![Presidential system](https://www.english.nina.az/wikipedia/image/aHR0cHM6Ly91cGxvYWQud2lraW1lZGlhLm9yZy93aWtpcGVkaWEvY29tbW9ucy90aHVtYi8wLzA0L0Zvcm1zX29mX2dvdmVybm1lbnQuc3ZnLzE2MDBweC1Gb3Jtc19vZl9nb3Zlcm5tZW50LnN2Zy5wbmc=.png )
A presidential, strong-president, or single-executive system is a form of government in which a head of government (usually titled "president") heads an executive branch that derives its authority and legitimacy from a source that is separate from the legislative branch. The system was popularized by its inclusion in the Constitution of the United States.
![image](https://www.english.nina.az/wikipedia/image/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZW5nbGlzaC5uaW5hLmF6L3dpa2lwZWRpYS9pbWFnZS9hSFIwY0hNNkx5OTFjR3h2WVdRdWQybHJhVzFsWkdsaExtOXlaeTkzYVd0cGNHVmthV0V2WTI5dGJXOXVjeTkwYUhWdFlpOHdMekEwTDBadmNtMXpYMjltWDJkdmRtVnlibTFsYm5RdWMzWm5Mek0zTUhCNExVWnZjbTF6WDI5bVgyZHZkbVZ5Ym0xbGJuUXVjM1puTG5CdVp3PT0ucG5n.png)
Parliamentary systems: Head of government is elected or nominated by and accountable to the legislature
Presidential system: Head of government (president) is popularly elected and independent of the legislature
Hybrid systems:
Other systems:
Note: this chart represents the de jure systems of government, not the de facto degree of democracy.
This head of government is in most cases also the head of state. In a presidential system, the head of government is directly or indirectly elected by a group of citizens and is not responsible to the legislature, and the legislature cannot dismiss the president except in extraordinary cases. A presidential system contrasts with a parliamentary system, where the head of government (usually called a prime minister) derives their power from the confidence of an elected legislature, which can dismiss the prime minister with a simple majority.
Not all presidential systems use the title of president. Likewise, the title is sometimes used by other systems. It originated from a time when such a person personally presided over the governing body, as with the President of the Continental Congress in the early United States, prior to the executive function being split into a separate branch of government. It may also be used by presidents in semi-presidential systems. Heads of state of parliamentary republics, largely ceremonial in most cases, are called presidents. Dictators or leaders of one-party states, whether popularly elected or not, are also often called presidents.
The presidential system is the most common form of government in the Americas and is also frequently found in Sub-Saharan Africa (along with semi-presidential hybrid systems). By contrast, there are very few presidential republics in Europe (with Cyprus and Turkey being the only examples). In Asia, the system is used by South Korea, the Philippines, and Indonesia.
History
Development in the Americas
The presidential system has its roots in the governance of the British colonies of the 17th century in what is now the United States. The Pilgrims, permitted to govern themselves in Plymouth Colony, established a system that utilized an independent executive branch. Each year, a governor was chosen by the colonial legislature, as well as several assistants, analogous to modern day cabinets. Additional executive officials such as constables and messengers were then appointed. At the same time, the British Isles underwent a brief period of republicanism as the Protectorate, during which the Lord Protector served as an executive leader similar to a president.
The first true presidential system was developed during the United States Constitutional Convention in 1787. Drawing inspiration from the previous colonial governments, from English Common Law, and from philosophers such as John Locke and Montesquieu, the delegates developed what is now known as the presidential system. Most notably, James Wilson advocated for a unitary executive figure that would become the role of the president. The United States became the first presidential republic when the Constitution of the United States came into force in 1789, and George Washington became the first president under a presidential system.
During the 1810s and 1820s, Spanish colonies in the Americas sought independence, and several new Spanish-speaking governments emerged in Latin America. These countries modeled their constitutions after that of the United States, and the presidential system became the dominant political system in the Americas. Following several decades of monarchy, Brazil also adopted the presidential system in 1889 with Deodoro da Fonseca as its first president. Latin American presidential systems have experienced varying levels of stability, with many experiencing periods of dictatorial rule.
As a global system
Following the pattern of other Spanish colonies, the Philippines established the first presidential system in Asia in 1898, but it fell under American control due to the Spanish–American War. The presidential system was restored after the United States granted the Philippines independence in 1946.
The end of World War II established presidential systems in two countries. After the United States ended the Japanese occupation of Korea, it assisted South Korea in the formation of a presidential government. However, the early years of the South Korean presidency were marked by dictatorial control.[citation needed] At the same time, Indonesia declared independence from the Netherlands in 1945. While it nominally used a presidential system, it was in effect a dictatorship where the president controlled all branches of government. A true presidential system was established in 1998.[citation needed]
Decolonization in the 1950s and 1960s brought with it significant expansion of the presidential system. During this time, several new presidential republics were formed in Africa. Cyprus, the Maldives, and South Vietnam[citation needed] also adopted the presidential system following decolonization. Pakistan and Bangladesh did so as well, but they changed their governmental systems shortly afterward.[citation needed]
Several more countries adopted the presidential system in the final decades of the 20th century. A modified version of the presidential system was implemented in Iran following constitutional reform in 1989 in which the Supreme Leader serves as the head of state and is the absolute power in this country. In 1981, Palau achieved independence and adopted a presidential system. When the Soviet Union was dissolved in 1991, the presidential system was adopted by the new states that were created, though most of them adopted other governmental systems over the following decades.
The presidential system continues to be adopted in the 21st century. Following its independence in 2011, South Sudan adopted a presidential system. In 2018, after the 2017 Turkish constitutional referendum, Turkey adopted a presidential system.
Features
There are several characteristics that are unique to presidential systems or prominent in countries that use presidential systems. The defining aspect of presidential systems is the separation of powers that divides the executive and the legislature. Advocates of presidential systems cite the democratic nature of presidential elections, the advantages of separation of powers, the efficiency of a unitary executive, and the stability provided by fixed-terms. Opponents of presidential systems cite the potential for gridlock, the difficulty of changing leadership, and concerns that a unitary executive can give way to a dictatorship.
Separation of powers
The presidential system is defined by the separation of the executive branch from other aspects of government. The head of government is elected to work alongside, but not as a part of, the legislature. There are several types of powers that are traditionally delegated to the president. Under a presidential system, the president may have the power to challenge legislation through a veto, the power to pardon crimes, authority over foreign policy, authority to command the military as the Commander-in-chief, and authority over advisors and employees of the executive branch.[citation needed]
Checks and balances
Separation of powers is sometimes held up as an advantage, in that each branch may scrutinize the actions of the other. This is in contrast with a parliamentary system, where the majority party in the legislature that also serves as the executive is unlikely to scrutinize its own actions. Writing about the Watergate scandal, former British MP Woodrow Wyatt said "don't think a Watergate couldn't happen here, you just wouldn't hear about it." The extent of this effect is debated. Some commentators argue that the effect is mitigated when the president's party is in power, while others note that party discipline is not as strictly enforced in presidential systems.
