ABSTRACT
In the last chapter, we saw that executive power is always relevant in the study of governments: all functioning states have a significant role for the executive in carrying out the work of government. By contrast, the role of legislatures varies widely. At one extreme are powerless assemblies convened purely to provide a show of support for the work of an authoritarian executive. In between are legislatures whose work is mostly consultative or technical, providing input and suggestions but deferring most actual decision making to the executive, whether a prime minister chosen from their own ranks or a separately elected president. Finally, there are legislatures that are fully autonomous and who exercise considerable power within their sphere of influence. The U.S. Congress, the most powerful national legislature in the world, is the paradigmatic example of the last category of legislatures.
