Chapter 9: Executives

This Week… What is the executive branch? How is the Executive Organized? ▫Parliaments, Presidents and Mixed Systems Formal and Informal Powers (and limits on these powers) Stability and Instability in the Executive

What is the Executive Branch? Branch of government that executes laws ▫Administers/enacts laws or policy Executive has policy making rules ▫Fused powers ▫Budgetary issues ▫Policy preferences Power relationships between legislative and executive branches is variable by system

What is the Executive Branch? 2 Executive often held accountable for quality of services ▫Run the bureaucracy Heads of State ▫Symbolic leader of the states (Ex. Queen, some Presidents) Heads of Government ▫Forms government, policies ▫Runs the day to day business of state (Ex. Prime Ministers) Dual Executives

What is the Executive Branch? 3 Given power over bureaucracy, executive could be considered most powerful branch When democracy fails, Executives usually remain Executives have political and non-political components

Presidential Systems ▫Important note: Just because a country has a president, DOES NOT MEAN it’s necessarily a presidential system (e.g. India) Direct(ish) election for the President ▫Can be plurality or majoritarian election ▫Fixed term ▫Strict, constitutional separation of powers ▫Cannot propose laws (but can veto) ▫Demands compromise ▫Impeachment

Parliamentary Systems Election of Members of Parliament ▫Members of Parliament choose Head of Government: Prime Minister/Premier/Chancellor ▫Indirect Election ▫Prime Minister is usually the leader of the largest party, chosen before an election – so, most voters know who PM will be ▫Head of State usually a Figure Head

Parliamentary Systems 2 What else? ▫Often leaders must be negotiated in incidence of Minority Government ▫Fused powers ▫Confidence votes/Responsible Government ▫Party discipline ▫Executive Dominance

Semi-Presidential Systems Directly elected president Prime Minister responsible to legislature, but also President President can often fire PM As such, Presidents can be de facto Head of Government

Types of Formal Power in Constitutions Powers can vary across states ▫Veto Power ▫Power of Dissolution ▫Decree (usually undemocratic) ▫Executive Order (democratic version of Decree) ▫States of Emergency

Formal Limits on Power Impeachment Censure Non-Confidence Term Limits But, the legislature needs to act responsibly

Partisan Powers Often times more important than formal powers Power of legislature in part dependent on control of executive over individual members of legislature Primaries

Coalition Governments Coalitions are when two or more parties actively work together to govern ▫Usually in parliamentary systems ▫Presidential systems can use it (Brazil) Many electoral systems limit majority governments Junior Members and Cabinet

Coalition Governments Cont… Coalitions can be complicated ▫Do not need to have the largest party involved ▫Can be made up of many different parties Minimum Winning Coalitions ▫Minimum Connected Coalitions ▫Minimum Size Coalitions ▫Minimum Number of Parties Coalition ▫Median Party Coalition ▫Grand Coalition Failing to win a majority does not require a coalition

Informal Powers of the Executive Influence debate ▫Make speeches with broad audience Power to persuade Patronage Clientelism (these last two are bad)

Stability Long standing debate about which system of governance is better Parliamentary system often seen as more effective: ▫Clear legitimacy ▫No fixed elections ▫Broader coalition of interests ▫“Presidential” styles tend to be more authoritarian ▫Insider executives

Presidential Systems and Democratic Consolidation Some argue that observations of more stability of parliamentary systems is an issue of wealth, not style of government Presidential systems due tend towards delegative democracy Populism and the economy Strong central governments and the economy

Parliamentarism and Instability Because PMs can be fired, there can be high levels of turn over Systems that tend towards minority governments can also result in turnover ▫Sometimes without elections Italy