Another stated benefit of the separation of powers is the ability of the legislature to enforce limits on the powers of the executive. In a parliamentary system, if important legislation proposed by the incumbent prime minister and his cabinet is "voted down" by a majority of the members of parliament then it is considered a vote of no confidence. The presidential system has no such mechanism, and the legislature has little incentive to appease the president beyond saving face.[citation needed]
Efficiencies and inefficiencies
When an action is within the scope of a president's power, a presidential system can respond more rapidly to emerging situations than parliamentary ones. A prime minister, when taking action, needs to retain the support of the legislature, but a president is often less constrained. In Why England Slept, future U.S. president John F. Kennedy argued that British prime ministers Stanley Baldwin and Neville Chamberlain were constrained by the need to maintain the confidence of the Commons.
James Wilson, who advocated for a presidential system at the constitutional convention, maintained that a single chief executive would provide for greater public accountability than a group and thereby protect against tyranny by making it plain who was responsible for executive actions. He also submitted that a singular chief executive was necessary to ensure promptness and consistency and guard against deadlock, which could be essential in times of national emergency.
Conversely, a presidential system can produce gridlock when the president and the legislature are in opposition. This rarely happens in a parliamentary system, as the prime minister is always a member of the party in power. This gridlock is common occurrence, as the electorate often expects more rapid results than are possible from new policies and switches to a different party at the next election. Critics such as Juan Linz, argue that in such cases of gridlock, presidential systems do not offer voters the kind of accountability seen in parliamentary systems, and that this inherent political instability can cause democracies to fail, as seen in such cases as Brazil and Allende's Chile.
It is easy for either the president or the legislature to escape blame by shifting it to the other. Describing the United States, former Treasury Secretary C. Douglas Dillon said "the president blames Congress, the Congress blames the president, and the public remains confused and disgusted with government in Washington". Years before becoming president, Woodrow Wilson famously wrote "how is the schoolmaster, the nation, to know which boy needs the whipping?"Walter Bagehot said of the American system, "the executive is crippled by not getting the law it needs, and the legislature is spoiled by having to act without responsibility: the executive becomes unfit for its name, since it cannot execute what it decides on; the legislature is demoralized by liberty, by taking decisions of which others [and not itself] will suffer the effects".
A 2024 meta-analytical review found that presidential systems were associated with more corruption than parliamentary systems.
Presidential elections
In a presidential system, the president is elected independently of the legislature. This may be done directly through a popular vote or indirectly such as through the electoral college used in the United States. This aspect of presidential systems is sometimes touted as more democratic, as it provides a broader mandate for the president. Once elected, a president typically remains in office until the conclusion of a term.
Fixed-terms
Presidential systems are typically understood as having a head of government elected by citizens to serve one or more fixed-terms. Fixed-terms are praised for providing a level of stability that other systems lack.
Proponents of the presidential system also argue that stability extends to the cabinets chosen under the system. In most parliamentary systems, cabinets must be drawn from within the legislative branch. Under the presidential system, cabinet members can be selected from a much larger pool of potential candidates. This allows presidents the ability to select cabinet members based as much or more on their ability and competency to lead a particular department as on their loyalty to the president, as opposed to parliamentary cabinets, which might be filled by legislators chosen for no better reason than their perceived loyalty to the prime minister.
Some political scientists dispute this concept of stability, arguing that presidential systems have difficulty sustaining democratic practices and that they have slipped into authoritarianism in many of the countries in which they have been implemented. According to political scientist Fred Riggs, presidential systems have fallen into authoritarianism in nearly every country they've been attempted. The list of the world's 22 older democracies includes only two countries (Costa Rica and the United States) with presidential systems. Yale political scientist Juan Linz argues that:
The danger that zero-sum presidential elections pose is compounded by the rigidity of the president's fixed term in office. Winners and losers are sharply defined for the entire period of the presidential mandate ... losers must wait four or five years without any access to executive power and patronage. The zero-sum game in presidential regimes raises the stakes of presidential elections and inevitably exacerbates their attendant tension and polarization.
Fixed-terms in a presidential system may also be considered a check on the powers of the executive, contrasting parliamentary systems, which may allow the prime minister to call elections whenever they see fit or orchestrate their own vote of no confidence to trigger an election when they cannot get a legislative item passed.
Limited mechanisms of removal
Unlike in parliamentary systems, the legislature does not have the power to recall a president under the presidential system. However, presidential systems may have methods to remove presidents under extraordinary circumstances, such as a president committing a crime or becoming incapacitated. In some countries, presidents are subject to term limits.
The inability to remove a president early is also the subject of criticism. Even if a president is "proved to be inefficient, even if he becomes unpopular, even if his policy is unacceptable to the majority of his countrymen, he and his methods must be endured until the moment comes for a new election".
The consistency of a presidency may be seen as beneficial during times of crisis. When in a time of crisis, countries may be better off being led by a president with a fixed term than rotating premierships.[citation needed] Some critics, however, argue that the presidential system is weaker because it does not allow a transfer of power in the event of an emergency. Walter Bagehot argues that the ideal ruler in times of calm is different from the ideal ruler in times of crisis, criticizing the presidential system for having no mechanism to make such a change.
Heightened status
The president's status as both head of government and head of state is sometimes the subject of criticism. Dana D. Nelson criticizes the office of the President of the United States as essentially undemocratic and characterizes presidentialism as worship of the president by citizens, which she believes undermines civic participation.
Comparative politics
The separation of the executive and the legislature is the key difference between a presidential system and a parliamentary system. The presidential system elects a head of government independently of the legislature, while in contrast, the head of government in a parliamentary system answers directly to the legislature. Presidential systems necessarily operate under the principle of structural separation of powers, while parliamentary systems do not; however, the degree of functional separation of powers exhibited in each varies – dualistic parliamentary systems such as the Netherlands, Sweden and Slovakia forbid members of the legislature from serving in the executive simultaneously, while Westminster-type parliamentary systems such as the United Kingdom require it. Heads of government under the presidential system do not depend on the approval of the legislature as they do in a parliamentary system (with the exception of mechanisms such as impeachment).
The presidential system and the parliamentary system can also be blended into a semi-presidential system. Under such a system, executive power is shared by an elected head of state (a president) and a legislature-appointed head of government (a prime minister or premier). The amount of power each figure holds may vary, and a semi-presidential system may lean closer to one system over the other. The president typically retains authority over foreign policy in a semi-presidential system.[citation needed] A pure presidential system may also have mechanisms that resemble those of a parliamentary system as part of checks and balances. The legislature may have oversight of some of the president's decisions through advice and consent, and mechanisms such as impeachment may allow the legislature to remove the president under drastic circumstances.[citation needed]
Presidentialism metrics
Presidentialism metrics allow a quantitative comparison of the strength of presidential system characteristics for individual countries. Presidentialism metrics include the presidentialism index in V-Dem Democracy indices and presidential power scores. The table below shows for individual countries the V-Dem presidentialism index, where higher values indicate higher concentration of political power in the hands of one individual.
