Interactions among branches of government

This course is a part of US government and civics, a 9-course Topic series from Khan Academy.

How Congress, the presidency, the courts, and the bureaucracy compete, cooperate, and hold one another accountable in governing the United States. The legislative, executive and judicial branches are each granted formal, or enumerated, powers by the Constitution; each branch also exercises certain informal powers.

This course contains 12 segments:

Congress: The Senate and the House of Representatives

What is Congress? The Senate and the House of Representatives form the legislative branch of US government.

Structures, powers, and functions of Congress

How do the structures, powers, and functions of Congress influence the policymaking process?

Congressional behavior

How is congressional behavior influenced by election processes, partisanship, and divided government?

Roles and powers of the president

What are the formal and informal powers of the US president?

Checks on the presidency

Expansion of presidential power

Presidential communication

The judicial branch

The judicial branch checks the power of other institutions and state governments.

Legitimacy of the judicial branch

This lesson covers how judicial precedent and ideological changes to the composition of the Supreme Court impact judicial decisions.

Checks on the judicial branch

The bureaucracy: functions and responsibilities

The bureaucracy: authority and accountability