Question

Define “separation of powers” and summarize the writers’ views.

Answer 1

Answer:

The 'separation of powers' was a fundamental theory of the early founding founders of the United States who believed in creating three different levels of government, the executive, legislative and the Judiciary in order to curtail the power of each and ensure that fair governance would prevail.

Explanation:

The writer points out that this view was mostly held by the staunch Federalists. However, anti-federalists were not in favour of three different levels of the government and believed that it might not be easy to govern when one division might have more power than the other. E.g. if the judiciary becomes more powerful than the executive branch or vice versa, it can not only lead to problems with governance but also intimation and corruption.

On the other hand, Federalists believed that these divisions would ensure, that one branch of the government keeps a check on the other.