Chris Harlow

POL 102
Sean Bentzen
October 27, 2013
Compare and Contrast of the United States, Russia and Japan
Throughout the world, countries strive to become one of the superpowers and gain
prominence among others. Some of the most pronoun superpowers or countries on the rise are
the United States, Russia and Japan. All of these countries contain significant factors, such as,
economic, political, military, and technological advantages that put them in a separate league,
apart from other minor countries. The purpose of this paper is to use the lens of comparative
politics and look inside the United States, Russia and Japan, in which, similarities and
differences between the political regimes and political economies will be examined.
First of all, some of the background information about the United States will be provided,
in order to understand the basics about this country. The United States became a country in
1776, when it broke away from Britain. Since becoming a nation, the U.S. has faced many
struggles, such as, the Civil War and the Great Depression. Since WWI and WWII, the U.S. has
consistently reigned as the worlds most powerful nation. The U.S. is geographically the 3rd
largest country in the world and has a population of 316,668,567 ranking 4
th
in the world. The
United States has a GDP per capita of $49,800, thus, giving its economy the title of the most
powerful in the world. (Factbook,2013)
The United States political regime begins with the 1776 Declaration of Independence and
the establishment of the Constitution in 1789. These two documents help establish the United
States as an independent entity with a federal government. The Constitution is based on the
principle separation of powers, in which, the state in divided into institutions that run the
nation. The Constitution established the institutions, in which, power is spread throughout the
branches of government called the executive, legislative and judicial branches. (Darlington,2013)
The U.S. executive branch is lead by the President, or head of state and government. The
President oversees the federal government and any internal policies that may arise. In the United
States, the President my serve two terms consisting of four years each. In order to acquire
Presidency, a candidate must be selected by the Electoral College, therefore, attaining 270 votes
from the electoral. If a President becomes involved in any inappropriate behavior he can be
impeached, in which, the House must vote to impeach him and the Senate must have at least a
two thirds vote. (Darlington, 2013)
The U.S. legislative branch is bicameral, consisting of the House of Representatives and
the Senate. The House is made of 435 members, which are representatives that are apportioned
to the fifty states by population. After each census, the overall population is divided among the
435 seats and this will provide the population for each congressional district. The members of
the House only serve two year terms. The Senate, on the other hand, is only comprised of 100
members, thus, each state has only two Senators. Senators serve six year terms and the Senate is
a continuous body because only one-third of the representatives are up for election every two
years. The sole purpose of the legislative branch is to pass, repel and amend laws.
(Darlington,2013)
The last branch that will be examined is the federal judiciary branch, which consists of
the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals and other District Courts. The Supreme Court is the most
prominent court in the United States, deemed with ruling on federal, state and constitutional
matters. The Supreme Court is made up of nine Justices that are appointed by the President of
the United States. The power of the Supreme Court has been contested several times, due to the
overwhelmingly profound magnitude of power these unelected individuals hold. The U.S. is one
of only three nations that actually have State and local elections for Judges. (Darlington,2013)
The United States has the largest and most technological political economies in the
world. Although the U.S. has one of the smaller populations compared to other countries, our
GDP ranks among the best and consists as 26 percent of the worlds economic output. The U.S.
has a free market economy, in which, the entire market structure is not controlled by a specific
entity or authority. Also, the U.S. has a private enterprise economy; therefore, private businesses
seek profit being run by private individuals and not government agencies. A proficient
infrastructure also provides the U.S. with a way to transport its good throughout the country.
(Encyclopedia, U.S)
Although, the U.S. has a distinguished economy, they also face a multitude of problems.
A large consumer demand and an economy that cannot produce enough goods, provides a
dilemma for the U.S. internally. Due to this dilemma, the U.S. must rely on exports, therefore,
having a trade deficit. The U.S. trade deficit is mainly due to the overwhelmingly large amount
of manufactured goods that other countries are willing to export to the U.S. Another problem
facing the U.S. is the large separation of income levels among its inhabitants. Around 13 percent
of people in the U.S. live at or below the poverty level, due to being trapped in unskillful jobs.
Most of the economic gain felt throughout the country is received by the upper tier households,
while the middle and lowers classes gain is at a minimum. (Encyclopedia, U.S.)
