Chapter 7: Systems of Government (2): Degrees of Presidentialism
Chapter Summary Self-Study Questions Something to Consider Key Terms Resources
CHAPTER SUMMARY
In contrast to the previous consideration of parliamentary regimes, this chapter provides a comparison of various types of democratic presidentialism. In these constitutions, the head of state is elected by the population at large (directly or indirectly, as explained in a textbox on presidential elections), and the discretionary powers of the president vary under the different constitutional models.
The first system considered is the separated powers (or Madisonian) model of the United States, in which the president is elected indirectly through the Electoral College votes of each state. A system of checks and balances ensures that each of the three branches of the state requires co-operation from one or more of the others in order to bring about a public policy outcome.
Secondly, the chapter examines the coalitional presidentialism characterizing most Latin American nations. Here, the use of proportional representation electoral systems diminishes the likelihood that a single party will dominate the legislature. In addition, staggered elections may force presidents to assemble a cabinet from the various parties that have agreed to work together in the legislature. Hence the modifier “coalitional” presidentialism.
Thirdly, France’s (current) Fifth Republic provides the most familiar example of a parliamentary system augmented by a popularly elected head of state. Originally created to address challenges experienced under the Fourth Republic, the powers of the president were enlarged in order to provide a more decisive administration, particularly in matters of foreign policy. One of the most interesting situations occurs when the president and prime minister come from opposing parties (a phenomenon known as “cohabitation”).
Finally, a close examination is made of the constitutional mix that has made Switzerland a democracy unlike any other. This includes a constitutionally limited cabinet (seven seats) that has been and continues to be a grand coalition of the four leading parties from the legislature, an annual rotation of the chairmanship of the cabinet, and one of the most active systems of direct democracy in place anywhere.
SELF-STUDY QUESTIONS
Multiple Choice
(Answer key below)
1. In the United States, how often are senatorial elections held?
a. Every 2 years
b. Every 4 years
c. Every 6 years
d. None of the above
2. Where is the domination of the president most pronounced?
a. In the United States
b. In Latin America
c. In Canada
d. None of the above
3. Which of the following define a semi-presidential system?
a. Popular election of the president
b. The ability of the president to name governments and dissolve the legislature
c. The ability to dismiss the prime minister
d. All of the above
4. Which of the following statements about the Swiss electoral system is NOT true?
a. It is based on proportional representation
b. It is based on single-member plurality
c. It produces atypically stable governments
d. None of the above
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Short Answer
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SOMETHING TO CONSIDER
1. To what degree does investing the chief executive powers in one person, even if that person is democratically elected, preserve the monarchic tradition? Does the Swiss collective executive, with its rotational presidency, present an attractive alternative or not?
2. Why have almost all of the newly democratic regimes in the past three decades included a prime minister in their constitutional design, that is to say, have been parliamentary or semi-presidential?
KEY TERMS
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RESOURCES
Chapter References
Lawrence, Christopher N. “Regime Stability and Presidential Government: The Legacy of Authoritarian Rule, 1951–90.” N.p. (2000). Electronic Copy
Lijphart, Arend. Democracies: Patterns of Majoritarian and Consensus Government in Twenty-One Countries. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1984.
Magalhães, Pedro C., and Braulio Gómez Fortes. “Presidential Elections in Semi-Presidential Systems: Presidential Powers, Electoral Turnout and the Performance of Government-Endorsed Candidates.” Digital CSIC [Institutional Repository of the Spanish National Research Council]. (2008): 50 pp. Electronic Copy
Morgenstern, Scott, Juan Javier Negri, and Aníbal Pérez-Liñán. “Parliamentary Opposition in Non-Parliamentary Regimes: Latin America.” The Journal of Legislative Studies. 14.1–2 (March /June 2008): 160–189. Get Abstract
Pereira, Carlos, Timothy J. Power, and Eric Raile. “The Presidential Toolbox: Executive Strategies, Coalition Management, and Multiparty Presidentialism in Brazil.” N.p. (2006). Electronic Copy
Shugart, Matthew Søberg. “Semi-Presidential Systems: Dual Executive and Mixed Authority Patterns.” French Politics (2005) 3: 323–351. Electronic Copy
Shugart, Matthew Søberg, and John. M. Carey. Presidents and Assemblies: Constitutional Design and Electoral Dynamics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992.
Sola, Lourdes. “Politics, Markets, and Society in Lula’s Brazil.” Journal of Democracy. 19.2 (April 2008): 31–45. Get Abstract
Further Readings
Church, Clive H., and Adrian Vatter. “Opposition in Consensual Switzerland: A Short but Significant Experiment.” Government and Opposition. 44.4 (October 2009): 412–437. Electronic Copy
Colomer, Joseph M., and Gabriel L. Negretto. “Can Presidentialism Work Like Parliamentarism?” Government and Opposition. 40.1 (Winter 2005): 60–89. Electronic Copy
Conley, Richard S. “Presidential Republics and Divided Government: Lawmaking and Executive Politics in the United States and France.” Political Science Quarterly. 122.2 (Summer 2007): 257–285. Electronic Copy
Elgie, Robert. “Semi-presidentialism, Cohabitation and the Collapse of Electoral Democracies, 1990–2008.” Government and Opposition. 45.1 (January 2010): 29–49. Get Abstract
__________. “Presidentialism, Parliamentarism and Semi-Presidentialism: Bringing Parties Back In.” Government and Opposition. 46.3 (July 2011): 392–409. Electronic copy of first page
Huneeus, Carlos, Fabiola Berrios, and Rodrigo Cordero. “Legislatures in Presidential Systems: The Latin American Experience.” The Journal of Legislative Studies. 12.3–4 (September-December 2006): 404–425. Get Abstract
Other Resources
Taagepera, Rein. “Arend Lijphart’s Dimensions of Democracy: Logical Connections and Institutional Design” in Political Studies. 51 (2003): 1–19. Electronic Copy