Chapter 6: Systems of Government: Parliamentary Options
Chapter Summary Self-Study Questions Something to Consider Key Terms Resources
CHAPTER SUMMARY
The first of two chapters on the institutional organization of the liberal democratic state, Chapter 6 focuses on the most common variation: the parliamentary model. The fundamental feature that makes for a parliamentary system is the constitutional principle of responsible government. Responsible government is about the relationship of the political executive to the legislature; the elements of this relationship are considered in detail, as well as complementary features such as the existence of a collective executive, the distinction between the head of state and the head of government, and the existence of strongly disciplined parties.
Because of responsible government, the number of parties participating in the government and the share of the legislature that the party or parties in government control are critical distinctions covered by the type of government: majority, minority, and coalition. This chapter compares the different scenarios leading to these types of government and the related factors such as the type of electoral system and traditional expectations about the “right” type of government.
A parliamentary government is not directly elected but is formed in the legislature after the election from the parties that have been returned to it by the electoral system, a fact that is easily overlooked in regimes where it is common for one party to receive a majority of the seats. Elsewhere in the parliamentary world, which means most of the world, more than one outcome is possible after an election, and more than one outcome is possible when a government resigns or is defeated. This chapter spends some time on the events that characterize government formation after an election, as well as the scenarios that follow the end of a particular government. Because most of the parliamentary world (see Appendix to Chapter 5) is ruled by a coalition government, the chapter looks closely at the ins and outs of coalition government before turning to consider the more general relationships characteristic of a parliamentary model: namely, cabinet government, prime ministers, and executive dominance of the legislature.
SELF-STUDY QUESTIONS
Multiple Choice
(Answer key below)
1. What is the name for a “test vote” to see if a minority government can function?
a. An investiture vote
b. An investment vote
c. An investigation vote
d. None of the above
2. Which of the following factors might help prevent the formation of a coalition?
a. System expectations
b. Presence of compatible partners
c. Presence of crisis
d. All of the above
3. Which of the following statements about PR systems are commonly true?
a. They tend to poorly match citizen inputs to electoral outputs
b. They are rarely associated with multi-party systems
c. They tend not to produce coalition governments
d. None of the above
4. In a connected coalition, coalition members are which of the following?
a. Friends on Facebook
b. Ideologically adjacent
c. Ideologically opposed
d. None of the above
5. Which of the following describes a party with which no other party will ally in a coalition?
a. Mariah party
b. Pariah party
c. Outlier party
d. None of the above
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Short Answer
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SOMETHING TO CONSIDER
1. You have been appointed to advise a small state that wishes to become democratic with a parliamentary system. The current rulers are divided between those favouring mechanisms likely to produce single-party majority government and those favouring mechanisms likely to result in a single-party minority or coalition government. What advice would you present and what arguments would you make for that position?
2. Around the world, news organizations are devoting fewer resources to the coverage of the day-to-day workings of parliamentary government. Does this really matter?
KEY TERMS
(Click term to reveal definition)
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RESOURCES
Chapter References
Budge, Ian, and Hans Keman. Party and Democracy: Testing a Theory of Formation, Functioning, and Termination of Governments in 20 Democracies. Oxford: OUP, 1993.
Butler, David. Governing Without a Majority: Dilemmas for Hung Parliaments in Britain. Basingstoke: MacMillan, 1983.
Colomer, Joseph. “It’s the Parties that Choose Electoral Systems (or Duverger’s Laws Upside Down).” Political Studies 53.1 (2005): 1–21. Electronic Copy
Hazell, Robert, and Akash Paun, eds. Making Minority Government Work: Hung parliaments and the challenges for Westminster and Whitehall. PDF document. Institute for Government. December 2009. 107 pp. Electronic Copy
Institute for Government. “Understanding Hung Parliaments; and how Minority Governments Work.” April 2010. Web. Electronic Copy
Laver, Michael, and Norman Schofield. Multiparty Government: The Politics of Coalition in Europe. Oxford: OUP, 1990.
Laver, Michael. “Government Formation and Public Policy.” Political Science and Politics. 33.1 (March 2000): 21-23. Electronic Copy
Lijphart, Arend. Democracies. New Haven: Yale UP, 1984.
Further Readings
Bale, Tim, and Torbjörn Bergman. “Captives No Longer, but Servants Still? Contract Parliamentarism and the New Minority Governance in Sweden and New Zealand.” Government and Opposition. 41.3 (July 2006): 422–449. Get Abstract
Debus, Marc. “Portfolio Allocation and Policy Compromises: How and Why the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats Formed a Coalition Government.” The Political Quarterly. 82.2 (April-June 2011): 293–304.
Dewan, Torun, and Arthur Spirling. “Strategic Opposition and Government Cohesion in Westminster Democracies.” American Political Science Review. 105.2 (May 2011): 337–358. Electronic copy
Duch, Raymond M., Jeff May, and David A. Armstrong II. “Coalition-Directed Voting in Multiparty Democracies.” American Political Science Review. 104.4 (November 2010): 698–719. Get Abstract
Fox, Ruth. “Five Days in May: A New Political Order Emerges.” Parliamentary Affairs. 63.4 (October 2010):607–622. Get Abstract