Next, background information will be given about Russia; therefore, the basics about this
country can be identified. The Russian Empire was proclaimed under the rule of Peter I. After
the Revolution of 1905, Russia finally established a parliament. After WWI, the Russian
Empire began to face much turmoil, in which, communist took control of this country and
renamed it the USSR, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. During this atrocious rule of
communism millions of innocent people died in vain. Throughout this communist reign, the
economy was stagnate due to central planning, a planned economy that determines the
production of resources. In December of 1991, the USSR split into Russia and 14 independent
republics. In 1993, the Constitution of the Russian Federation was established, therefore,
making Russia a democratic federal state. Russia is also geographically the largest country in the
world with a population of 142,500,482, ranking 10
th
among other countries. It has a GDP per
capita of $18,000 which ranks very poorly at 77
th
in the world. (Factbook, 2013)
Now that the basics of Russia have been provided, an examination of Russians political
regime will be compared and contrasted to that of the United States. Since Russia ratified its
Constitution in 1993, it has begun to embrace democracy through the system of a federal
presidential democracy. Russias political regime is very similar to that of the United States,
although it is full of corruption. The Russian political regime consists of executive, legislative
and judicial branches. Although, this being said, there are only a few minor differences when
compared to that of the U.S. (Darlington,2013)
The Russian executive branch is similar to that of the United States, but consists of a
minor difference, in which, the power is split between the President and Prime Minister. The
President is referred to as the head of state and can seek two terms consisting of six years each,
amended by the parliament in 2008. Unlike the terms in the United States, in which, the
President only serves for four years in each term. After the President serves two terms, he can
then be appointed to the Prime Minister Position and serve terms. The Presidents executes
duties such as foreign policy, military affairs and citizenship. On the other hand, the Prime
Minister, referred to as the head of government oversees foreign matters, federal budget,
financial matters and human right implications. He is also appointed by the President when he
goes into office. (Russiapedia,2011)
The Russian legislative branch, Federal Assembly, is referred to as the Federation
Council of Russian and the State Duma. The legislative branch is bicameral, like that of the
United States. The Federation Council of Russia is much like the Senate of the U.S., in which,
there are two representatives from each federal entity. The Federation Council has 168
representatives coming from 84 different constituencies. The terms of the Council members are
not fixed, but are determined by the regional bodies they are chosen. The State Duma, on the
other hand, is much like the U.S. House of Representatives, providing, 450 members elected
through proportional representation. In 2007, Russian parliament elected to provide party-list, in
which, new representatives could be elected from. (Russiapedi,2011)
The Russian judicial branch is somewhat different than the make up of the United States.
Russias judicial branch is a collaboration of the Constitutional Court, Supreme Court and the
Arbitration Court. In Russia, the Constitutional Court is the most significant court unlike the
United States court system, in which, the Supreme Court is the most prominent. All of the
members of the court are appointed position by the President, but the Federal Council must agree
on them. The Constitutional Court contains 19 judges and mainly deals with constitutional laws
or executive and legislative matters. The Supreme Court deals with civil and criminal cases that
are sent to trial and may be appealed, while the Arbitration Court directly deals with cases of
property and commercial disputes. (Invest, 2011)
Next, an analysis of Russias political economy will be addressed, therefore, providing
similarities and differences to the United States. The Russian economy is somewhat of a total
opposite of the U.S. economy. The U.S. economy is the largest and most technological economy
in the world with a GDP per capita of $49,800, while the Russian economy has a struggling GDP
per capita of $18,000. Russias struggles are mainly due to communist rule and central planning,
an economic system in which the state explicitly allocates resources by planning what should be
produced and in what amounts, the final prices of goods, and where they should be sold.
(Encyclopedia, Russia)
In the 1990s Russia tried shock therapy, a process of rapid marketization to help bolster
the economy. Although, this process did ease a bleeding economy, Russia is still struggling and
evidence can be seen as one-third of the population live below the poverty line. Russia has
transitioned to a free market economy, much like that of the U.S. and seems to be bouncing
back.(Encyclopedia, Russia) Although, this being said, Russia can be referred to as a resource
trap, in which, they are the largest producers of oil and gas in the world. These natural
resources provide an abundance of national wealth, but the idea of national resource wealth
tends to impair democratic development. (Treisman, 2010)
Finally, background information will be given on Japan, in order to understand the basics
about this country. In 1941, Japan issued an attack on the U.S. soil, Pearl Harbor, thus, the U.S.
became involved in the WWII fight. Toward the end of WWII, the U.S. dropped the atomic
bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. After its defeat, Japan has grown into a country with
significant economic power and became greatly influenced by United States. Japan is the 62
nd

largest country in the world, with a population of 127,253,075 that ranks 11
th
among other
countries. It currently has a GDP per capita of $36,900, ranking 38
th
in the world.
