Semi-presidential republic explained

A semi-presidential republic, or dual executive republic, is a republic in which a president exists alongside a prime minister and a cabinet, with the latter two being responsible to the legislature of the state. It differs from a parliamentary republic in that it has an executive president independent of the legislature; and from the presidential system in that the cabinet, although named by the president, is responsible to the legislature, which may force the cabinet to resign through a motion of no confidence.[1] [2] [3] [4]

While the Weimar Republic (1919–1933) and Finland (from 1919 to 2000) exemplified early semi-presidential systems, the term "semi-presidential" was first introduced in 1959 in an article by journalist Hubert Beuve-Méry,[5] and popularized by a 1978 work written by political scientist Maurice Duverger,[6] both of whom intended to describe the French Fifth Republic (established in 1958).

Definition

Maurice Duverger's original definition of semi-presidentialism stated that the president had to be elected, possess significant power, and serve for a fixed term.[7] Modern definitions merely declare that the head of state has to be elected, and that a separate prime minister that is dependent on parliamentary confidence has to lead the legislative.[7]

Subtypes

There are two distinct subtypes of semi-presidentialism: premier-presidentialism and president-parliamentarism.

Under the premier-presidential system, the prime minister and cabinet are exclusively accountable to parliament. The president may choose the prime minister and cabinet, but only the parliament may approve them and remove them from office with a vote of no confidence. This system is much closer to pure parliamentarism. This subtype is used in: Burkina Faso, Cape Verde,[8] East Timor,[9] France, Lithuania, Madagascar, Mali, Mongolia, Niger, Georgia (2013–2018), Poland (de facto, however, according to the Constitution, Poland is a parliamentary republic),[10] [11] [12] Portugal, Romania, São Tomé and Príncipe, Sri Lanka, Turkey (de facto between 2014 and 2018, until the constitutional amendment to switch the government to presidential from parliamentary), and Ukraine (since 2014; previously, between 2006 and 2010).[13] [14]

Under the president-parliamentary system, the prime minister and cabinet are dually accountable to the president and to the parliament. The president chooses the prime minister and the cabinet, but must have the support of a parliamentary majority for his choice. In order to remove a prime minister, or the whole cabinet, from power, the president can either dismiss them, or the parliament can remove them through a vote of no confidence. This form of semi-presidentialism is much closer to pure presidentialism. It is used in: Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Russia, and Taiwan. It was also used in Ukraine (first between 1996 and 2005; then from 2010 to 2014), Georgia (from 2004 to 2013), South Korea under the Fourth and Fifth republics, and in Germany during the Weimar Republic.

Cohabitation

In a semi-presidential system, the president and the prime minister may sometimes be from different political parties. This is called "cohabitation", a term which originated in France after the situation first arose in the 1980s. Cohabitation can create either an effective system of checks and balances, or a period of bitter and tense stonewalling, depending on the attitudes of the two leaders, the ideologies of themselves/their parties, and the demands of their supporters.[15]

Division of powers

The distribution of power between the president and the prime minister can vary greatly between countries.

In France, for example, in the case of cohabitation, the president oversees foreign policy and defense policy (these are generally called les prérogatives présidentielles, presidential prerogatives) and the prime minister is in charge of domestic policy and economic policy.[16] In this case, the division of responsibilities between the prime minister and the president is not explicitly stated in the constitution, but has evolved as a political convention based on the constitutional principle that the prime minister is appointed (with the subsequent approval of a parliament majority) and dismissed by the president.[17] On the other hand, whenever the president and the prime minister represent the same political party, which leads the cabinet, they tend to exercise de facto control over all fields of policy via the prime minister. However, it is up to the president to decide how much autonomy is left to said prime minister.

In most cases, cohabitation results from a system in which the two executives are not elected at the same time or for the same term. For example, in 1981, France elected both a Socialist president and legislature, which yielded a Socialist premier. But while the president's term of office was for seven years, the National Assembly only served for five. When, in the 1986 legislative election, the French people elected a right-of-centre assembly, Socialist president François Mitterrand was forced into cohabitation with right-wing premier Jacques Chirac.

However, in 2000, amendments to the French constitution reduced the length of the French president's term to five years. This has significantly lowered the chances of cohabitation occurring, as parliamentary and presidential elections may now be conducted within a shorter span of each other.

Advantages and disadvantages

The incorporation of elements from both presidential and parliamentary republics can bring certain advantageous elements; however, it also creates disadvantages, often related to the confusion produced by mixed authority patterns.[18] [19]

Advantages

Disadvantages

Republics with a semi-presidential system of government

Former semi-presidential republics

See also

References

Sources

External links

Notes and References

  1. Duverger. . quarterly . 8 . 2 . 165–187 . 10.1111/j.1475-6765.1980.tb00569.x . free . The concept of a semi-presidential form of government, as used here, is defined only by the content of the constitution. A political regime is considered as semi-presidential if the constitution which established it, combines three elements: (1) the president of the republic is elected by universal suffrage, (2) he possesses quite considerable powers; (3) he has opposite him, however, a prime minister and ministers who possess executive and governmental power and can stay in office only if the parliament does not show its opposition to them. . A New Political System Model: Semi-Presidential Government. 1980.
  2. Veser . Ernst .

