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Although the ideas on which bicameralism is based can be traced back to the theories developed in ancient Greece and Rome, recognisable bicameral institutions first arose in medieval Europe where they were associated with separate representation of different estates of the realm.
The Founding Fathers of the United States eschewed any notion of separate representation for a social aristocracy, but they accepted the prevailing disposition towards bicameralism. However, as part of the
Great Compromise between large states and small states, they invented a new rationale for bicameralismin which the upper house would have states represented equally and the lower house would have them represented by population.
In subsequent constitution making, federal states have invariably adopted bicameralism, and the solution remains popular when regional differences or sensitivities require more explicit representation, with the second chamber representing the constitutent states. Nevertheless, the older justification for second chambers – providing opportunities for second thoughts about legislation – has survived. A trend towards unicameralism in the 20th century appears now to have been halted.
Growing awareness of the complexity of the notion of representation and the multifunctional nature of modern legislatures may be affording incipient new rationales for second chambers, though these do generally remain contested institutions in ways that first chambers are not. An example of political controversy regarding a second chamber has been the debate over the powers of the Canadian Senate.
The relationship between the two chambers varies; in some cases, they have equal power, while in others, one chamber is clearly superior in its powers. The first tends to be the case in federal systems and those with presidential governments. The latter tends to be the case in unitary states with parliamentary systems.
Some political scientists believe that bicameralism makes meaningful political reforms more difficult to achieve and increases the risk of deadlock (particularly in cases where both chambers have similar powers). Others argue strongly for the merits of the 'checks and balances' provided by the bicameral model, which they believe helps prevent the passage into law of ill-considered legislation.
Some countries, such as the United States, India, Brazil, and Germany, link their bicameral systems to their federal political structure.
In the United States and Brazil, for example, each state is given a set number of seats in the legislature's upper house. This takes no account of population differences between states — it is designed to ensure that smaller states are not overshadowed by more populous ones. (In the United States, the deal that ensured this arrangement is known as the Connecticut CompromiseThe Connecticut Compromise of 1787 in the United States, later known as the Great Compromise was struck in the creation of legislative bodies. It joined the Virginia Plan, which favored representation based on population, and the New Jersey plan, which fe). In the lower houses of each country, these provisions do not apply, and seats are won based purely on population. The bicameral system, therefore, is a method of combining the principle of democratic equality with the principle of federalism — all votes are equal in the lower houses, while all states are equal in the upper houses.
In the Indian and German systems, the upper houses (the Rajya SabhaThe Rajya Sabha (House of States) is the upper house of the parliament of India. Membership is limited to 250 members, 12 of whom are chosen by the president for their expertise in specific fields such as literature, science, or social services. The remai and the BundesratThe Bundesrat ("federal council") is the representation of the 16 Federal States Bundeslander of Germany at the federal level. It has its seat at the former Prussian Herrenhaus (House of Lords) in Berlin. It is frequently stated that Germany has a bicamer, respectively) are even more closely linked with the federal system, being appointed or elected directly by the governments of each Indian StateIndia is subdivided into 28 states, 6 union territories and a national capital territory. States # Andhra Pradesh # Arunachal Pradesh # Assam # Bihar # Chhattisgarh # Goa # Gujarat # Haryana # Himachal Pradesh # Jammu and Kashmir # Jharkhand # Karnataka # or German BundeslandGermany is a federation of 16 provinces (or states) called Lander (singular Land or officially Bundeslander (singular Bundesland German federal state . Each Land is represented at the federal level in the Bundesrat. The 16 Lander are: # Baden-Wurttemberg.