(Factbook,2013)
Now that the basics have been provided, an analysis of Japans political regime will be
compared and contrasted to that of the United States and Russia. Japans political system is
current, due to WWII and the occupation by United States. The Japanese constitution was
established during U.S. occupation and greatly influenced. Japan is currently a constitutional
monarchy, a government run by a monarch that is the head of state. This is a type of political
regime that is different of both the United States and Russia. Japans regime has executive,
legislative and judicial branches, in which, an examination will be provided. (Darlington,2013)
Japans executive branch is where the difference between it and the U.S. and Russia
come into play. The executive branch has an emperor, ceremonial figure; therefore, he is the
symbol of the state and unity of the people. Although, this being said, the power of the
emperor is very limited. Most of the executive power is given to the Prime Minister. Japanese
political system is full of corruption and turmoil and the Prime Minister rarely has the ability to
serve his term of four years. Over the past six years, Japan has seen seven different Prime
Ministers. The Prime Minster also has a cabinet to help provide collaboration of specific issues.
(Darlington,2013)
The legislative branch of Japan is similar to both the U.S. and Russia, in which it is
bicameral. The legislative branch is called the Kokkai or Diet and is composed of the Shungi-in
or House of Representatives and the Sangi-in or House of Councillors. The Shungi-in has 480
members that are elected from single and multi member districts from proportional
representation. Members of this House serve four year terms, but usually a full term is never
served due to turmoil. The Sangi-in has 242 members that serve six year terms. This House has
a parallel voting system, in which, half of the members are up for election every three years. This
is unlike that of the U.S., thus, the U.S. is a continuous body and only one-third of members up
for election. The members are also chosen by proportional representation. Both of these Houses
specifically deal with issues concerning the Prime Minister, budget issues and matters dealing
with treaties. (Darlington,2013)
The judicial branch of Japan is very similar to that of the United States. The Supreme
Court in Japan is the highest court, composed of 14 judges. All judges are selected by the
Emperors Cabinet and then the Emperor will appoint the individuals he chooses. Judges tenure
must be confirmed by referendum every ten years, in which, most have the ability to serve most
of their lives. Although, the Supreme Court is the highest court in the land, most judges are not
publically known. This is basically due to the lack of effort from Supreme Court official
involvement in controversial issues. (Darlington,2013)
An analysis of Japans political economy will be addressed, in order to compare and
contrast it among the U.S. and Russia. After WWII, Japans economy was in a free fall due to
the devastation of infrastructure by U.S. bombing. Since the U.S. has occupied Japan after the
war, Japans economy has become the second most powerful in the world. Japan has a free-
enterprise economy, therefore, it is an economy with few restrictions placed on business
activities and ownership. This is an economy totally different that the free market economies of
the U.S. and Russia, in which, the government has more control of the economy in Japan.
(Encyclopedia, Japan)
Japans economy is also very different due to a trade surplus, unlike the trade deficit of
the United States. Japan has four factors, therefore, responsible for the overwhelming trade
surplus. First, Japan has a ton of manufacturing facilities that can produce top of the line goods.
Second, Japans free enterprise economy places multiple restrictions on any goods exported to
their country. Third, Japan has a decrease in imported consumer products, due to people being
worried about losing their jobs. Fourth, Japans economy is spending less money, thus, the
demand for domestic goods is minimal. (Encyclopedia, Japan)
In conclusion, the United States, Russia and Japan have a plethora of similarities and
differences. Throughout the examination of political regimes and political economies an
abundance of information has been evaluated. Each country offers a certain perspective that the
other may not, although, they do have a multitude of likeness too. All of the provided countries
are either a superpower or definitely on the verge of becoming one. These countries contain
economic, political, military and technological advantages that allow them to be some of the
most successful in the world. Hopefully, this paper has given an insight of the United States,
Russia and Japan by using the lens of comparative politics, thus, dissecting these countries
regimes and economies.





Works Cited

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