Legislatures and Executives October 27

Role of Legislatures Legislature as agent: linkage, representation, debating and legitimation Legislature as principal: control, oversight and budget control Legislature as legislator: policy-making vs. policy-influencing (consultation, delay, veto, amendment, initiation)

Systems of government presidential parliamentary [semi-presidential]

Presidential Systems Division of powers between executive and legislature. A directly elected executive that serves as head of government and head of state for a fixed term. Legislature elected for fixed term. President may initiate legislation but remains reliant upon legislature for passage of laws.

Presidential Systems - Examples USA very common in Central and South America – Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela. African systems including Benin, Ghana, Liberia Namibia, Malawi, Nigeria, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia. Asian countries including South Korea, Philippines.

Presidential Systems Special case – Switzerland Switzerland has a collective presidency formed by the seven members of the Federal Council (Bundesrat), one being selected to be the formal president each year.

Parliamentary Systems Fusion of executive and legislative powers. The executive (Prime Minister or equivalent and cabinet) is drawn from the elected members of the legislature. That executive must retain the confidence or support of the legislature. While the PM serves as head of government, they do not act as head of state.

Parliamentary Systems - Examples UK and many members of the Commonwealth, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, Jamaica, Botswana, Mauritius. Common in Western Europe: Germany, Italy, Austria, Spain, Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden Japan, Bangladesh, Malaysia

Parliamentary Systems Special case – Israel Israel had a parliamentary system but with a directly elected president. Unlike the president in a presidential system however, the Israeli president could be removed by the legislature. Special case – South Africa In post-apartheid South Africa, the leader of the party with the most seats in the legislature is selected as President (meaning they are not directly elected) and serves a five year term.

Parliamentary Heads of State Constitutional Monarchies Indigenous Monarchy – Belgium, Denmark, Japan, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Samoa, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, UK. Commonwealth countries that recognize British Monarch as Head of State – Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the Solomon Islands and Tuvalu.

Parliamentary Heads of State Parliamentary Republics with a largely symbolic President as Head of State (either directly elected or chosen by national legislature) – Albania, Austria, Bangladesh, Czech Republic, Dominica, Estonia, Finland (since 2000), Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Israel (since 2001), Italy, Latvia, Malta, Mauritius, Moldova, Slovakia, Slovenia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Vanuatu.

Parliamentary Heads of State Parliamentary Republics with a President as Head of State and having moderate political powers – Bulgaria, Croatia, East Timor, Ireland, Lithuania, Macedonia, Mongolia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Taiwan, Turkey. Parliamentary Republics with a President as Head of State and very significant political powers (“semi-presidential” systems) – Cape Verde, France (since 1958), Georgia, Kenya (formerly presidential, but semi-presidential since 2008), Madagascar, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Peru, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal. Common in post-Communist Eastern Europe: e.g. Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Poland.

Semi-Presidential System Includes a directly elected President. The President appoints the Prime Minister from the elected members of the legislature. The PM can also be removed by the President. The Prime Minister appoints the cabinet from the elected members of the legislature. The PM and cabinet must retain the confidence or support of the legislature. The President and PM share executive power.

Presidential vs. Parliamentary Overall, each system has certain tendencies, but there is also much variation within each model. The variations in characteristics are influenced by specific institutional variations involved within the two major groupings and the variations in the electoral and party systems.

Women in Legislatures Inter-Parliamentary Union ranking of legislatures by proportion of female legislators: