Introduction
The distinction between how the West and the East control their local affairs, and how they organize their institutions is enormous. In a normal context, though, even two states in similar vicinity exhibit major differences in individual economic policies, religious inclination, and political systems. Notwithstanding that, it is important to appreciate the similarities and dissimilarities that manifest due to the location in certain regions. The case of Saudi Arabia and France is a good one to understand how regional influences affect, the systems of government, political institutions, faith and economic policies of a state. For instance, the Saudi Arabia is arguably the holiest in the world. Most of its citizens are Muslims. On the other hand, France is a Christian state and so is the bigger fraction of its population. The differences between them are not limited to religion as the political systems also vary immensely. Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy state while France is a presidential state. A thorough assessment of all the sectors of the two would be important to appreciate the diversity and possibly get a clear view of the informing influences.
Government Systems
France
France is a presidential state and it has been the oldest presidential state in Europe. In the first four republics, the president was a ceremonial figure. This position changed from the fifth republic after amending the constitution to increase the power of the office of the president. The French government exercises the executive authority in the Republic. The France government is organized into four big arms, the executive, the judiciary, constitutional council and the legislature (Suleiman 21). With the powers given by the constitution of the fifth republic, the president heads both the state and the government. Initially, the prime minister headed the state. The president is elected for a term of five years and can be renewed for only two times. In collaboration with the council of ministers, the president determines policy on the practices of the military. The president has to the prime minister who in turn forms the government. The president has to approve all the prime minister’s appointments. The legislator is composed of two houses, the national assembly, and the Senate. The electorate exercises its universal suffrage in electing the ministers. A parliament member can be appointed in the first round through an absolute majority or during a round two, runoff. The French judiciary is an independent body. Bills have to pass through the legislature before becoming law (Suleiman 15). However, the government could use article 49.3 to bypass the need to for a parliamentary vote. The constitutional council determines the validity of law before becoming law. It can strike down bills on the grounds of invalidity.
Saudi Arabian Governance
Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy state. It is a hereditary monarchy government run by royal families. Al-Saudi family has dominated the political apparatus in Saudi for the longest period. Unlike the French government, its leadership is based on kinship lines and not a competitive election. The powers and responsibilities of the government are consolidated into one document, the Basic Law of Governance prepared under the royal decree in 1992. Saudi Arabia government is organized into three important arms, the executive branch, judiciary and the legislature. The king is the chief commander of the armed forces, the chief of state, prime minister and the head of the of government (Vassiliev 16). In practice, he is miles ahead powerful than the French president who shares some of his powers to the prime minister and other departments. The monarchy is hereditary and dispenses with the role of elections. The king appoints a council of ministers of own choice after every four years.
The position is not any different with the legislature. The king appoints these also for four renewable terms. The legislature is made by a consultative council whose duty is to advise the king on matters of governance and the law. Saudi judicial system constitutes mainly of Sharia-governed courts and a system of committees that hear disputes such as on labor issues. Justice is delivered by a system of religious courts presided by King appointed judges. The supreme council of justice represents the arm of the government. Although independent of the courts is protected in law in practice, the king exercises much control through his appointments and by being the highest legal authority.
Government Systems and Terrorism
Terrorism has been a real threat in France, especially due to its proximity to the Middle East, the birthplace of Jihadist’s allied terrorists (Foley 31). Arguably, terrorism is both a legal and religious questions. As such, having a clear separation of functions among arms of the government is imperative to avoid divided attention and compromising interest. The France governance systems maintain a substantial amount of independence among its branch. This separation has for the longest period helped the republic to respond in different approaches when the need arises. An important advantage of separation of powers is the ability to engage different aspects of a single problem. These sectors may include, among others, implementers, law and policy makers that work for a particular course. A system of government, such as France’ helps to avoid overburdening certain individuals by allotting management to various people. The delegation imports expediency in the system.
The France government has made quick decisions in the past when faced with a serious threat of terrorism. Due to the way it organizes its activities, it has been easy to design other institutions to fight terrorism. Such includes the setting up of special anti-terrorism prosecution unit to fasten the battle on the same. On the other hand, the interferences by the king are too much to mount a meaningful anti-terrorist campaign against the same. The King seems to be taking part everywhere, right from, law making, the formation of all relevant bodies and determination of cases. This interference compromises and reduces the court's capacity to fight terrorism. The government takes sides and identifies with a specific religion. In this case, the counterterrorism institutional framework has to live with this reality. This is notwithstanding the fact that many terrorist activities occur along faith lines.
