Parliamentary and presidential governments--exemplified by most European countries for the former and the United States and Latin America for the latter--are the two principal forms of democracy in the modern world. Their respective advantages and disadvantages have been long debated, at first mainly by British and American political observers but with increasing frequency in other parts of the world, not only in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, but in Latin America and Asia as well. The recent world-wide wave of democratization has intensified both the debate and its significance. This volume brings together the most important statement on the subject by advocates and analysts--from Montesquieu and Madison to Lipset and Linz. It also treats the merits of less frequently used democratic types, such as French-style semi-presidentialism, that may be regarded as intermediate forms between parliamentarism and presidentialism.

This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International licence. It is free to read at Oxford Scholarship Online and offered as a free PDF download from OUP and selected open access locations. In a democracy, a constitutional separation of powers between the executive and the assembly may be desirable, but the constitutional concentration of executive power in a single human being is not. Beyond Presidentialism and Parliamentarism defends this thesis and explores 'semi-parliamentary government' as an alternative to presidential government. Semi-parliamentarism avoids power concentration in one person by shifting the separation of powers into the democratic assembly. The executive becomes fused with only one part of the assembly, even though the other part has at least equal democratic legitimacy and robust veto power on ordinary legislation. The book identifies the Australian Commonwealth and Japan as well as the Australian states of New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, and Western Australia as semi-parliamentary systems. Using data from 23 countries and six Australian states, it maps how parliamentary and semi-parliamentary systems balance competing visions of democracy; it analyzes patterns of electoral and party systems, cabinet formation, legislative coalition-building, and constitutional reforms; systematically compares the semi-parliamentary and presidential separation of powers; and develops new and innovative semi-parliamentary designs, some of which do not require two separate chambers.

This book applies the broader debate in the field of political science over the advantages of a parliamentary system to the case of the United States. It asks whether it is better for a democracy to function under a parliamentary or presidential system. Using the example of a parliamentary alternative to the American presidential system, Checks and Balances? How a Parliamentary System Could Change American Politics illustrates how the Constitutional system of checks and balances functions, including the separation of powers and the legislative process. This book is designed to help American readers better understand their own form of government, while expanding their knowledge of other governments.

The Current Great Interest In The Question Of Parliamentarism Versus Presidentialism Coincides, Not Surprisingly, With The Wave Of Democratization And The Writing Of New Democratic Constitutions That Has Swept The World Since The Mid-1970S, Beginning In Southern Europe And Spreading To Latin America, East Asia, Eastern Europe, The Soviet Union And South Africa.The Book Is A Comparative Study Of Parliamentary System And The Presidential System. The Necessity Of Maintaining And Equilibrium Between The Presidency And Democracy; Also Between Parliamentarism And Democracy; Also Between Parliamentarism And Democracy Is A Central Theme Of This Book.The Book Is Primarily A Study In American And British Public Law. The Approach Is Partly Historical; Partly Analytical And Critical. For The Presidency Unfolds A Daily Drama Of The Reciprocal Interplay Of Human Character And Legal Concept That No Other Office On Earth Can Quite Emulate.Besides, The Book Also Treats The Intermediate Democratic Forms Such As French-Style Semi-Presidential Model. It Was Also Adopted In Portugal And Sri Lanka And Has Been Also Proposed In Several Latin American Countries, And Certain Political Experts And Politicians Recommend It For India. And, Therefore, Receives The Greatest Attention. The Main Subject Of The Debate Has Been The Respective Advantages And Disadvantages Of Parliamentary And Presidential Government. The Second Important Subject Is The Origins And Causes Of These Alternative Forms Of Government. And, Therefore, Receives The Greatest Attention. The Main Subject Of The Debate Has Been The Respective Advantages And Disadvantages Of Parliamentary And Presidential Government. The Second Important Subject Is The Origins And Causes Of These Alternative Forms Of Government. And The Third Question Which Logically Be The First Question Concerns The Exact Definition Of Parliamentary And Presidential Government As Well As The Definitions Of Forms Of Government That Appear To Be Intermediate Between Parliamentarism And Presidentialism. Can These Various Systems Of Governance Be Clearly And Unambiguously Distinguished From One Another?This Book Will Prove Useful To The Students Of Political Science, Politicians, Statesmen, Political Scientists And Law-Makers As Well As The General Reader, Who Is In Need Of A Short Exposition Of The Widely Differing Constitutional Arrangements For Different Countries Of The World.