Parliamentary vs. Presidential Democracies

Question 1

Stability (Parliamentary)

Answer 1

Pro- Less of a chance of democratic backsliding due to the ‘vote of no confidence procedure’
Con- Government can collapse at any time

Question 2

Stability (Presidential)

Answer 2

Pro- More internal government stability
Con- A lot of power going to one person can regress back into authoritarian rule

Question 3

Democratic (Parliamentary)

Answer 3

Pro- Many parties represented
Con- Not voting directly for government, rather for a legislature

Question 4

Democratic (Presidential)

Answer 4

Pro- Direct elections yield an extremely democratic election process

Question 5

Representation (Parliamentary)

Answer 5

Pro- Pluralism

Question 6

Representation (Presidential)

Answer 6

Pro- Fixed terms allow for multiple opportunities to vote for a new chief executive
Con- Winner-Take-All mentality

Question 7

Choices (Parliamentary)

Answer 7

Pro- More parties offer more choices for voters
Con- Unclear relationship between parties and the government

Question 8

Choices (Presidential)

Answer 8

Pro- Presidential elections generally force statements about how executive candidates differ from one another (presidential debates)

Question 9

Efficiency (Parliamentary)

Answer 9

Pro- Government with a specific policy can enact it easily
Con- Coalition formation can cause blockage within the legislature

Question 10

Efficiency (Presidential)

Answer 10

Pro- Easy for government to decide on an enact a policy
Con- Legislative gridlock can stall the legislative process

Question 11

Flexibility (Parliamentary)

Answer 11

Pro- Strong level of flexibility due to elections/vote of no confidence procedure

Question 12

Flexibility (Presidential)

Answer 12

Con- Not very flexible due to fixed terms and the lengthy impeachment process