Economic Systems
France
France has the sixth largest economy globally. In Europe, its economy ranks third after that of the United Kingdom and Germany. Its chemical industry is the major contributor to the state’s economy. France has a mixed form of economy, that is, capitalism and communism (Riley 11). Its hybrid system has been crucial in preventing its citizens from the harsh repercussions of a single system. Like any other developed state, it has a large private sector dominated mostly by multinational corporations, including among others, Renault and France Telecom. Its economy, features, among others, energy, defense, industries and transport. The government maintains much influence in the administration of these sectors. Through social programs similar to those of the US, the state helps in the distribution of wealth to its citizens. Agriculture is an important facet of its economy too. Currently, it is the biggest source of agricultural power in the European Union. It has many trade partners for its imports and exports chiefly, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Spain, the UK and the US.
Saudi Arabia Economic Systems
Saudi Arabia is an oil-driven economy. It is a pro-capitalist state. Saudi government controls most of the economic activities. Its oil reserves constitute 18 percent of the world’s oil reserves. Most of the governments’ activities are serviced from the oil business. Petroleum exports make up about 90 percent of all the state’ exports. Its imports include, among other things, machinery, chemicals, foodstuff, motor vehicles and foodstuffs (Gause 27). It has many trade partners, but its main ones include, China, the US, Japan, South Korea and India.
Trade Systems and Terrorist Activities
The terrorist threat has been a concern for most of the France populace. Its economic system had been a major contributor to the challenge by leaving out avenues for the terrorist groups to receive anonymous funding from global terror groups such the Syria’s ISIS and Iraq’s al-Qaida. Appreciating the threat in its system posed has led to the revision of its local and national policy to limit money transfers and a possibility of terrorist funding. As part of this effort, it has reserved some funds for the fight of the same. Besides, its mixed system prevents people from amassing huge wealth that could go into such activities. For the reason, the French economic system could not be said to promote terrorist activities. On the other hand, the Saudi’s economic system promotes international terrorist activities. Two factors contribute to this. First, it is a theocratic monarchy. It uses a huge fraction of its money to spread Islamic extremism by funding international programs aimed at the same. Being a theocratic state, it readily supplies funds for such purposes. Besides, it is a purely capitalist state, and the supporters easily amass huge wealth to run such errands.
Religion System and Terrorism
France
France is a multidenominational state. It started as a staunch Catholic state, and its citizens would brag as such (Tackett 7). That practice is however long gone, and few address themselves so. Protestantism has a long history in France, although it has taken root a few decades back. The government pays little regard to religion affiliation of its citizens and gives no special acknowledgment to any denomination. To date, France is the state with the lowest church attendance rate in Europe. However, with the rocketing rate of terrorist activities, it is beginning to take a tough stand on the presence of Muslims. The state treats all the religion in a fair manner and does not contribute in any manner in fomenting hatred among its believers. The system in France does not nurture extremist belief, thus cannot be said to contribute to terrorism in any way from this perspective.
Saudi Arabia
On the other hand, Saudi is a theocratic state and holiest in terms of the Islamic faith (van Geel 12). The bigger fraction of its citizens are Muslims. The governance of the state has much to relate to the Islamic religion. For instance, Sharia, a religion informed law, governs the judiciary. The King is a religious icon and is respected both as a political and region leader. The state observes a zero tolerance attitude for any religion misdemeanor. The recent scenario is when the state executed clerics for leading a demonstration. The distinction between religion and political affairs is almost invisible as the king is a key figure in both. The religious system in Saudi directly promotes terrorism. The state directly funds the spread of extremist ideas in other states. Secondly, the state gives Islamism double standards, and this has been a major reason for the domination and demeaning attitude of Muslims to other believers.
Concluding Summary
As already discussed, France is a presidential state, a government that is formed through competitive elections. The president is a weaker figure and controls only a small section of the government. The judiciary especially is a no go zone. On the other hand, Saudi Arabia is a hereditary state, and the idea of elections is alien. The king fills virtually posts through appointments. He is a powerful king and controls almost all the areas of governance including the judiciary and the legislature. However, Saudi is beginning to recognize the need for elections and democracy in representations, but it is still to legislate on the same to confer suffrage rights. Likewise, France is also acknowledging the need for a powerful president. The fifth republic constitution grants the president some more powers as a way of recognizing the nobility of that office. This is a move from a rather ceremonial presidential seat. The economic system of France blends the elements of capitalism and communism, while the Arabian is a very capitalistic one. Saudi Arabia is a birthplace of Islamism. It is deemed the holiest state. It is a theocratic state, and its governance is based on religious law, Sharia. France on the other hand, maintains many denominations. The state is not allied to any religion as the case of Saudi. A global conflict on Saudi Arabia is its support for terrorist activities by financing the spread of extremist ideas and direct funding of terrorist groups including ISIS and Taliban (Rabasa 11). Recently, Saudi has been criticized globally for its non-tolerance attitude against other denomination especially for executing clerics. France, on the other hand, has been a victim of major terrorist activities. As a response, it has engaged stringent measures to restrict transfer huge amount of money.
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