Country | Presidentialism Index for 2021 |
---|---|
![]() | 0.934 |
![]() | 0.22 |
![]() | 0.807 |
![]() | 0.627 |
![]() | 0.203 |
![]() | 0.297 |
![]() | 0.01 |
![]() | 0.047 |
![]() | 0.965 |
![]() | 0.917 |
![]() | 0.711 |
![]() | 0.091 |
![]() | 0.98 |
![]() | 0.051 |
![]() | 0.419 |
![]() | 0.117 |
![]() | 0.535 |
![]() | 0.327 |
![]() | 0.176 |
![]() | 0.136 |
![]() | 0.16 |
![]() | 0.314 |
![]() | 0.879 |
![]() | 0.801 |
![]() | 0.88 |
![]() | 0.873 |
![]() | 0.08 |
![]() | 0.098 |
![]() | 0.618 |
![]() | 0.929 |
![]() | 0.019 |
![]() | 0.891 |
![]() | 0.133 |
![]() | 0.833 |
![]() | 0.033 |
![]() | 0.107 |
![]() | 0.806 |
![]() | 0.151 |
![]() | 0.09 |
![]() | 0.689 |
![]() | 0.012 |
![]() | 0.751 |
![]() | 0.181 |
![]() | 0.397 |
![]() | 0.494 |
![]() | 0.855 |
![]() | 0.966 |
![]() | 0.977 |
![]() | 0.033 |
![]() | 0.707 |
![]() | 0.735 |
![]() | 0.525 |
![]() | 0.022 |
![]() | 0.068 |
![]() | 0.752 |
![]() | 0.282 |
![]() | 0.033 |
![]() | 0.13 |
![]() | 0.12 |
![]() | 0.351 |
![]() | 0.764 |
![]() | 0.413 |
![]() | 0.276 |
![]() | 0.706 |
![]() | 0.402 |
![]() | 0.569 |
![]() | 0.288 |
![]() | 0.051 |
![]() | 0.227 |
![]() | 0.206 |
![]() | 0.812 |
![]() | 0.484 |
![]() | 0.04 |
![]() | 0.1 |
![]() | 0.089 |
![]() | 0.532 |
![]() | 0.084 |
![]() | 0.135 |
![]() | 0.25 |
![]() | 0.807 |
![]() | 0.132 |
![]() | 0.296 |
![]() | 0.317 |
![]() | 0.614 |
![]() | 0.59 |
![]() | 0.036 |
![]() | 0.539 |
![]() | 0.123 |
![]() | 0.296 |
![]() | 0.479 |
![]() | 0.025 |
![]() | 0.092 |
![]() | 0.677 |
![]() | 0.136 |
![]() | 0.354 |
![]() | 0.211 |
![]() | 0.623 |
![]() | 0.131 |
![]() | 0.74 |
![]() | 0.194 |
![]() | 0.369 |
![]() | 0.122 |
![]() | 0.207 |
![]() | 0.246 |
![]() | 0.348 |
![]() | 0.442 |
![]() | 0.207 |
![]() | 0.213 |
![]() | 0.028 |
![]() | 0.016 |
![]() | 0.987 |
![]() | 0.32 |
![]() | 0.36 |
![]() | 0.986 |
![]() | 0.46 |
![]() | 0.015 |
![]() | 0.574 |
![]() | 0.286 |
![]() | 0.807 |
![]() | 0.585 |
![]() | 0.297 |
![]() | 0.197 |
![]() | 0.258 |
![]() | 0.094 |
![]() | 0.35 |
![]() | 0.361 |
![]() | 0.056 |
![]() | 0.716 |
![]() | 0.779 |
![]() | 0.184 |
![]() | 0.898 |
![]() | 0.738 |
![]() | 0.213 |
![]() | 0.814 |
![]() | 0.236 |
![]() | 0.404 |
![]() | 0.055 |
![]() | 0.296 |
![]() | 0.298 |
![]() | 0.047 |
![]() | 0.159 |
![]() | 0.216 |
![]() | 0.756 |
![]() | 0.599 |
![]() | 0.13 |
![]() | 0.076 |
![]() | 0.881 |
![]() | 0.031 |
![]() | 0.252 |
![]() | 0.692 |
![]() | 0.126 |
![]() | 0.02 |
![]() | 0.013 |
![]() | 0.922 |
![]() | 0.15 |
![]() | 0.943 |
![]() | 0.15 |
![]() | 0.419 |
![]() | 0.131 |
![]() | 0.29 |
![]() | 0.804 |
![]() | 0.113 |
![]() | 0.113 |
![]() | 0.722 |
![]() | 0.907 |
![]() | 0.411 |
![]() | 0.597 |
![]() | 0.835 |
![]() | 0.062 |
![]() | 0.078 |
![]() | 0.045 |
![]() | 0.905 |
![]() | 0.102 |
![]() | 0.958 |
![]() | 0.726 |
![]() | 0.884 |
![]() | 0.277 |
![]() | 0.591 |
![]() | 0.592 |
Subnational governments
Subnational governments may be structured as presidential systems. All of the state governments in the United States use the presidential system, even though this is not constitutionally required. In these cases instead of the title of President the role has the title of Governor. On a local level, a presidential system might be organized with the office of Mayor acting as the president. Some countries without a presidential system at the national level use a form of this system at a subnational or local level. One example is Japan, where the national government uses the parliamentary system.
States with a presidential system of government
This section needs additional citations for verification.(April 2024) |
Presidential republics without a prime minister
Angola
Argentina
Benin
Bolivia
Brazil
Chile
Colombia
Comoros
Costa Rica
Cyprus
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
El Salvador
Gambia, The
Ghana
Guatemala
Honduras
Indonesia
Liberia
Malawi
Maldives
Mexico
Nicaragua
Nigeria
Palau
Panama
Paraguay
Philippines
Seychelles
Somaliland
Turkey
Turkmenistan
United States
Uruguay
Venezuela
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Non-UN members or observers are in italics.
Presidential republics with a prime minister
The following countries have presidential systems where the post of prime minister (official title may vary) exists alongside that of the president. The president is still both the head of state and government and the prime minister's role is mostly to assist the president.
Non-UN members or observers are in italics.Presidential system in administrative divisions
Dependencies of the United States
American Samoa
Northern Mariana Islands
Puerto Rico
United States Virgin Islands
Special administrative regions of China
Hong Kong
Macau
Former presidential republics
Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (2004–2021)
Armenia (1998–2013)
Azerbaijan SSR/
Azerbaijan (1990–1991, 1992–2016)
Bangladesh (1975–1991)
Republic of China (1948–1991) de facto
Cuba (1902–1959)
Estonia (1938–1940)
Georgia (1995–2004; 2005–2011)
Germany (1930–1933) de facto[failed verification]
Greece (1822–1832,1973–1974)
Haiti (1859–1957, 1957–1986)
Katanga (1960–1963)
Kirghiz SSR/
Kyrgyzstan (1990–1993)
Mali (1960–1992)
Mauritania (1960–1978)
Niger (1960–1974, 1989–1993)
Pakistan (1958–1973,1978–1985, 2001–2002)
Poland (1935–1939)
RSFSR/
Russia (1991–1992) de facto
South Korea (1963–1972)
South Vietnam (1955–1975)[citation needed]
Syria (1963–2024)
Tajik SSR (1990–1991)
Togo (1960-2024)
Turkmen SSR (1990–1991)
Ukraine (1995–1996)
Uzbek SSR (1990–1991)
Republics with executive governors
- Vermont Republic (1777–1791)
- United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (1820–1832) and Argentine Confederation (1835–1852)
- Alabama (1861–1865)
- Georgia (1861–1865)
- Louisiana (1861–1865)
- Texas (1861–1865)
- Mississipi (1861–1865)
- South Carolina (1861–1865)
- Florida (1861–1865)
- Virginia (1861–1865)
- Arkansas (1861–1865)
- North Carolina (1861–1865)
- Tennessee (1861–1865)
- Missouri (1861–1865)
- Kentucky (1861–1865)
Notes
- President and legislature are elected directly by the people via double simultaneous vote.
