Executive and Legislative Relations

Question 1

what are the two types of systems of government?

Answer 1

parliamentary system and presidential system

Question 2

what is the relation between the prime minister and the parliament in parliamentary systems?

Answer 2

prime minister is dependent on the confidence of the parliament

Question 3

what is the relation between the head of government and the parliament in parliamentary systems?

Answer 3

head of government is indirectly elected/appointed by the parliament

Question 4

what is the fusion of power system in parliamentary systems?

Answer 4

executives and legislatives are mutually dependent

Question 5

due to which three factors are there differences among parliamentary systems?

Answer 5

-head of state vs head of government
-degrees of executive collegiality
-degrees of fusion of power

Question 6

what is the relation between the president and the legislature in presidential systems?

Answer 6

president is independent of the legislatives, elected for a fixed term, sits for a fixed time

Question 7

what is the separation of power in parliamentary systems?

Answer 7

executives and president have separate mandates

Question 8

what is the degree of authority of executive members?

Answer 8

executive is steered by one person: members of it only serve as advisors

Question 9

what are the powers of the head of state like (in parliamentary systems)?

Answer 9

they do not hold much power at all

Question 10

what functions do the heads of state have in parliamentary systems?

Answer 10

they only have symbolic, procedural and diplomatic functions

Question 11

who holds most of the power in parliamentary systems?

Answer 11

Prime Minister

Question 12

what is meant by the separation between the two types of “head of state”?

Answer 12

in monarchies: head of state is king/queen, born into it

in republics: head of state is president, elected directly or indirectly

Question 13

what are collegial executives?

Answer 13

group of ministers who make decisions as a group

Question 14

what is the fusion of power as a general? who depends on who?

Answer 14

parliament and government depend on one another

Question 15

what is one example of high fusion of power?

Answer 15

United Kingdom: ministers are selected from parliament (they are both ministers and MPs)

Question 16

what is one example of low fusion of power / high separation of power?

Answer 16

Netherlands: MPs must give up their seat in parliament to become ministers

Question 17

how are presidents elected and removed in presidential systems?

Answer 17

they are elected for a fixed term in office, but can be removed through impeachment

Question 18

does impeachment always work?

Answer 18

no, it is a complicated process and may fail

Question 19

what is one example of a failed impeachment attempt?

Answer 19

Bill Clinton was impeached but couldn’t be removed from office

Question 20

do all presidential system states have the same presidential powers?

Answer 20

no, the power of the president varies from country to country

Question 21

what are some advantages of the presidential system?

Answer 21

-provides stability
-democratically elected executive
-legislature can fully legislate
-strong leadership

Question 22

what are some disadvantages of the presidential system?

Answer 22

-danger of deadlock between executive and legislature
-fixed term, executive cannot be removed
-winner takes all (one wins, the rest loses)
-favours poor chief executives (Latin America)

Question 23

which one of the two systems breaks down more often if a new democracy adopts a new system?

Answer 23

presidential system

Question 24

what are semi-presidential systems?

Answer 24

-combines the features of presidentialism and parliamentarism and the proponents
-two main executives must cooperate to succeed

Question 25

who holds power in semi-presidential systems?

Answer 25

1. directly elected president (head of state)
2. also a prime minister who is answerable to the legislation

Question 26

what is cohabitation?

Answer 26

a system of divided government that occurs in semi-presidential systems such as France

Question 27

under what circumstances does cohabitation occur?

Answer 27

when the president is from a different political party than the prime minister & majority of MPs

Question 28

what are the three types of governments in parliamentary systems?

Answer 28

1. single-party government
2. coalition government
3. minority government

Question 29

what is a single-party government?

Answer 29

one party rules the country, usually decided by election results

Question 30

what is a coalition government?

Answer 30

formed by multiple parties, decided by negotiations after elections

Question 31

what are the golden rules for coalition government formation?

Answer 31

-control majority of seats
-exclude unnecessary partners
-agree on policies

Question 32

what is the term for the type of coalition that applies the golden rules?

Answer 32

Minimum Winning Connected Coalition

Question 33

which three types of governments break the golden rules?

Answer 33

1. Minority Governments
2. Surplus majority government
3. Unconnected coalitions

Question 34

what are surplus majority coalition governments?

Answer 34

include more parties than necessary

Question 35

why are surplus majority coalition governments formed?

Answer 35

-adds more legitimacy to the system (UK war cabinet)
-buffer for security against MP revolts (Hungary 1994)
-enhances policy connections between parties (Netherlands 2012)

Question 36

what do office-seeking parties believe in?

Answer 36

what matters most is to be in power, to occupy government offices; all else is secondary

Question 37

what do policy-seeking parties believe in?

Answer 37

what matters most is implementing policies

Question 38

are most parties office-seeking or policy-seeking nowadays?

Answer 38

office-seeking