Semi-Presidentialism in Europe | Oxford Academic Skip to Main Content

Semi-Presidentialism in Europe

Online ISBN:
9780191599156
Print ISBN:
9780198293866
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
Book

Semi-Presidentialism in Europe

Robert Elgie (ed.)
Robert Elgie
(ed.)

Lecturer in Politics

University of Limerick
Find on
Published:
2 September 1999
Online ISBN:
9780191599156
Print ISBN:
9780198293866
Publisher:
Oxford University Press

Abstract

Semi‐presidentialism is an increasingly popular form of constitutional government. Semi‐presidential regimes can now be found in Western Europe, in Austria, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, and Portugal, in Central and Eastern Europe, including Bulgaria, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovenia, and Ukraine; in Asia, in places such as Mongolia, South Korea, and Sri Lanka; and elsewhere in, e.g. Guyana, Haiti, Angola, and Namibia. By definition, all of these countries share a similar set of basic constitutional features, namely, a directly elected fixed‐term president and a prime minister who is responsible to parliament. However, the main observation to be made about them is that the exercise of political power varies greatly from one to another. For example, in some countries (particularly France), the president is usually the dominant political actor; in other countries (such as Finland), there is a sometimes uneasy balance of power between the president and prime minister; in yet others (notably Ukraine), the president and parliament share powers; and finally, in others still (including Austria, Iceland, and Ireland), the president is merely a figurehead and the prime minister dominates the decision‐making process. Because of the very varied forms of political leadership that occur across these institutionally similar countries, some writers have dismissed the concept of semi‐presidentialism, but in fact, though, it provides a perfect opportunity to study the general question of why political systems function in the way they do and to examine the relationship between particular constitutional arrangements and different forms of political practice. This book examines the politics of semi‐presidentialism in 12 European countries (all those listed above except for Portugal), and the constitutional powers of political leaders, the role of political parties, and the importance of past precedent. Ch. 1 provides a background to the study of the concept and a framework for the analysis of semi‐presidential regimes. This framework is then applied to the politics of individual European countries in the following chapters. In the conclusion, the lessons of these chapters are reviewed and the future of semi‐presidential studies is considered.

Contents
This Feature Is Available To Subscribers Only

Sign In or Create an Account

Close

This PDF is available to Subscribers Only

View Article Abstract & Purchase Options

For full access to this pdf, sign in to an existing account, or purchase an annual subscription.

Close