- President and legislature are elected directly by the people via double simultaneous vote.
- President and legislature are elected directly by the people via double simultaneous vote.
- as the Armenian SSR parliamentary in 1990–1991, Soviet age and after independence, it was a semi-presidential republic in 1991–1998, a presidential republic in 1998–2013, a semi-presidential republic in 2013–2018 and a parliamentary republic in 2018.
- as the Azerbaijan SSR, it was a presidential republic in 1990–1991, a semi-presidential republic after independence in 1991–1992, a presidential republic in 1992–2016 and a semi-presidential republic in 2016. Under a hereditary dictatorship since 1993
- Parliamentary in 1972–1975, presidential in 1975–1991, and parliamentary since 1991.
- De facto Presidential system in 1948–1991 under a de jure parliamentary republic under the Temporary Provisions against the Communist Rebellion.
- as the Georgian SSR and after independence, parliamentary in 1990–1991, semi-presidential in 1991–1995, presidential in 1995–2004, semi-presidential in 2004–2005 and presidential 2005–2011. Semi-presidential in 2011–2019 and parliamentary since 2019.
- A semi-presidential republic as the Weimar Republic in 1918–1930, a presidential republic in 1930–1933, a totalitarian dictatorship under a parliamentary system in 1933–1945 as a Nazi Germany, a military occupation in 1945–1949 and a parliamentary republic in 1949.
- Presidential in 1990–1993, Semi-presidential in 1993–2010 (de jure); 1993–2021 (de facto), Parliamentary in 2010–2021 (de jure), and presidential again in 2021.
- A presidential republic (1960–1991, 2023-present), military dictatorship (1968–1991,1991–1992, 2012, 2020-present) single-party state (1960–1968, 1974–1991) semi-presidential republic (1991–2023).
- A one-party presidential republic (1960–1978), military dictatorship (1978–1992, 2005–2007, 2008–2009) semi-presidential republic since 1992.
- A single-party presidential republic (1960–1974, 1989–1993), a military dictatorship (1974–1993, 1996–1999, 1999, 2010–2011, 2023-present), a semi-presidential republic (1993–1996, 1999–2010, 2011–2023)
- All South Korean constitutions since 1963 provided for a strong executive Presidency; in addition, the formally-authoritarian Yushin Constitution of the Fourth Republic established a presidential power to dissolve the National Assembly, nominally counterbalanced by a vote of no confidence. Both of these provisions were retained by the Fifth Republic's constitution but repealed upon the transition to democracy and the establishment of the Sixth Republic
- An interim constitution passed in 1995 removed the President's ability to dissolve the Verkhovna Rada and the Rada's ability to dismiss the government by a vote of no confidence. Both of these provisions were restored upon the passage of a permanent constitution in 1996.
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- Linz, Juan (1990). "The perils of presidentialism". The Journal of Democracy. 1: 51–69. doi:10.1353/jod.2005.0026.
- Sundquist, James (1992). Constitutional Reform and Effective Government. Brookings Institution Press. p. 11.
- Wilson, Congressional Government (1885), pp. 186–187.
- Balfour. "The Cabinet". The English Constitution.
- Dawson, Stephen; Schwenk, Jana; Xezonakis, Georgios (2024-10-04). "The Distribution of Executive Power and Corruption: A Meta-Analytical Review". Comparative Political Studies. doi:10.1177/00104140241290213. ISSN 0010-4140.
- Sargentich, Thomas O. (1993). "The Presidential and Parliamentary Models of National Government". American University International Law Review. 8 (2): 579–592.
- Riggs, Fred W. (1997). "Presidentialism versus Parliamentarism: Implications for Representativeness and Legitimacy". International Political Science Review. 18 (3): 258. doi:10.1177/019251297018003003. JSTOR 1601343. S2CID 145450791.
- "Conceptual homogenization of a heterogeneous field: Presidentialism in comparative perspective". Comparing Nations: Concepts, Strategies, Substance: 72–152. 1994.
- Dahl, Robert A. (2001). How Democratic Is the American Constitution?. Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-09218-0.
- Balfour. "Introduction". The English Constitution.
- Nelson, Dana D. (2008). Bad for Democracy: How the Presidency Undermines the Power of the People. Minneapolis, Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press. p. 248. ISBN 978-0-8166-5677-6.
- Sirota, David (August 22, 2008). "Why cult of presidency is bad for democracy". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2009-09-20.
- Sigman, Rachel; Lindberg, Staffan I. (2017). "Neopatrimonialism and Democracy: An Empirical Investigation of Africa's Political Regimes". V-Dem Working Paper 2017:56. doi:10.2139/ssrn.3066654. hdl:2077/54296. S2CID 158437511.
- Doyle, David; Elgie, Robert (2016). "Maximizing the Reliability of Cross-National Measures of Presidential Power". British Journal of Political Science. 46 (4): 731–741. doi:10.1017/S0007123414000465.
- "CONSTITUIÇÃO DA REPÚBLICA DE ANGOLA" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 March 2012. Retrieved 3 August 2011.
- Chen, Albert Hung Yee (n.d.). "The Executive Authorities and the Legislature in the Political Structure of the Hong Kong SAR" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-03-29.
- "Κεφάλαιον Ε' – Περὶ συντάξεως τῆς Ἑλληνικῆς πολιτείας" [Chapter 5 – Concerning the organisation of the Hellenic state]. Πολιτικὸν Σύνταγμα τῆς Ἑλλάδος [Political Constitution of Greece] (PDF) (in Greek). Troezen: Third National Assembly. 5 May 1827. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 July 2011. Retrieved 29 December 2024 – via the Hellenic Parliament.
Ἡ νομοτελεστικὴ [ἐξουσία] ἀνήκει εἰς ἕνα μόνον ὀνομαζόμενον Κυβερνήτην, ἔχοντα διαφόρους ὑπ' αὐτὸν γραμματεῖς τῆς ἐπικρατείας.
[The Executive [power] belongs to solely one [individual] titled Governor, who has under him state secretaries.]
External links
- The Great Debate: Parliament versus Congress
- Castagnola, Andrea/Pérez-Liñán, Aníbal: Presidential Control of High Courts in Latin America: A Long-term View (1904-2006), in Journal of Politics in Latin America, Hamburg 2009.
