Bicameralism is having two legislative chambers, with varying power relationships between them. It is common in federal systems and over 20 countries have bicameral legislatures. Some argue it makes policy reform difficult, while others see it as providing checks and balances. Many countries and regional bodies have bicameral legislatures.
In government, bicameralism is the practice of having two legislative or parliamentary chambers. The relationship between the two houses of a bicameral legislature can vary. In some cases they have the same power and in others one chamber is clearly superior to the other. It is common in most federal systems to have a bicameral legislature. The United States, for example, has a bicameral legislature in which one house, the Senate, has an equal number of members representing each constituent state, and members of the other house, the House of Representatives, are numbered based on population of each state.
Some political scientists believe that having a bicameral legislature makes meaningful policy reform more difficult to implement and increases the risk of deadlock. This risk is greater in cases where both chambers have equal powers. Other policy analysts argue strongly for the merits of the checks and balances provided by the bicameral model, which they believe helps prevent ill-considered legislation from passing into law.
As of 2011, more than 20 countries had bicameral legislatures. Many other countries have unicameral legislatures, which consist of individual legislative houses. The term “bicameral” comes from the Latin and combines bi, which means “two”, with camera, which means “room”. “Unicameral” replaces uni, or “one”, for bi.
Partial list of countries that have bicameral legislations:
Village
Typology
Camere legislative
Afghanistan
National Assembly
Wolesi Jirga and Masharano Jirga
Australia
Parliament
House of Representatives and Senate
Canada
Parliament
House of Commons and Senate
France
Parliament
National Assembly and Senate
Germania
no single term
Bundestag e Bundesrat
India
Parliament
Lok Sabha (People’s House) e
Rajya Sabha (Council of States)
Mexico
Congress
Chamber of Deputies and Senate
Pakistan
Parliament
National Assembly and Senate
republic of ireland
Oireachtas
Dáil Éireann (Camera dei rappresentanti) e
Seanad Éireann (Senato)
United Kingdom
Parliament
House of Commons and House of Lords
United States
Congress
House of Representatives and Senate
Furthermore, many regional or local legislative bodies are also bicameral. In the United States, for example, all state legislatures except Nebraska are also bicameral. In Australia, all state parliaments except Queensland are also bicameral.
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