Presidentialism, Parliamentarism, and Democracy

Presidentialism, Parliamentarism, and Democracy PDF

Author: Jose Antonio Cheibub

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2006-11-20

Total Pages: 175

ISBN-13: 1139459678

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This book addresses the following question: why are presidential democracies more likely to break down than parliamentary ones? Conventional wisdom among political scientists pointS to the incentives generated by the form of government itself; the independence of the executive and legislature that defines presidentialism generates incentives that are not conducive to the consolidation of democracy. On the basis of a data set that covers all democracies between 1946 and 2002, this book demonstrates that this is not the case: the incentives generated by presidentialism are as conducive to the consolidation of democracy as the ones generated by parliamentarism. The book argues that what kills presidentialism is the fact that it exists in countries where democracies of any type are not likely to survive. This book will be of interest to academic researchers, graduates and advanced undergraduates enrolled in courses on comparative politics and political economy.

Beyond Presidentialism and Parliamentarism

Beyond Presidentialism and Parliamentarism PDF

Author: Steffen Ganghof

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2022-01-16

Total Pages: 225

ISBN-13: 0192897144

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This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International licence. It is free to read at Oxford Scholarship Online and offered as a free PDF download from OUP and selected open access locations. In a democracy, a constitutional separation of powers between the executive and the assembly may be desirable, but the constitutional concentration of executive power in a single human being is not. Beyond Presidentialism and Parliamentarism defends this thesis and explores 'semi-parliamentary government' as an alternative to presidential government. Semi-parliamentarism avoids power concentration in one person by shifting the separation of powers into the democratic assembly. The executive becomes fused with only one part of the assembly, even though the other part has at least equal democratic legitimacy and robust veto power on ordinary legislation. The book identifies the Australian Commonwealth and Japan as well as the Australian states of New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, and Western Australia as semi-parliamentary systems. Using data from 23 countries and six Australian states, it maps how parliamentary and semi-parliamentary systems balance competing visions of democracy; it analyzes patterns of electoral and party systems, cabinet formation, legislative coalition-building, and constitutional reforms; systematically compares the semi-parliamentary and presidential separation of powers; and develops new and innovative semi-parliamentary designs, some of which do not require two separate chambers.

Driving Democracy

Driving Democracy PDF

Author: Pippa Norris

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2008-08-01

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780521694803

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Proposals for power-sharing constitutions remain controversial, as highlighted by current debates in Iraq, Afghanistan, Nepal, and Sudan. This book updates and refines the theory of consociationalism, taking account of the flood of contemporary innovations in power-sharing institutions that have occurred worldwide. The book classifies and compares four types of political institutions: the electoral system, parliamentary or presidential executives, unitary or federal states, and the structure and independence of the mass media. The study tests the potential advantages and disadvantages of each of these institutions for democratic governance. Cross-national time-series data concerning trends in democracy are analyzed for all countries worldwide since the early 1970s. Chapters are enriched by comparing detailed case studies. The mixed-method research design illuminates the underlying causal mechanisms by examining historical developments and processes of institutional change within particular nations and regions. The conclusion draws together the results and the practical lessons for policymakers.

Parliamentarism, From Burke to Weber

Parliamentarism, From Burke to Weber PDF

Author: William Selinger

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2019-07-18

Total Pages: 269

ISBN-13: 1108475744

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A revisionist interpretation of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century political ideas, including novel readings of canonical authors such as Burke and Mill.

Presidents and Assemblies

Presidents and Assemblies PDF

Author: Matthew Soberg Shugart

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 1992-08-28

Total Pages: 334

ISBN-13: 9780521429900

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In recent years renewed attention has been directed to the importance of the role of institutional design in democratic politics. Particular interest has concerned constitutional design and the relative merits of parliamentary versus presidential systems. In this book, the authors systematically assess the strengths and weaknesses of various forms of presidential systems, drawing on recent developments in the theoretical literature about institutional design and electoral rules. They develop a typology of democratic regimes structured around the separation of powers principle, including two hybrid forms, the premier-presidential and president-parliamentary systems, and they evaluate a number of alternative ways of balancing powers between the branches within these basic frameworks. They also demonstrate that electoral rules are critically important in determining how political authority is exercised.

Parliamentary Versus Presidential Government

Parliamentary Versus Presidential Government PDF

Author: Arend Lijphart

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 1992

Total Pages: 257

ISBN-13: 9780198780434

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Parliamentary and presidential governments--exemplified by most European countries for the former and the United States and Latin America for the latter--are the two principal forms of democracy in the modern world. Their respective advantages and disadvantages have been long debated, at first mainly by British and American political observers but with increasing frequency in other parts of the world, not only in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, but in Latin America and Asia as well. The recent world-wide wave of democratization has intensified both the debate and its significance. This volume brings together the most important statement on the subject by advocates and analysts--from Montesquieu and Madison to Lipset and Linz. It also treats the merits of less frequently used democratic types, such as French-style semi-presidentialism, that may be regarded as intermediate forms between parliamentarism and presidentialism.

The Failure of Presidential Democracy

The Failure of Presidential Democracy PDF

Author: Juan J. Linz

Publisher: JHU Press

Published: 1994-02

Total Pages: 198

ISBN-13: 9780801846403

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Brings together leading scholars to examine the question of whether presidentialism or parliamentarism offers the best hope for stable government and democratic continuity. This edition offers comparative perspectives.