    de:Ernst Veser

    . 1997 . Semi-Presidentialism-Duverger's concept: A New Political System Model . Journal for Humanities and Social Sciences . 11 . 1 . 39–60 . 21 August 2016 .
  3. Duverger . Maurice . Maurice Duverger . September 1996 . Les monarchies républicaines . The Republican Monarchies . fr . . Paris . Éditions du Seuil . 909782158 . 0152-0768 . 2-02-030123-7 . 78 . 107–120 . 10 September 2016 .
  4. Bahro . Horst . Bayerlein . Bernhard H. . Veser . Ernst .

    de:Ernst Veser

    . October 1998 . Duverger's concept: Semi-presidential government revisited . . quarterly . 34 . 2 . 201–224 . 10.1111/1475-6765.00405 . 153349701 . The conventional analysis of government in democratic countries by political science and constitutional law starts from the traditional types of presidentialism and parliamentarism. There is, however, a general consensus that governments in the various countries work quite differently. This is why some authors have inserted distinctive features into their analytical approaches, at the same time maintaining the general dichotomy. Maurice Duverger, trying to explain the French Fifth Republic, found that this dichotomy was not adequate for this purpose. He therefore resorted to the concept of 'semi-presidential government': The characteristics of the concept are (Duverger 1974: 122, 1978: 28, 1980: 166):
    1. the president of the republic is elected by universal suffrage,
    2. he possesses quite considerable powers and
    3. he has opposite him a prime minister who possesses executive and governmental powers and can stay in office only if parliament does not express its opposition to him. .
  5. Le Monde, 8 January 1959.
  6. Book: Duverger, Maurice . Maurice Duverger . Échec au roi . A. Michel . Paris . 1978 . 9782226005809 .
  7. Elgie . Robert . Presidentialism, Parliamentarism and Semi-Presidentialism: Bringing Parties Back In . Government and Opposition . 2 January 2013 . 46 . 3 . 392–409 . 10.1111/j.1477-7053.2011.01345.x. 145748468 .
  8. Neto . Octávio Amorim . Lobo . Marina Costa . 2010 . Between Constitutional Diffusion and Local Politics: Semi-Presidentialism in Portuguese-Speaking Countries . APSA 2010 Annual Meeting Paper . 1644026 . 18 August 2017 .
  9. Book: Beuman, Lydia M. . 2016 . Political Institutions in East Timor: Semi-Presidentialism and Democratisation . Abingdon, Oxon . . 978-1317362128 . 2015036590 . 983148216 . 18 August 2017 . Google Books .
  10. Web site: McMenamin . Iain . Semi-Presidentialism and Democratisation in Poland . https://web.archive.org/web/20120212225305/http://webpages.dcu.ie/~mcmenami/Poland_semi-presidentialism_2.pdf . 12 February 2012 . . 11 December 2017 .
  11. Web site: Poland 1997 (rev. 2009) Constitution . Constitute . 9 October 2021.
  12. Web site: Poland . The World Factbook . CIA . 22 September 2021 . 8 October 2021.
  13. Shugart . Matthew Søberg . Matthew Søberg Shugart . September 2005 . Semi-Presidential Systems: Dual Executive and Mixed Authority Patterns . dead . . United States . . https://web.archive.org/web/20080819200307/http://dss.ucsd.edu/~mshugart/semi-presidentialism.pdf . 19 August 2008 . 12 October 2017 .
  14. Shugart . Matthew Søberg . Matthew Søberg Shugart . December 2005 . Semi-Presidential Systems: Dual Executive And Mixed Authority Patterns . . French Politics . 3 . 3 . 323–351 . 1476-3427 . 6895745903 . 10.1057/palgrave.fp.8200087 . free . 12 October 2017 .
  15. Poulard . Jean V. . . vanc . Summer 1990 . The French Double Executive and the Experience of Cohabitation . 7 October 2017 . subscription . PDF . . quarterly . 105 . 2 . 243–267 . 10.2307/2151025 . free . 0032-3195 . 2151025 . free . 4951242513 .
  16. See article 5, title II, of the French Constitution of 1958. Jean Massot, Quelle place la Constitution de 1958 accorde-t-elle au Président de la République?, Constitutional Council of France website (in French).
  17. Le Petit Larousse 2013 p. 880
  18. Book: Barrington, Lowell. Comparative Politics: Structures and Choices. 1 January 2012. Cengage Learning. Google Books. 978-1111341930.
  19. Book: Barrington . Lowell . Bosia . Michael J. . Bruhn . Kathleen . Giaimo . Susan . McHenry, Jr. . Dean E. . 2012 . 2009 . Comparative Politics: Structures and Choices . 2nd . Boston, MA . . 169–170 . 9781111341930 . 2011942386 . 9 September 2017 . .
  20. Book: The Foreign Policies of Post-Yugoslav States: From Yugoslavia to Europe . 9781137384133 . Keil . S. . Stahl . B. . 17 December 2014 .
  21. Shugart . Matthew Søberg . Matthew Søberg Shugart . December 2005 . Semi-Presidential Systems: Dual Executive And Mixed Authority Patterns . French Politics . 3 . 3 . 11 . 1476-3427 . 6895745903 . 10.1057/palgrave.fp.8200087 . free .

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