Preview

Presidential vs. Parliamentary Democracy: a Debate

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
258 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Presidential vs. Parliamentary Democracy: a Debate
"Presidential vs. Parliamentary Democracy: A Debate"

In terms of stability and democratic values, parliamentarism is not the superior form of government. Parliamentarism lacks stability by sovereignty. Sovereignty leaves the power in the hand of Parliament without any checks or balances to ensure proper governing. Parliaments laws can fluctuate greatly according to whomever is in office, considering that there is no written constitution at times which describes there power, considering they have all the power there is no need for a description of it. The prime minister can be ousted if needed prematurely if his party lacks confidence in him. This vulnerability leaves a prime minister weak and easily swayable. In terms of democratic values a parliamentary system lacks the highest efficiency because of the lack of proportional representation in Parliament. Regardless of the exactly number of parties, a minority party would not hold enough seats to actually make a significant difference.
Agreeing with Horowitz over Linz, one must remember and take into consideration the benefits and "functions that a separately elected president can perform for a divided society." Though parliamentarism is not superior, it does possess one characteristic, which can improve the United States system through the incorporation of consensus between legislature and the prime minister, in the U.S. Congress and the president. If the U.S. Congress could come more to a consensus with the president more laws would be passed in a more expedient measure. This consensus would halt blaming individual branches or people for inefficient measures or laws because of collective

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    The United States’ form of government is a controversial topic in this modern era and has been for decades. The big question “Is the United States a democracy, a republic or something else?” According to the article On Democracy in Our Republic by an unknown author, there is a logically reinforced thesis that the United States is a republic and not a democracy.…

    • 1009 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Power in theory in this system should lie with the commons and the chamber as they should be able to voice their opinions, and fight the policies of government properly but obviously parliamentary control does limit this a huge amount as how can this be true if a party does control power the opposition will be outnumbered and effectively be a lame duck and completely pointless. It means that parliament and the mps who are not inn government or the majority party have to literally sit there and can no longer really help their constituents on the issues that matter to them this certainly limits parliaments main function especially in opposition parties in particular. Secondly there is the argument that in politics and the majority party in particular there is a certain do as your told attitude, there is no more free thinking in parliament on a large scale anymore, mps are merely there to toe the party line as they cannot really step out of line as they may be deselected at the next election. This is a huge threat to there jobs basically but is very effective on behalf of the large party as it means that party whips will have to be used less, as most people in the party know that if they want to go far into the executive then they basically must…

    • 1009 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    There are arguments to support that the PM dominates the political system. The PM has the power to do many things that will affect the state of hers/his country and therefore has to carefully consider the choices they make. The pm has many powers that proves his/hers dominance like the power of patronage, choosing the cabinet ministers, the power of royal prerogative and so on. This all gives him more power than the rest of parliament. However there are arguments to support that the PMs Power is limited; The pm may be proved weak when it comes to pressure of events, scrutiny by House of lords and opposition, the current coalition est.…

    • 1872 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The two perspectives on Presidential power are power as persuasion and unilateral power. Since Presidents’ power is to persuade, they have far less formal power than the necessary to meet the large expectations over them. Presidents take to office their goals and expectations for public policy, but to accomplish these, they must work with the Congress. Congress and the presidency were created to avoid one single institution from having control over policymaking. Presidents’ power involves the bargaining that derives from their position, reputation, prestige and reputation (Howell). They make their personal impact on the choices of what should be said or done, how and when.…

    • 493 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The debate on which form of democracy, representative versus parliamentary, can best manage a global energy crisis is a matter of much concern. The study addresses the following question: which form of democracy, U.S. representative versus British parliamentary can best manage a global oil crisis between 2009-2011? The question is important to address because understanding which form of democracy, U.S. representative versus British parliamentary can best manage a global oil crisis between 2009-2011 is critical in assessing the efficiencies of democratic energy decision making.…

    • 1163 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    I think direct democracy should be more widely used in the UK however there are also disadvantages of direct democracy and critiquing of the advantages and disadvantages.…

