Brings together leading scholars to examine the question of whether presidentialism or parliamentarism offers the best hope for stable government and democratic continuity. This edition offers comparative perspectives.

Preface p. ix Part I Introduction Presidential or Parliamentary Democracy: Does It Make a Difference? Juan J. Linz p. 3 Part II The Experience of Latin American Presidentialism 6. Party Politics and the Crisis of Presidentialism in Chile: A Proposal for a Parliamentary Form of Government Arturo Valenzuela p. 91 7. Presidentialism and Democratic Stability in Uruguay Luis Eduardo Gonzalez and Charles Guy Gillespie p. 151 8. Brazil: Toward Parliamentarism? Bolivar Lamounier p. 179 9. Presidentialism and Colombian Politics Jonathan Hartlyn p. 220 10. Loose Parties, "Floating" Politicians, and Institutional Stress: Presidentialism in Ecuador, 1979-1988 Catherine M. Conaghan p. 254 11. Presidents, Messiahs, and Constitutional Breakdowns in Peru Cynthia Mcclintock p. 286 12. Venezuela: Democratic despite Presidentialism Michael Coppedge p. 322 Notes on Contributors p. 349 Index.

The rule of law is frequently invoked in political debate, yet rarely defined with any precision. Some employ it as a synonym for democracy, others for the subordination of the legislature to a written constitution and its judicial guardians. It has been seen as obedience to the duly-recognised government, a form of governing through formal and general rule-like laws and the rule of principle. Given this diversity of view, it is perhaps unsurprising that certain scholars have regarded the concept as no more than a self-congratulatory rhetorical device. This collection of eighteen key essays from jurists, political theorists and public law political scientists, aims to explore the role law plays in the political system. The introduction evaluates their arguments. The first eleven essays identify the standard features associated with the rule of law. These are held to derive less from any characteristics of law per se than from a style of legislating and judging that gives equal consideration to all citizens. The next seven essays then explore how different ways of separating and dispersing power contribute to this democratic style of rule by forcing politicians and judges alike to treat people as equals and regard none as above the law.

During the last three decades, there has been a growing interest in systems that combine elements of parliamentarism and presidentialism. Despite the fact that much attention has been directed towards the semi-presidential form of government in particular, it is evident that many aspects of regime forms remain unexplored. This book systematically categorises democratic political regimes with a separate head of state and government (including regimes with a monarch and prime minister, and president and PM) globally and over a long historical period 1850–2019. It analyses how regimes with a dual executive emerge and what trajectories they follow. It also explores the stability of these regimes across time and space. An important feature of this endeavour is to address actual powers of the head of state rather than constitutional provisions.

Extracts from Opinions of Author's Earlier Book. "I am happy to find in your book such well documented and argued support for a proposal which I have advocated for many years." Shri J. R. D. Tata Eminent Industrialist "My own personal opinion that a success of any system, be it parliamentary or presidential, ultimately depends on the people who will operate it, has changed after having read your book...Your book is bound to contribute a great deal in moulding the public opinion in this regard." Shri Babubhai Patel Ex-Chief Minister of Gujarat "I really enjoyed the discussion we had on your views… and analysis of the Presidential System. Frankly, after listening to your meticulous analysis of the comparative merits, I must say I am veering around to your view... I am convinced that your objective is a pure one and is not aimed at pursuit of any political gains but to the promotion of a nationalist ideology. I am pleasantly amazed that our country still has persons like you. You have no personal ambitions in the matter. It is indeed gratifying that a highly qualified Engineer and Technologist like you should be taking such great interest in promoting a larger national cause. You have taken up this agenda of political reforms with no other expectation than good of the country at large." Shri M. N. Venkatachaliah Former Chief Justice of India and Chairman, Constitutional Reforms Committee, Govt. of India, 2002 "Your lifetime of work for the cause of bringing the presidential system to India is an important contribution to the future of our country. You have given this mission your best for a very long time. I am touched and encouraged… Please don't give up hope… You are (a) source of inspiration..." Shri Bhanu Dhamija Author of Why India Needs The Presidential System