A presidential strong president or single executive system is a form of government in which a head of government usually titled president heads an executive branch that derives its authority and legitimacy from a source that is separate from the legislative branch The system was popularized by its inclusion in the Constitution of the United States World s states coloured by systems of government Parliamentary systems Head of government is elected or nominated by and accountable to the legislature Constitutional monarchy with a ceremonial monarch Parliamentary republic with a ceremonial president Parliamentary republic with an executive president Presidential system Head of government president is popularly elected and independent of the legislature Presidential republic Hybrid systems Semi presidential republic Executive president is independent of the legislature head of government is appointed by the president and is accountable to the legislature Assembly independent republic Head of government president or directory is elected by the legislature but is not accountable to it Other systems Theocratic republic Supreme Leader holds significant executive and legislative power Semi constitutional monarchy Monarch holds significant executive or legislative power Absolute monarchy Monarch has unlimited power One party state Power is constitutionally linked to a single political party Military junta Committee of military leaders controls the government constitutional provisions are suspended Provisional government No constitutionally defined basis to current regime Dependent territories or places without governments Note this chart represents the de jure systems of government not the de facto degree of democracy vte This head of government is in most cases also the head of state In a presidential system the head of government is directly or indirectly elected by a group of citizens and is not responsible to the legislature and the legislature cannot dismiss the president except in extraordinary cases A presidential system contrasts with a parliamentary system where the head of government usually called a prime minister derives their power from the confidence of an elected legislature which can dismiss the prime minister with a simple majority Not all presidential systems use the title of president Likewise the title is sometimes used by other systems It originated from a time when such a person personally presided over the governing body as with the President of the Continental Congress in the early United States prior to the executive function being split into a separate branch of government It may also be used by presidents in semi presidential systems Heads of state of parliamentary republics largely ceremonial in most cases are called presidents Dictators or leaders of one party states whether popularly elected or not are also often called presidents The presidential system is the most common form of government in the Americas and is also frequently found in Sub Saharan Africa along with semi presidential hybrid systems By contrast there are very few presidential republics in Europe with Cyprus and Turkey being the only examples In Asia the system is used by South Korea the Philippines and Indonesia HistoryDevelopment in the Americas The presidential system has its roots in the governance of the British colonies of the 17th century in what is now the United States The Pilgrims permitted to govern themselves in Plymouth Colony established a system that utilized an independent executive branch Each year a governor was chosen by the colonial legislature as well as several assistants analogous to modern day cabinets Additional executive officials such as constables and messengers were then appointed At the same time the British Isles underwent a brief period of republicanism as the Protectorate during which the Lord Protector served as an executive leader similar to a president The first true presidential system was developed during the United States Constitutional Convention in 1787 Drawing inspiration from the previous colonial governments from English Common Law and from philosophers such as John Locke and Montesquieu the delegates developed what is now known as the presidential system Most notably James Wilson advocated for a unitary executive figure that would become the role of the president The United States became the first presidential republic when the Constitution of the United States came into force in 1789 and George Washington became the first president under a presidential system During the 1810s and 1820s Spanish colonies in the Americas sought independence and several new Spanish speaking governments emerged in Latin America These countries modeled their constitutions after that of the United States and the presidential system became the dominant political system in the Americas Following several decades of monarchy Brazil also adopted the presidential system in 1889 with Deodoro da Fonseca as its first president Latin American presidential systems have experienced varying levels of stability with many experiencing periods of dictatorial rule As a global system Following the pattern of other Spanish colonies the Philippines established the first presidential system in Asia in 1898 but it fell under American control due to the Spanish American War The presidential system was restored after the United States granted the Philippines independence in 1946 The end of World War II established presidential systems in two countries After the United States ended the Japanese occupation of Korea it assisted South Korea in the formation of a presidential government However the early years of the South Korean presidency were marked by dictatorial control citation needed At the same time Indonesia declared independence from the Netherlands in 1945 While it nominally used a presidential system it was in effect a dictatorship where the president controlled all branches of government A true presidential system was established in 1998 citation needed Decolonization in the 1950s and 1960s brought with it significant expansion of the presidential system During this time several new presidential republics were formed in Africa Cyprus the Maldives and South Vietnam citation needed also adopted the presidential system following decolonization Pakistan and Bangladesh did so as well but they changed their governmental systems shortly afterward citation needed Several more countries adopted the presidential system in the final decades of the 20th century A modified version of the presidential system was implemented in Iran following constitutional reform in 1989 in which the Supreme Leader serves as the head of state and is the absolute power in this country In 1981 Palau achieved independence and adopted a presidential system When the Soviet Union was dissolved in 1991 the presidential system was adopted by the new states that were created though most of them adopted other governmental systems over the following decades The presidential system continues to be adopted in the 21st century Following its independence in 2011 South Sudan adopted a presidential system In 2018 after the 2017 Turkish constitutional referendum Turkey adopted a presidential system FeaturesThere are several characteristics that are unique to presidential systems or prominent in countries that use presidential systems The defining aspect of presidential systems is the separation of powers that divides the executive and the legislature Advocates of presidential systems cite the democratic nature of presidential elections the advantages of separation of powers the efficiency of a unitary executive and the stability provided by fixed terms Opponents of presidential systems cite the potential for gridlock the difficulty of changing leadership and concerns that a unitary executive can give way to a dictatorship Separation of powers The presidential system is defined by the separation of the executive branch from other aspects of government The head of government is elected to work alongside but not as a part of the legislature There are several types of powers that are traditionally delegated to the president Under a presidential system the president may have the power to challenge legislation through a veto the power to pardon crimes authority over foreign policy authority to command the military as the Commander in chief and authority over advisors and