ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the key institutions in the United States that enact and interact with public policy. It deals with the three constitutionally established branches, the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government. The chapter considers the relationship between those federal branches and the state governance structures that mirror them. It takes a comparative look at governance structures around the world. All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives. The judicial Power of the United States shall be vested in one Supreme Court and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The institutions that wield political power in any democratic country are mechanisms by which the people can express their needs and wants and to shape the environment in which they want to live.
