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DUTCH REPUBLIC

The official name of this country is the kingdom of Netherlands .It has an area of 41,526 sq km and its capital city is known as Amsterdam. Other major cities are The Hague where the government seats, Rotterdam and also Utrecht. The country also has a coastal lowland terrain with a northern maritime climate. The country has a population of about 16.5 million people with the Dutch being the predominant ethnic group whereas the largest minority communities are the Turks, Surinamese and the Moroccans. There are various religions that are found in these country and they include the Protestants, the Muslims and the Roman Catholics amongst others. [1]

The country’s official language is Dutch and there are ten years that are compulsory for attendance in the country’s education system. The country has a type of government that has a parliamentary democracy under the constitutional monarch. There are also three branches in the government system which includes the executive, the judiciary and the legislature. The executive branch includes he monarch which is the chief of state, the prime minister who is the head of the government and the cabinet. The legislative includes the bicameral parliament which are the first and the second chambers and the judiciary includes the Supreme Court.

The country is subdivided into twelve provinces and there are four main political parties and other minor ones. The country is primarily of Germanic stock with some mixture from the Gallo Celtic .The Dutch region which is now Netherlands was founded by Julius ceaser. The country has five islands which include Bonaire, Saba, Curacao, part of St Maartem and St Eustatius and it greatly enjoys a large degree of autonomy in these islands. The present constitution dates from 1848 but it has been severally amended with the most recent amendment in 1983.Even though the church and the state are separate there are still a few historical ties remaining since the royal family belongs to the Dutch reformed church which is a protestant church.

The freedom of speech is highly protected in this country. The country’s government is mainly based on the ministerial responsibility and the parliamentary government principles. The national government is comprised o three main institutions which are the council of ministers, the states general and the monarch.

There are also the local governments. The monarch is the titular head of state and the function of the queen is highly ceremonial. The queen has the power to appoint the formatter that forms the council of ministers after the main elections. There is a council of ministers that plan and implement the country policies and together with the monarch they are referred to as the crown. The ministers also individually and collectively are responsible for the parliament which is the state’s general. However the Dutch ministers cannot be members of parliament simultaneously.

The Dutch parliament consists of two houses which are the first and the second houses and the second chamber is the more important of the two houses. The general elections were held in 2006 and a new centre left coalition government was eventually sworn in. given the consensus based nature of the politics in Dutch a change of the government does not result into any change drastically in the domestic or foreign policy.

The country’s economy is rapidly growing and the employment gains have brought the rate of unemployment down. In the recent past the country has lost its competitiveness greatly hindering its domestic growth. The private sector is the economy’s cornerstone and the country has a vibrant and an important public sector.

FRENCH CARRIBEAN

The country is formally known as the French republic or in short France with its capital city known as Paris which has one million French inhabitants. The country is composed of its metropolitan territory which is located in the western part of Europe and a collection of overseas islands in the Caribbean. It is the largest nation in west Europe with a total area of 547,030 square kilometers. The area includes the island of coacia and also 1400 kms of water.

Coacia is considered as a part of the metropolitan France. The country also has overseas possessions which include the remnants of the France’s colonial empire which are referred to as the DOT-TOM. These possessions also include several others that are considered to be official departments of the French republic and they include the Guadeloupe and Martinique in the Caribbean.

The country has flat plains and coastal lowlands and the hills in the western and northern parts of the country are gently rolling. The country’s climate is generally temperate and it if very suitable for all the agricultural activities. The country has more than six million inhabitants and the French population lives in most urban settings which are defined by the towns and cities. [2]

France is the most diverse country ethnically in Europe since it has a cross breed of people from all over the world. The country also has the largest number of Muslims living there. About 90% of the French population is Roman Catholics and only 2% make up for the Protestants. France is one of the most successful major countries that are involved in the limitation of the income and wealth disparities in containing the poverty levels.

France is known as the sixth largest country in the world with the largest economy even though in the recent past the country has also undergone substantial adjustments in the economic sector .The country economy is performing strongly by the several measures that have been instigated in the economic activities. The republic of France is known as the fifth republic and it has a hybrid form of a government with several elements of both the parliamentary and the presidential systems.

The political system features a president and also a prime minister who are both very active participants in the functioning of the government on a day to day basis. The country has an executive branch that is very stable and strong in the center of power. The constitution gives the president as well as the prime minister the executive authority. The president is not term limited as the prime minister who is elected and nominated by the national assembly, the legislative lower house and appointed by the president.

The country on the other hand has a legislature that is bicameral in nature and the judicial branch is so distinct such that it has two main branches with each of the branches having a hierarchy of appellate courts.

For the last 25 years the country of France has had its government alternate between two virtually party coalitions that are stable. There are major and also minor political parties. The most prominent figures in the centre right parties are the president, the prime minister and several other government ministers.

SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN

HAITI, NETHERLANDS ANTILLES AND GUADALUPE

The Netherlands Antilles consists of a group of five islands situated in the Caribbean Sea, the two others which are Curacao and Bonaire are located near the Venezuelan coast and the other three are situate near the Virgin Islands of the United States. It has a geographical area of about 1000 km sq and approximately about 300,000 inhabitants. The country’s capital is Willemstad located in Curacao and as group of islands they are fully autonomous constitutionally and in the internal affairs that are equal with the Netherlands. The Netherlands Antilles, Aruba and the Netherlands are equal partners in the kingdom of Dutch. On the other hand the political structure of the Netherlands Antilles is in form of a parliamentary system that contains two governmental levels. Besides the central and the main government there are governments for the five islands and they basically deal with the local island affairs.

Constitutionally the Netherlands Antilles is further described as a country and it is free to enact its own laws provided that they don’t conflict with the laws of a higher nature. Each of its islands has the flexibility the handle the vital functions so long as they do not conflict with the federal government or the Netherlands. The island government is governed by the executive council the lieutenant governor and also the island council. On the other hand the country of Haiti has a government system that divides the power constitutionally amongst the prime minister, the president and the chief of state. The prime minister serves as the head o government and the country also has a bicameral legislature.

The country has had a history of very strong presidency as the president serves a five year term with a possibility of not serving consecutive terms. The president shares his power with the prime minister whom he nominates and is approved by the legislature. The legislature consists of the seat senates and the chamber ministers. (Sibylle, 2004)

There are numerous political parties in this country and the military personnel remain a major political force even though the army was disbanded in 1995.The politics in this country have a lot of religious influence especially from the roman Catholics who continually exert a lot of power in the political arena. (The Caribbean net news 2007)

On the other hand Guadalupe is situated in the Caribbean and it is also fully autonomous just as the Netherlands Antilles. The three country states are all situated in the Caribbean and they are all autonomous. For Netherlands Antilles and Guadalupe there are guiding factors especially when it comes to matters relating to the specific islands so long as the decisions made do not contradict those from the head governments.

The Netherlands of Antilles has a hereditary monarchy, the country of Haiti and Guadalupe both on the other hand has forms of governments that have both the prime minister and the president who share the country’s power and they are the key figures in the two countries. The three countries have prime ministers. Politics in the three countries has a lot to do with the country’s political histories which have had a great influence on the current politics. [3]

The three countries have politics also takes its place in a framework that includes a presidential republic as there is also a lot of multiparty. Similarly in the three countries the presidents are elected by a popular vote whereby the president shares his power and authority with the prime minister. The three countries also have government structures that have three arms which are the executive, the judiciary and the legislature. Finally the three countries have constitutions which govern the decisions that are made and the general running of the country. (Aaron, & Angel, 2001)