employees of the executive branch citation needed Checks and balances Separation of powers is sometimes held up as an advantage in that each branch may scrutinize the actions of the other This is in contrast with a parliamentary system where the majority party in the legislature that also serves as the executive is unlikely to scrutinize its own actions Writing about the Watergate scandal former British MP Woodrow Wyatt said don t think a Watergate couldn t happen here you just wouldn t hear about it The extent of this effect is debated Some commentators argue that the effect is mitigated when the president s party is in power while others note that party discipline is not as strictly enforced in presidential systems Another stated benefit of the separation of powers is the ability of the legislature to enforce limits on the powers of the executive In a parliamentary system if important legislation proposed by the incumbent prime minister and his cabinet is voted down by a majority of the members of parliament then it is considered a vote of no confidence The presidential system has no such mechanism and the legislature has little incentive to appease the president beyond saving face citation needed Efficiencies and inefficiencies When an action is within the scope of a president s power a presidential system can respond more rapidly to emerging situations than parliamentary ones A prime minister when taking action needs to retain the support of the legislature but a president is often less constrained In Why England Slept future U S president John F Kennedy argued that British prime ministers Stanley Baldwin and Neville Chamberlain were constrained by the need to maintain the confidence of the Commons James Wilson who advocated for a presidential system at the constitutional convention maintained that a single chief executive would provide for greater public accountability than a group and thereby protect against tyranny by making it plain who was responsible for executive actions He also submitted that a singular chief executive was necessary to ensure promptness and consistency and guard against deadlock which could be essential in times of national emergency Conversely a presidential system can produce gridlock when the president and the legislature are in opposition This rarely happens in a parliamentary system as the prime minister is always a member of the party in power This gridlock is common occurrence as the electorate often expects more rapid results than are possible from new policies and switches to a different party at the next election Critics such as Juan Linz argue that in such cases of gridlock presidential systems do not offer voters the kind of accountability seen in parliamentary systems and that this inherent political instability can cause democracies to fail as seen in such cases as Brazil and Allende s Chile It is easy for either the president or the legislature to escape blame by shifting it to the other Describing the United States former Treasury Secretary C Douglas Dillon said the president blames Congress the Congress blames the president and the public remains confused and disgusted with government in Washington Years before becoming president Woodrow Wilson famously wrote how is the schoolmaster the nation to know which boy needs the whipping Walter Bagehot said of the American system the executive is crippled by not getting the law it needs and the legislature is spoiled by having to act without responsibility the executive becomes unfit for its name since it cannot execute what it decides on the legislature is demoralized by liberty by taking decisions of which others and not itself will suffer the effects A 2024 meta analytical review found that presidential systems were associated with more corruption than parliamentary systems Presidential elections In a presidential system the president is elected independently of the legislature This may be done directly through a popular vote or indirectly such as through the electoral college used in the United States This aspect of presidential systems is sometimes touted as more democratic as it provides a broader mandate for the president Once elected a president typically remains in office until the conclusion of a term Fixed terms Presidential systems are typically understood as having a head of government elected by citizens to serve one or more fixed terms Fixed terms are praised for providing a level of stability that other systems lack Proponents of the presidential system also argue that stability extends to the cabinets chosen under the system In most parliamentary systems cabinets must be drawn from within the legislative branch Under the presidential system cabinet members can be selected from a much larger pool of potential candidates This allows presidents the ability to select cabinet members based as much or more on their ability and competency to lead a particular department as on their loyalty to the president as opposed to parliamentary cabinets which might be filled by legislators chosen for no better reason than their perceived loyalty to the prime minister Some political scientists dispute this concept of stability arguing that presidential systems have difficulty sustaining democratic practices and that they have slipped into authoritarianism in many of the countries in which they have been implemented According to political scientist Fred Riggs presidential systems have fallen into authoritarianism in nearly every country they ve been attempted The list of the world s 22 older democracies includes only two countries Costa Rica and the United States with presidential systems Yale political scientist Juan Linz argues that The danger that zero sum presidential elections pose is compounded by the rigidity of the president s fixed term in office Winners and losers are sharply defined for the entire period of the presidential mandate losers must wait four or five years without any access to executive power and patronage The zero sum game in presidential regimes raises the stakes of presidential elections and inevitably exacerbates their attendant tension and polarization Fixed terms in a presidential system may also be considered a check on the powers of the executive contrasting parliamentary systems which may allow the prime minister to call elections whenever they see fit or orchestrate their own vote of no confidence to trigger an election when they cannot get a legislative item passed Limited mechanisms of removal Unlike in parliamentary systems the legislature does not have the power to recall a president under the presidential system However presidential systems may have methods to remove presidents under extraordinary circumstances such as a president committing a crime or becoming incapacitated In some countries presidents are subject to term limits The inability to remove a president early is also the subject of criticism Even if a president is proved to be inefficient even if he becomes unpopular even if his policy is unacceptable to the majority of his countrymen he and his methods must be endured until the moment comes for a new election The consistency of a presidency may be seen as beneficial during times of crisis When in a time of crisis countries may be better off being led by a president with a fixed term than rotating premierships citation needed Some critics however argue that the presidential system is weaker because it does not allow a transfer of power in the event of an emergency Walter Bagehot argues that the ideal ruler in times of calm is different from the ideal ruler in times of crisis criticizing the presidential system for having no mechanism to make such a change Heightened status The president s status as both head of government and head of state is sometimes the subject of criticism Dana D Nelson criticizes the office of the President of the United States as essentially undemocratic and characterizes presidentialism as worship of the president by citizens which she believes undermines civic participation Comparative politicsThe separation of the executive and the legislature is the key difference between a presidential system and a parliamentary system The presidential system elects a head of government independently of the legislature while in contrast the head of government in a parliamentary system answers directly to the legislature Presidential systems necessarily operate