Democratic breakdown as a political and historic event can impact the fate of millions, if not hundreds of millions of people, by changing the political complexion of a country. This book attempts to systematically explain why democracies collapse. The author's main theoretical argument is based on the examination of two factors. One is political cleavages among voters. These can cause serious political conflicts and may lead to fierce political confrontation and major upheaval at the society level. The other revolves around the types of political and institutional arrangements under democratic regimes. Centrifugal democratic regimes are likely to weaken government capacity or state capacity, rendering governments incapable of effectively resolving political conflicts and, when these two factors come together, political conflicts are less likely to be controlled effectively. These situations can evolve into serious political crises and eventually lead to the collapse of democratic regimes. The empirical research of this book is based on a comparative historical analysis of Germany, Nigeria, Chile, and India. Examining democratic collapses from both theoretical and empirical perspectives, this book will be of interest to those engaged in the study of democracy, Political Science, Comparative Politics, and Political Theory.

This book provides a general introduction to the European Union (EU) as an ever closer union of states and peoples. It describes how, from its origin in 1958 as an economic community of six states, the EU has grown into a political entity of 25 states with a population of more than 450 million. It also explains the constitution-making process that is currently taking place—with a draft constitution now being submitted for ratification by the 25 member states. The book shows how the distinctive features of a democratic polity that characterize the separate EU member states are gradually replicated in the European Union and how the Union is on its way to becoming a democratic polity of its own kind. Van Gerven writes from a legal perspective, with an eye to political theory and recent American and European history, and with a diverse readership from both sides of the Atlantic in mind.

This is the third of four volumes compiled in honor of Juan J. Linz and edited by H. E. Chehabi, Richard Gunther, Alfred Stepan, and Arturo Valenzuela. Each volume presents original research and theoretical essays by Linz's distinguished collaborators, students, teachers, and friends, as well as overviews of his enormous contributions to Spanish and Latin American studies, comparative politics, and sociology.In Volume III, leading Latin American scholars evaluate Juan Linz's contribution to the study of Latin American politics, in particular his influence on studies dealing with authoritarianism, democratic breakdown, public opinion, regime transition, and the institutional conditions needed for stable democracy.

Parliamentarism has been a presiding characteristic of the Turkish political tradition since the 1876 Ottoman constitution. In 1923, with the founding of the Turkish Republic, modern parliamentarism was implemented in Turkey. Since that time, Turkish politics has been turbulent, with four military coups, a number of short-lived multiparty coalitions, and several ineffective governments. Many scholars have argued that the main reason for this instability is the parliamentary system of government, so Turkey must therefore adopt a presidential system. Presidentialism in Turkey uses both quantitative analysis and country-based comparisons to explore whether such a change might solve Turkey’s main political problems or if it might in fact create more problems for the nation. The relationship between government systems and political, economic, and social development is explored in a time-series analysis covering the period 1975–2014 for Turkey. It is argued that during this time period, the parliamentary system was better than the presidential system at boosting economic and political development, whereas the presidential system provides better social development. Furthermore, a country-based analysis in which Turkey is compared with other states that have used a presidential system at some point since 1975 highlights that each country has its own specific characteristics that affect its economic and political success. Thus, a regime transformation to a presidential system will not necessarily improve Turkey’s economic, political, and social development. By including a comparison of all presidential, parliamentary, and semi-presidential systems, this book helps to shed new light on what is a very controversial topic in Turkey. It will therefore be a key resource for students and scholars of Turkish studies and comparative politics.

Examines democratic party competition in four post-communist polities in the 1990s. The work illustrates developments regarding different voter appeal of parties, patterns of voter representation, and dispositions to join other parties in alliances. Wider groups of countries are also compared.