    • 425 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Predominately and most obviously parliaments “main function” is legislation and passing bills, and in all fairness that’s what parliament does, far more bills are efficiently passed through parliament and become law compared to the US who struggle to pass anything with such a variation of opinions. The majority government that Britain almost always has, despite labour government in 1974-79 which was weak and short lived, always been able to provide stability and efficient law-making; a core function of parliament. Counter-arguing this it could be suggested that such a strong majority government who does not have to debate or compromise in laws could eventually result in an elective dictatorship, meaning that we are effectively controlled by the government on a vote that was made for 4/5…

    • 1616 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    III. Is Representative Democracy Best?A. For a representative democracy government to work their must be:i. A opportunity for genuine leadership competition1. individuals and parties be able to run for office2. free communication 3. voters perceive that meaningful choices existii. Guidelines for fair leadership campaigns.B. Framers of the constitution -i. Thought that representative democracy was best because -1. less chances of it offices being manipulated2. help prevent political offices being used for private gain3. reduce the need for constant pollsii. Set up government to protect -1. Civil rights of all people2. Minorities 3. From concentration placement of power. IV. How is Power Distributed in a Democracy?A. Elitei. Persons who possess…

    • 461 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    ways when comparisons are drawn from two similarly strong western liberal democratic systems. They both enjoy the same fundamental principles of liberal democracy, with those living under this system enjoying the same rights and freedoms with comparable economic conditions. The real difference between these two systems lies in the division of power (). Parliamentarism has been defined as having the parliament as the only democratically legitimate institution is parliament, whereby the government’s authority is completely dependent upon parliamentary confidence. (). While argues that there are three conditions necessary to declare a system parliamentary: All major government decisions must be taken by people chosen in elections conducted along party lines. Policy must be decided within governing party (parties if coalition). The highest officials (ministers) must be selected within their parties and be responsible to the people through their parties. On the other hand, in presidential systems according to , an executive with considerable constitutional powers - generally including full control of the composition of the cabinet and administration - is directly for a fixed term. The president is also the symbolic Head of State.…

    • 928 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    As stated in the text, what we have now in the United States is a "winner takes all" system. Switching to a Parliamentary system is highly unlikely since our founders chose a completely different path. With Congress only needing two-thirds of the vote to win, it allows elected officials the power to change or not change the law based on their interests and sometimes . In years where the majority of one party rules over another, in favor of certain agendas, it risks the important minority vote. Of course, the President has the power to veto.…

    • 752 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Westminster model and parliamentary democracy are effective because society is free to show whether they disapprove of policies or elements of parliaments and they can protest against them. There is also a lot of political diversity and many different ways to get involved and engage in politics, for example, pressure groups use various forms of advocacy in order to influence public opinion and/or policy.…

    • 65 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Although it seems like direct democracy would give an accurate representation of the population, a representative democracy provides more fair and equal decisions. This is because representatives can make decisions while keeping the minority in mind. In a direct democracy, the majority will always come out on top, simply because there are more people. Also, representatives are not emotionally invested in every issue, so they can make more logical and rational decisions. People often prioritize their values and beliefs over the welfare of others when voting on representatives, and they will do the same when they vote on important issues.…

    • 721 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    parliamentarian system of government, if we wish to see our country thrive as it once did.…

    • 1403 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the beginning of the chapter, we are told what is power, in the political sense, and who has the authority to use it. There are two different understandings of democracy: direct democracy (the rule of many) and representative democracy. The US government uses representative democracy, everyone is given their own power, even if it's as minimal as voting for a leader to represent you. The Framers of the Constitution believed a direct democracy would lead to people following the popular opinion instead of the common good for the nation.…

    • 332 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Political Science Paper

    • 2048 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The two most common types of democratic governmental systems are Parliamentary systems and Presidential systems. For many years, people have studied the effectiveness of both and have given reasons why a certain country should obtain a certain form of government. Examples of two countries that use these systems are Canada and the United States. Canada uses a traditional parliamentary system, and the United States uses a presidential system. In this paper, I will focus on the strengths of a parliamentary system, and the weaknesses of a presidential system, to prove my argument. Canada is better off with a parliamentary system then a presidential system for many reasons. In order for my argument to be persuasive, I will explain the differences in the two. In comparison to a presidential system, a parliamentary system has more closure in making decisions, the parties that exist within the system tend to be stronger, and there is a responsible government, which allows for the government leader to be more actively involved with its citizens.…

    • 2048 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays