of exports and lower the import bills, this ultimately helps in attaining a competitive advantage over other regions in terms of trade. For example, United States has NAFTA with Canada and Mexico to boost trade, environmental and agricultural cooperation. The objective of FTA is to eliminate tariffs and other taxes which create inefficiencies in the market system. Some countries also give the Most Favored Nation (MFN) status to other countries in order to increase the trade volume and have the same benefits in return however exceptions can be there in case of developing countries that are given support. 

United States along with its allies started liberal economic system after the WWII and also established financial institutions like IMF and WB to control global market systems. Since then the economic activity has increased manifolds, the new markets like Asian tigers (Taiwan, South Korea, Malaysia, and Singapore) and recently BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India and China) have emerged that have great potential for growth. 

However, some people oppose global market systems as they believe that armed conflicts exist around the globe and they can turn into a large scale conflict due to volatility of the international relationships. Ultimately, in such scenario countries will cease all the trade and other relationships which will fail the endeavors to make a global market system. This argumentative social and economic consequence of the global market integration prompts the search for an alternative to global market system. Halliday is also against the global market system as he thinks firstly, the global production and growth cycles are short-lived. Secondly, there has been increase in unemployment and under-employment in times of high growth but increased desire to accumulate wealth. Thirdly, the financial and currency markets have become instable. Fourthly, technology has replaced human capital which has increased unemployment.
Despite the opposition to global market systems, I think global market systems are important to spur competition amongst the countries and firms. MNCs are using global supply and distribution channels to improve their performances and the global business activity is also creating employment in related industries like Banking and Insurance. BRICs are big markets for us and our focus should be to develop products and services according to their needs however balance of trade must favor us in order to have advantage of global market system.

Religion had made an evident impact in almost every aspect of life. International affairs are greatly ensued by religion and thus there are many differences that collide when it comes to religious politics in international politics. Religious politics at times becomes complicated for most of the systems of regime throughout the world due to the diversity of ethnicity and religions. United States and its European counterparts can be considered as regions where people from all ethnicities come and live together resulting in conglomerate of religious politics and political behavior. It is believed that the Americans are generally more religious than European. In this paper we shall compare and contrast why America is more religious than its European counterparts. Moreover, we shall discuss whether United States would resemble its European counterparts or not.

According to many researches through the historical timeline it could be suggested that United States is religiously plural. In comparison with American religious politics, European counterparts are more religiously homogenous. This assertion had been explained by many historians with a claim that Americans appreciate their religion due to the fact that they had lived their history in separation with the church and state of regime in the country. On the other hand, the European countries had an opposite religious history of deep attachment with religion (Jelen  Wilcox, 2002).

Religion is more visible in all aspects of America as compared to the presence of religion in most of the social fields of Europe. This claim could easily be explained with the help of account of the cultural values and differences in the political systems of both regions. It is also believed that American nation is in its post-materialism phase where they are more inclined towards religious grounds, and thus, they support churches (Juergensmeyer, 2003).

Another aspect that creates a distinction between the religious politics of America and the European counterparts is that the religious market in America provides a niche for the religious consumers where as in European countries, people have less religious denomination resulting in less religiously political status-quo (Jelen  Wilcox, 2002).

America is most presumed state that generates a great deal of attention, money and time towards the religious aspects of politics while European counterparts tend to be less conservative regarding religious politics when its comes to debate (Jelen  Wilcox, 2002).

According to Mark Juergensmeyer, one similarity that has been found in the religious practices of United States and its European counterparts is that there was a rise of ethical congregations in both the regions with a rising culture of the African clergy in almost all sorts of churches including Episcopal, Anglican and Methodist (Juergensmeyer, 2003).

Latin America provides a domain for the future implication of religious politics in America that is likely turn into the religious political status of Europe due to the future orientation of secularism in more probable political regimes (Juergensmeyer, 2003).

Therefore, it could be said that United States is more religious than its European counterparts due to the fact that Americans were less attached to the church and state. American nation is conservative in terms of the religious politics. The future of Unites States is more likely to resemble Europe because the static equilibrium in the political affairs tends to either lead to upward or downward graph and continuous similarity in the religious politics of United Stats has potential to make evident changes.

The media plays an important role in the society by informing people on the activities, events and the operation of the government or the up coming events. Media can be in form of a newspaper, magazines, posters, radios and television. The kind of information obtained via the media must be based on truthvalidity but not assumptions that may lead to contradiction or violation of peoples rights. Media can also be a form of entertainment to some people and can help in enlightening of people in the society (Jodziewicz, 2009).

Changes in the Media
With the changes and reforms on the media, media has changed gradually on its roles and functions in the society. According to Jodziewicz (2009), he argued that in the past, the media acted as the watch dog on the public affairs. However, today, the media freedom has been violated and dictated by those in power so that they may not be exposed on their ill doing hence the media no longer enjoys the fundamental freedom in broadcasting or when writing articles for the fear of being arrested or assassinated for revealing certain information to the public especially information to do with corruption, elections, murder or any form of violation of rights by the people in power.

The media therefore should not be controlled by the government to ensure transparency and good governance in general. With the current situation in America, the media has contributed a lot in ensuring democracy and good governance as a result of informing the public on the intentions of the government and taking the views of the public and sampling the opinion of the people (Jodziewicz, 2009).

Conclusion
The media can therefore make or break the image of an individual, leader or even the government and the media practitioners must obey the media ethics and codes to ensure that the media regulations are observed.

The title interest group has been used to replace the title of the past known as pressure group. Existing political parties whose major function is to organize and convey the observations of various parts of the society are the politicians and the government. Hence they are considered as the major players in American politics as they act as a link between the government and the people.

The groups opinion should be taken as more important as it represents the will of the people. Interest groups are groups formed by the people who have needs to express. This shows that their opinions are mostly the opinions of the general public. For example the announcement of a re-armament programme by President Reagan and the creation of neutral bombs led to protests from the interest groups which only subsided during the time when Clinton became the president (Bibby  Schaffne, 2007).

Some of the interest groups also are the environmentalists and the loggers who have shared different opinions of the people they represent. The loggers wanted the State to be opened to them so that they could carry out the logging while the environmentalists wanted to protect the rare species, this is some evidence that they are fighting for the interest of the public that they represent.

Madisonian dilemma has played a great role as it has led to formation of both political parties and interest groups which ensures that power is not given to a single party to be in control of the government as a whole. There is also Madisonian thought of federalism where power is shared between regional and national government which does not allow one section to have total power.

Judiciary is the branch of government which is the hardest to get into agreement with as it is concerned with law implementation process which is critical to the lives of people in the country hence all people are keen on the progress made by this branch.