Is Parliamentarism Conducive to Better Political Outcomes Than Presidential Systems?
Is Parliamentarism conducive to better political outcomes than Presidential systems?
My interpretation of the question leads me to believe if parliamentary systems are better than presidential systems in deriving better political outcomes. By better political outcomes this implies not only ease of making political decisions but also the manner in which the two systems function and which is better, and whether or not this leads to favourable political outcomes. Issues that I am going to discuss in this essay are going to include the functionality of both systems, the differences between the two systems and whether or not the system provides and facilitates good political outcomes.
According to Bagehot “a Presidential system endows the incumbent with both the ceremonial functions of a head of state and the effective functions of a chief executive.”(Bagehot) In a Presidential system the executive branch exists and resides outside of the legislature. The executive branch does not purpose legislature but have the power to veto them. “The president has a fixed term in government and it is usually a difficult process trying to eliminate the president.”(Verney) The executive branch controls their cabinet and does not members of the cabinet serve at their will, this means the President can hire or fire anyone from the cabinet. According to Verney “Parliamentary system, consists of the head of government that are dependent on the confidence of the legislature and can be dismissed by a legislative vote of no confidence.”(Verney) There are two main types of parliamentary democracy which consist of the ‘Westminster system’ and the ‘Consensus system’ but there is also a hybrid of the presidential and parliamentary system which is called the semi-presidential system. The Westminster system derives from the UK and can be found in many of Britain’s ex-colonies such as India and Canada. The Westminster system tends to be a more adversarial style of debating. The consensus system
My interpretation of the question leads me to believe if parliamentary systems are better than presidential systems in deriving better political outcomes. By better political outcomes this implies not only ease of making political decisions but also the manner in which the two systems function and which is better, and whether or not this leads to favourable political outcomes. Issues that I am going to discuss in this essay are going to include the functionality of both systems, the differences between the two systems and whether or not the system provides and facilitates good political outcomes.
According to Bagehot “a Presidential system endows the incumbent with both the ceremonial functions of a head of state and the effective functions of a chief executive.”(Bagehot) In a Presidential system the executive branch exists and resides outside of the legislature. The executive branch does not purpose legislature but have the power to veto them. “The president has a fixed term in government and it is usually a difficult process trying to eliminate the president.”(Verney) The executive branch controls their cabinet and does not members of the cabinet serve at their will, this means the President can hire or fire anyone from the cabinet. According to Verney “Parliamentary system, consists of the head of government that are dependent on the confidence of the legislature and can be dismissed by a legislative vote of no confidence.”(Verney) There are two main types of parliamentary democracy which consist of the ‘Westminster system’ and the ‘Consensus system’ but there is also a hybrid of the presidential and parliamentary system which is called the semi-presidential system. The Westminster system derives from the UK and can be found in many of Britain’s ex-colonies such as India and Canada. The Westminster system tends to be a more adversarial style of debating. The consensus system
Bibliography: Bagehot W, (1867) The English Constitution, MacMaster University Dahl, R (1989) Democracy and Its Critics- - Yale University Press Horowitz, Donald L. (1990) Comparing Democratic Systems- The Johns Hopkins University Press Kennedy. John F. (1940)- Why England Slept?, Macmillan Lijphart, Arend (1999). Patterns of democracy. New Haven: Yale University Press. Linz, Juan J. The Perils of Presidentialism - The Johns Hopkins University Press Riggs, Fred. (1988) The Survival of Presidentialism in America International Political Science Review Verney