under the principle of structural separation of powers while parliamentary systems do not however the degree of functional separation of powers exhibited in each varies dualistic parliamentary systems such as the Netherlands Sweden and Slovakia forbid members of the legislature from serving in the executive simultaneously while Westminster type parliamentary systems such as the United Kingdom require it Heads of government under the presidential system do not depend on the approval of the legislature as they do in a parliamentary system with the exception of mechanisms such as impeachment The presidential system and the parliamentary system can also be blended into a semi presidential system Under such a system executive power is shared by an elected head of state a president and a legislature appointed head of government a prime minister or premier The amount of power each figure holds may vary and a semi presidential system may lean closer to one system over the other The president typically retains authority over foreign policy in a semi presidential system citation needed A pure presidential system may also have mechanisms that resemble those of a parliamentary system as part of checks and balances The legislature may have oversight of some of the president s decisions through advice and consent and mechanisms such as impeachment may allow the legislature to remove the president under drastic circumstances citation needed Presidentialism metrics Presidentialism metrics allow a quantitative comparison of the strength of presidential system characteristics for individual countries Presidentialism metrics include the presidentialism index in V Dem Democracy indices and presidential power scores The table below shows for individual countries the V Dem presidentialism index where higher values indicate higher concentration of political power in the hands of one individual Country Presidentialism Index for 2021 Afghanistan 0 934 Albania 0 22 Algeria 0 807 Angola 0 627 Argentina 0 203 Armenia 0 297 Australia 0 01 Austria 0 047 Azerbaijan 0 965 Bahrain 0 917 Bangladesh 0 711 Barbados 0 091 Belarus 0 98 Belgium 0 051 Benin 0 419 Bhutan 0 117 Bolivia 0 535 Bosnia and Herzegovina 0 327 Botswana 0 176 Brazil 0 136 Bulgaria 0 16 Burkina Faso 0 314 Myanmar 0 879 Burundi 0 801 Cambodia 0 88 Cameroon 0 873 Canada 0 08 Cape Verde 0 098 Central African Republic 0 618 Chad 0 929 Chile 0 019 China 0 891 Colombia 0 133 Comoros 0 833 Costa Rica 0 033 Croatia 0 107 Cuba 0 806 Cyprus 0 151 Czech Republic 0 09 Democratic Republic of the Congo 0 689 Denmark 0 012 Djibouti 0 751 Dominican Republic 0 181 Ecuador 0 397 Egypt 0 494 El Salvador 0 855 Equatorial Guinea 0 966 Eritrea 0 977 Estonia 0 033 Eswatini 0 707 Ethiopia 0 735 Fiji 0 525 Finland 0 022 France 0 068 Gabon 0 752 Georgia 0 282 Germany 0 033 Ghana 0 13 Greece 0 12 Guatemala 0 351 Guinea 0 764 Guinea Bissau 0 413 Guyana 0 276 Haiti 0 706 Honduras 0 402 Hong Kong 0 569 Hungary 0 288 Iceland 0 051 India 0 227 Indonesia 0 206 Iran 0 812 Iraq 0 484 Ireland 0 04 Israel 0 1 Italy 0 089 Ivory Coast 0 532 Jamaica 0 084 Japan 0 135 Jordan 0 25 Kazakhstan 0 807 Kenya 0 132 Kosovo 0 296 Kuwait 0 317 Kyrgyzstan 0 614 Laos 0 59 Latvia 0 036 Lebanon 0 539 Lesotho 0 123 Liberia 0 296 Libya 0 479 Lithuania 0 025 Luxembourg 0 092 Madagascar 0 677 Malawi 0 136 Malaysia 0 354 Maldives 0 211 Mali 0 623 Malta 0 131 Mauritania 0 74 Mauritius 0 194 Mexico 0 369 Moldova 0 122 Mongolia 0 207 Montenegro 0 246 Morocco 0 348 Mozambique 0 442 Namibia 0 207 Nepal 0 213 Netherlands 0 028 New Zealand 0 016 Nicaragua 0 987 Niger 0 32 Nigeria 0 36 North Korea 0 986 North Macedonia 0 46 Norway 0 015 Oman 0 574 Pakistan 0 286 Palestine Gaza 0 807 Palestine West Bank 0 585 Panama 0 297 Papua New Guinea 0 197 Paraguay 0 258 Peru 0 094 Philippines 0 35 Poland 0 361 Portugal 0 056 Qatar 0 716 Republic of the Congo 0 779 Romania 0 184 Russia 0 898 Rwanda 0 738 Sao Tome and Principe 0 213 Saudi Arabia 0 814 Senegal 0 236 Serbia 0 404 Seychelles 0 055 Sierra Leone 0 296 Singapore 0 298 Slovakia 0 047 Slovenia 0 159 Solomon Islands 0 216 Somalia 0 756 Somaliland 0 599 South Africa 0 13 South Korea 0 076 South Sudan 0 881 Spain 0 031 Sri Lanka 0 252 Sudan 0 692 Suriname 0 126 Sweden 0 02 Switzerland 0 013 Syria 0 922 Taiwan 0 15 Tajikistan 0 943 Tanzania 0 15 Thailand 0 419 The Gambia 0 131 Timor Leste 0 29 Togo 0 804 Trinidad and Tobago 0 113 Tunisia 0 113 Turkey 0 722 Turkmenistan 0 907 Uganda 0 411 Ukraine 0 597 United Arab Emirates 0 835 United Kingdom 0 062 United States of America 0 078 Uruguay 0 045 Uzbekistan 0 905 Vanuatu 0 102 Venezuela 0 958 Vietnam 0 726 Yemen 0 884 Zambia 0 277 Zanzibar 0 591 Zimbabwe 0 592Subnational governments Subnational governments may be structured as presidential systems All of the state governments in the United States use the presidential system even though this is not constitutionally required In these cases instead of the title of President the role has the title of Governor On a local level a presidential system might be organized with the office of Mayor acting as the president Some countries without a presidential system at the national level use a form of this system at a subnational or local level One example is Japan where the national government uses the parliamentary system States with a presidential system of governmentThis section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Presidential system news newspapers books scholar JSTOR April 2024 Learn how and when to remove this message This section is an excerpt from List of countries by system of government Presidential systems edit Presidential republics without a prime minister Angola Argentina Benin Bolivia Brazil Chile Colombia Comoros Costa Rica Cyprus Dominican Republic Ecuador El Salvador Gambia The Ghana Guatemala Honduras Indonesia Liberia Malawi Maldives Mexico Nicaragua Nigeria Palau Panama Paraguay Philippines Seychelles Somaliland Turkey Turkmenistan United States Uruguay Venezuela Zambia Zimbabwe Non UN members or observers are in italics Presidential republics with a prime minister The following countries have presidential systems where the post of prime minister official title may vary exists alongside that of the president The president is still both the head of state and government and the prime minister s role is mostly to assist the president Abkhazia Burundi Cameroon Central African Republic Djibouti Equatorial Guinea Ivory Coast Kenya see Prime Cabinet Secretary Kyrgyzstan Rwanda Senegal Sierra Leone see Chief minister South Korea Tajikistan Tanzania Tunisia Uganda Non UN members or observers are in italics Presidential system in administrative divisions Dependencies of the United States American Samoa Northern Mariana Islands Puerto Rico United States Virgin Islands Special administrative regions of China Hong Kong MacauFormer presidential republics Islamic Republic of Afghanistan 2004 2021 Armenia 1998 2013 Azerbaijan SSR Azerbaijan 1990 1991 1992 2016 Bangladesh 1975 1991 Republic of China 1948 1991 de facto Cuba 1902 1959 Estonia 1938 1940 Georgia 1995 2004 2005 2011 Germany 1930 1933 de facto failed verification Greece 1822 1832 1973 1974 Haiti 1859 1957 1957 1986 Katanga 1960 1963 Kirghiz SSR Kyrgyzstan 1990 1993 Mali 1960 1992 Mauritania 1960 1978 Niger 1960 1974 1989 1993 Pakistan 1958 1973 1978 1985 2001 2002 Poland 1935 1939 RSFSR Russia 1991 1992 de facto South Korea 1963 1972 South Vietnam 1955 1975 citation needed Syria 1963 2024 Tajik SSR 1990 1991 Togo 1960 2024 Turkmen SSR 1990 1991 Ukraine 1995 1996 Uzbek SSR 1990 1991 Republics with executive governors Vermont Republic 1777 1791 United Provinces of the Rio de la Plata 1820 1832 and Argentine Confederation 1835 1852 Alabama 1861 1865 Georgia 1861 1865 Louisiana 1861 1865 Texas 1861 1865 Mississipi 1861 1865 South Carolina 1861 1865 Florida 1861 1865 Virginia 1861 1865 Arkansas 1861 1865 North Carolina 1861 1865 Tennessee 1861 1865 Missouri 1861 1865 Kentucky 1861 1865 NotesPresident and legislature are elected directly by the people via double simultaneous vote President and legislature are elected directly by the people via double simultaneous vote President and legislature are elected directly by the people via double simultaneous vote as the Armenian SSR parliamentary in 1990 1991 Soviet age and after independence it was a semi presidential republic in 1991 1998 a presidential republic in 1998 2013 a semi presidential republic in 2013 2018 and a parliamentary republic in 2018 as the Azerbaijan SSR it was a presidential republic in 1990 1991 a semi presidential republic after independence in 1991 1992 a presidential republic in 1992 2016 and a semi presidential republic in 2016 Under a hereditary dictatorship since 1993 Parliamentary in 1972 1975 presidential in 1975 1991 and parliamentary since 1991 De facto Presidential system in 1948 1991 under a de jure parliamentary republic under the Temporary Provisions against the Communist Rebellion as the Georgian SSR and after independence parliamentary in 1990 1991 semi presidential in 1991 1995 presidential in 1995 2004 semi presidential in 2004 2005 and presidential 2005 2011 Semi presidential in 2011 2019 and parliamentary since 2019 A semi presidential republic as the Weimar Republic in 1918 1930 a presidential republic in 1930 1933 a totalitarian dictatorship under a parliamentary system in 1933 1945 as a Nazi Germany a military occupation in 1945 1949 and a parliamentary republic in 1949 Presidential in 1990 1993 Semi presidential in 1993 2010 de jure 1993 2021 de facto Parliamentary in 2010 2021 de jure and presidential again in 2021 A presidential republic 1960 1991 2023 present military dictatorship 1968 1991 1991 1992 2012 2020 present single party state 1960 1968 1974 1991 semi presidential republic 1991 2023 A one party presidential republic 1960 1978 military dictatorship 1978 1992 2005 2007 2008 2009 semi presidential republic since 1992 A single party presidential republic 1960 1974 1989 1993 a military dictatorship 1974 1993 1996 1999 1999 2010 2011 2023 present a semi presidential republic 1993 1996 1999 2010 2011 2023 All South Korean constitutions since 1963 provided for a strong executive Presidency in addition the formally authoritarian Yushin Constitution of the Fourth Republic established a presidential power to dissolve the National Assembly nominally counterbalanced by a vote of no confidence Both of these provisions were retained by the Fifth Republic s constitution but repealed upon the transition to democracy and the establishment of the Sixth Republic An interim constitution passed in 1995 removed the President s ability to dissolve the Verkhovna Rada and the Rada s ability to dismiss the government by a vote of no confidence Both of these provisions were restored upon the passage of a permanent constitution in 1996 References Varieties of public representation Political Representation Cambridge University Press 2010 ISBN 978 0521128650 Fennell Christopher Plymouth Colony Legal Structure Histarch uiuc edu Vile M J 1967 The separation of powers In Greene J P amp Pole J R Eds 2008 A companion to the American Revolution Ch 87 John Wiley amp Sons Sundquist James L 1997 The U S Presidential System as a Model for the World In Baaklini Abdo I Desfosses Helen eds Designs for Democratic Stability Studies in Viable Constitutionalism Routledge pp 53 72 ISBN 0765600528 McCarthy Daniel J 1987 James Wilson and the Creation of the Presidency Presidential Studies Quarterly 17 4 689 696 Sondrol Paul 2005 The Presidentialist Tradition in Latin America International Journal of Public Administration 28 5 517 530 doi 10 1081 PAD 200055210 S2CID 153822718 Mainwaring Scott 1990 Presidentialism in Latin America Latin American Research Review 25 157 179 doi 10 1017 S0023879100023256 S2CID 252947271 Valenzuela Arturo 2004 Latin American Presidencies Interrupted Journal of Democracy 15 4 5 19 doi 10 1353 jod 2004 0075 S2CID 51825804 Ker Lindsay James 2006 Presidential Power and Authority in the Republic of Cyprus Mediterranean Politics 11 21 37 doi 10 1080 13629390500490379 S2CID 145444372 Heath Brown Nick 2015 Maldives The Statesman s Yearbook 2016 Buchta Wilfried 2000 Who Rules Iran The Structure of Power in the Islamic Republic The Washington Institute for Near East Policy and the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung p 22 ISBN 0944029361 Shuster Donald R 1983 Elections in the Republic of Palau Political Science 35 117 132 doi 10 1177 003231878303500108 Hale Henry E 2012 Two Decades of Post Soviet Regime Dynamics Demokratizatsiya 20 2 71 77 Diehl Katharina van der Horst Judith 2013 The New Electoral Law in South Sudan 46 2 215 233 Kirisci Kemal Toygur Ilke 2019 Turkey s new presidential system and a changing west Brookings Adar Sinem Seufert Gunter 2021 Turkey s Presidential System after Two and a Half Years Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik Turkey elections How powerful will the next Turkish president be BBC News 2018 06 25 Retrieved 2022 03 01 von Mettenheim Kurt 1997 Presidential Institutions and Democratic Politics The Johns Hopkins University Press pp 2 15 ISBN 0801853133 Tsebelis George 1995 Decision Making in Political Systems Veto Players in Presidentialism Parliamentarism Multicameralism and Multipartyism British Journal of Political Science 25 3 289 325 doi 10 1017 S0007123400007225 S2CID 18060081 Schlesinger Arthur 1974 No Way to Curb the Executive The New Republic Depauw Sam Martin Shane 2008 Legislative party discipline and cohesion in comparative perspective In Giannetti Daniela Benoit Kenneth eds Intra Party Politics and Coalition Governments Routledge Kennedy John F 1940 Why England Slept Wilfred Funk Inc Yoo 2019 pp 55 57harvnb error no target CITEREFYoo2019 help George Edwards Warrenberg Martin 2016 Government in America People Politics and Policy AP Edition 2016 Presidential Election 17th Edition Pearson Higher Education p 16 ISBN 9780134586571 Linz Juan 1990 The perils of presidentialism The Journal of Democracy 1 51 69 doi 10 1353 jod 2005 0026 Sundquist James 1992 Constitutional Reform and Effective Government Brookings Institution Press p 11 Wilson Congressional Government 1885 pp 186 187 Balfour The Cabinet The English Constitution Dawson Stephen Schwenk Jana Xezonakis Georgios 2024 10 04 The Distribution of Executive Power and Corruption A Meta Analytical Review Comparative Political Studies doi 10 1177 00104140241290213 ISSN 0010 4140 Sargentich Thomas O 1993 The Presidential and Parliamentary Models of National Government American University International Law Review 8 2 579 592 Riggs Fred W 1997 Presidentialism versus Parliamentarism Implications for Representativeness and Legitimacy International Political Science Review 18 3 258 doi 10 1177 019251297018003003 JSTOR 1601343 S2CID 145450791 Conceptual homogenization of a heterogeneous field Presidentialism in comparative perspective Comparing Nations Concepts Strategies Substance 72 152 1994 Dahl Robert A 2001 How Democratic Is the American Constitution Yale University Press ISBN 0 300 09218 0 Balfour Introduction The English Constitution Nelson Dana D 2008 Bad for Democracy How the Presidency Undermines the Power of the People Minneapolis Minnesota University of Minnesota Press p 248 ISBN 978 0 8166 5677 6 Sirota David August 22 2008 Why cult of presidency is bad for democracy San Francisco Chronicle Retrieved 2009 09 20 Sigman Rachel Lindberg Staffan I 2017 Neopatrimonialism and Democracy An Empirical Investigation of Africa s Political Regimes V Dem Working Paper 2017 56 doi 10 2139 ssrn 3066654 hdl 2077 54296 S2CID 158437511 Doyle David Elgie Robert 2016 Maximizing the Reliability of Cross National Measures of Presidential Power British Journal of Political Science 46 4 731 741 doi 10 1017 S0007123414000465 CONSTITUICAO DA REPUBLICA DE ANGOLA PDF Archived from the original PDF on 28 March 2012 Retrieved 3 August 2011 Chen Albert Hung Yee n d The Executive Authorities and the Legislature in the Political Structure of the Hong Kong SAR PDF Archived from the original PDF on 2017 03 29 Kefalaion E Perὶ synta3ews tῆs Ἑllhnikῆs politeias Chapter 5 Concerning the organisation of the Hellenic state Politikὸn Syntagma tῆs Ἑllados Political Constitution of Greece PDF in Greek Troezen Third National Assembly 5 May 1827 Archived PDF from the original on 5 July 2011 Retrieved 29 December 2024 via the Hellenic Parliament Ἡ nomotelestikὴ ἐ3oysia ἀnhkei eἰs ἕna monon ὀnomazomenon Kybernhthn ἔxonta diaforoys ὑp aὐtὸn grammateῖs tῆs ἐpikrateias The Executive power belongs to solely one individual titled Governor who has under him state secretaries External linksThe Great Debate Parliament versus Congress Castagnola Andrea Perez Linan Anibal Presidential Control of High Courts in Latin America A Long term View 1904 2006 in Journal of Politics in Latin America Hamburg 2009