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Presidentialism and Its Alternatives

Presidentialism and Its Alternatives. Or, why don’t the Brits have a President?. I. What are the alternatives?. Presidential System President is both head of state and head of government Chosen in a national election

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Presidentialism and Its Alternatives

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  1. Presidentialism and Its Alternatives Or, why don’t the Brits have a President?

  2. I. What are the alternatives? • Presidential System • President is both head of state and head of government • Chosen in a national election • Shares some powers with legislature, but also has unique powers and high degree of autonomy. • Serves a fixed term of office

  3. 5. The US Model: A President Wears Many Hats • Presidential roles: • Chief executive • Chief of state (symbolic head) • Commander-in-Chief of military • Chief diplomat • Legislative role • Head of political party

  4. B. Parliamentary System • Chief executive is a member of parliament (MP) – leader of majority party. Called prime minister (PM) or premier. • PM governs through Cabinet ministers (also MPs). Ministers typically have real power over agencies. • Not directly elected – chosen by majority party in Parliament. • Terms set by law – but early elections possible (no confidence motion, snap elections). • Fusion of powers instead of separation of powers – legislature is supreme

  5. C. Dual Executive • Hybrid of President/Parliament: Country has both President and PM. • President usually head of state, represents country, often concludes treaties • PM typically runs the ministries and administration, oversees bureaucracy • May be Presidency-dominated (France) or PM-dominated (Chancellorship in Germany)

  6. II. Puzzle: Why is Presidentialism so Rare? • Of 121 electoral democracies in 2004: • 60 Dual Executive • 56 Parliamentary • 5 Presidential

  7. A. Which alternatives work best? • Ignore dual executive for now – pit one “pure form” against the other

  8. 1. Advantages and Disadvantages • Preface: Just because there’s something on either side of the scale doesn’t mean they are balanced • Acknowledge +/- of each system, but • Weigh +/- to find better system

  9. 2. Evaluating the Dual Executive • Remedies some problems (those in which difference can be split) • Cannot remedy others (timing of elections, personalism) • Creates new one: Co-Habitation

  10. 3. Empirical Research: Presidential Systems Fail • Out of 31 countries that have had continuous democracy since 1967, only 4 have presidential systems (Columbia, Costa Rica, United States & Venezuela – and Venezuela is barely democratic) • Only 7 out of 31 ( 22.6%) presidential democracies have endured at least 25 consecutive years, compared with 25 of 44 (56.8%) parliamentary systems.

  11. III. So why does it work so well here?

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