Overview Dimensions for evaluating democratic institutions Normative Positive Defining presidential parliamentary and mixed democracies How do they work Implications of executivelegislative relations for policies and stability of democracy ID: 257366
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Slide1
Presidential vs. Parliamentary DemocracySlide2
Overview
Dimensions for evaluating democratic institutions.
Normative
Positive
Defining presidential, parliamentary, and mixed democracies
How do they work?
Implications of executive-legislative relations for policies and stability of democracy.Slide3
Dimensions for analyzing democratic institutions
Protection of liberty
Protection of minorities
Decisiveness, especially under stress
Credibility of commitments
Stability
Quality of democracy
Representativeness
Accountability
Rent-
seeking and corruptionSlide4
Dimensions for analyzing democratic institutions (cont.)
Public versus private goods
Broad versus targeted programs and expenditures
The extent of redistribution
Budget deficits
Size of government as a share of GDPSlide5
What are the features that distinguish parliamentary and presidential regimes?Slide6
What are the features that distinguish parliamentary and presidential regimes?
Crucial questions:
How is the executive selected?
Is the executive dependent on legislative confidence?Slide7Slide8Slide9
What about France?Slide10
French president
French Prime MinisterSlide11Slide12Slide13Slide14
Dimensions for evaluating institutions
Protection of liberty, prevention of tyranny.Slide15
Dimensions for evaluating institutions
Protection of liberty, prevention of tyranny.
Some issues:
Madison and Hamilton: Ambition should counteract ambition
But tyranny in parliamentary democracies?
Too much power in hands of president? Russia? Too easy to fall into authoritarianism?Slide16
Dimensions for evaluating institutions
Decisiveness, especially under stress.Slide17
Dimensions for evaluating institutions
Decisiveness, especially under stress.
Some issues:
Madison and Hamilton again: Good to have one individual rather than collegial executive
Can’t a PM be decisive?
What about presidents without legislative backing?Slide18
Dimensions for evaluating institutions
Credibility of commitments, policy stabilitySlide19
Dimensions for evaluating institutions
Credibility of commitments, policy stability
Some issues:
Uncertainty about coalitions
Decree authority
GridlockSlide20
Dimensions for evaluating institutions
Stability of democracy.
What did you learn in the readings?Slide21
Dimensions for evaluating institutions
Stability of democracy.
What did you learn in the readings?
Why do presidential democracies fail?
Gridlock, divided government
Why do presidential systems end up with divided government?Slide22
Dimensions for evaluating institutions
Stability of democracy.
What did you learn in the readings?
Why do presidential democracies fail?
Gridlock, divided government
Why do presidential systems end up with divided government?
Geography
BalancingSlide23
Why are presidential systems so fragmented?
The disciplining role of the no-confidence procedure
What incentives do individual members of the legislature face?Slide24
Presidentialism and gridlock
Is there a problem with presidential democracy, or perhaps a problem with multi-party presidential democracy?Slide25Slide26
How do presidents get things done?
In the United States?
In a multi-party presidential system like Brazil?Slide27
Dimensions for evaluating institutions
Rent-seeking and corruption?Slide28
Dimensions for evaluating institutions
Rent-seeking and corruption?
Some issues:
Parliamentarism: Politicians can collude, less oversight because of lacking division of power
But what about the problem of decree authority under presidentialism?Slide29
Dimensions for evaluating institutions
Pork versus national collective goodsSlide30
Dimensions for evaluating institutions
The “quality” of democracy
What did Bagehot say?
Accountability
ResponsivenessSlide31
Endogenous institutions
What kinds of countries choose presidentialism?Slide32
Endogenous institutions
What kinds of countries choose presidentialism?
Moments when demands for strong leadership are overwhelming.
Constitutions written by “strongmen” (De Gaul, Yeltsin).
History of military involvement in politics.
Large and diverse countries?