Executives (Presidential and Parliamentary systems) Flashcards
1
Q
what is the executive like under a presidential system
A
- head of state and government
- president appoints the cabinet
- president and cabinet cannot be removed by legislature (vis versa)
2
Q
what is the executive like under a parliamentary system
A
- PM is head of government, appointed by head of state
- fusion of powers, meaning that they can dismiss or be dismissed by the legislature
3
Q
what is the executive like under a semi-presidential system
A
- partial separation of powers
- president appoints PM
- PM and cabinet can be removed by president or the legislature
4
Q
what are the strengths of a presidential system
A
- direct election of executive
- checks and balances means power is not concentrated in one person
- term limits allow for more stability
5
Q
what are the weaknesses of a presidential system
A
- checks and balances can produce gridlock as different parties control the presidency and legislature
- ‘dueling legitimacy’, both branches claim to have the legitimacy of the peoples support
- fixed term limits are too ‘rigid’
- ‘winner takes all’, president is an important single office
- president may slide into dictator
- encourage 2-party system, which may marginalise smaller parties and limit political representation
6
Q
What are ‘the Perils of Presidentialism’ argued by Linz
A
uses the weaknesses of presidential systems to show the superiority of parliamentary institutions
7
Q
Between 1946 and 1999 how many presidential systems died - Cheibub and Limongi
A
1 in every 23 (became a dictatorship)
8
Q
What are the 3 definitions of parliamentary and presidential governments based on Verney’s ‘eleven propositions’
A
- parliamentary, head of gov is dependent on the confidence of the legislature, where in a presidential, elected for a fixed constitutionally prescribed term
- parliamentary, PM is elected via the legislature, where in a presidential, president is directly elected
- parliamentary systems have collective/collegial executives, where presidential systems ave one person, non-collegial executives
