Systems of Government Parliamentary Presidential Semi-Presidential YouTube Lecture Handouts

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Parliamentary, Presidential & Semi-Presidential: Systems of Government

Systems of Government Parliamentary Presidential Semi-Presidential

Illustration: Systems of Government Parliamentary Presidential Semi-Presidential
  • The defining feature of presidential democracies is that they do not have legislative responsibility.
  • In contrast, parliamentary and semi-presidential democracies both have legislative responsibility
  • In addition to legislative responsibility, semi-presidential democracies also have a head of state who is popularly elected for a fixed term
Illustration: Systems of Government Parliamentary Presidential Semi-Presidential
Illustration: Systems of Government Parliamentary Presidential Semi-Presidential
  • Parliamentary System A parliamentary system is a democratic form of government in which the party that wins the most seats (in the legislature) gets to form the government, which means that the leader of that party will then become the prime minister or chancellor (Head of Government)
  • IN UK: only national officials that are voted for in Great Britain are members of parliament. The people do not vote for the prime minister! Thatีšs very important to understand, notice how different it is from the United States.
  • This means that the national legislature, and more specifically the majority party, can select or remove the head of government and the cabinet, not the people. This gives parliament a great deal of power.
  • Prime Minister- Leader of the National Government - In the parliamentary system, the executive and legislative branch is intertwined, and the leader of both branches is the Prime Minister.
  • Cabinet - Cabinet Members/Heads of Bureaucracy - The cabinet consists of party leaders chosen by the prime minister. The cabinet is the center of policy making in Britain. The cabinet believes in collective responsibility and makes policy for the country.
Illustration: Systems of Government Parliamentary Presidential Semi-Presidential
  • Presidential System A presidential system is a democratic and republican (meaning the people are represented by government representatives โ€ฆ not political parties) government in which the head of government leads an executive branch that is separate from the legislative branch Mexico & Nigeria.
  • The people of Mexico directly elect the president every six years. The election process is based on direct, universal suffrage and the principle of a simple majority.
  • Legislative elections are separate from executive elections and are based upon proportional representation

Presidential System - Roles and Responsibilities

  • Executive Branch-President: Head of State/Head of Government/Commander in Chief - Head of the Executive Branch, Head of State, Head of Government, and Supreme Leader of the military.
  • Legislative Branch-Senate and Chamber of Deputies- Creating Laws - Has the power to makes laws, impose taxes, declare war, reject treaties, and ratify diplomatic appointments
  • Judicial Branch-Supreme Court - Interpreting Laws - Divided into federal and state systems. The Supreme Court has final appellate (the ability to appeal things) powers over federal and state courts.
Illustration: Presidential System - Roles and Responsibilities
  • Semi-Presidential System Also called dual executive system; a president exists alongside a prime minister and a cabinet in this system. It has elements of the parliamentary system, with the prime minister and cabinet handling the legislation of the state, and elements of the presidential system, because the president is a popularly elected head of state.
  • In France, for example, in case of cohabitation, when the president and the prime minister come from opposing parties, the president oversees foreign policy and Defence policy and the prime minister domestic policy and economic policy.
  • President - Head of State - Directly elected by the people. Head of State-appoints Prime Minister, power varies by country.
  • Prime Minister - Head of Government - Role is to carry out the policy that the President enacts, acts as the head of government to varying degrees, and varies by country.
  • Cabinet - Executive Cabinet - Responsible for aspects of policy making execute monetary policy, ensure the rule of law, protect property, deal with crime, etc.

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