4 min readโขjune 18, 2024
In this unit, you need to be able to describe how the parliamentary, presidential, and semi-presidential systems are structured. Let's begin by breaking each system down, one at a time. One small note ๐: this topic does not mention China and Iran in the CED, so we will not be focusing on those course countries in topic 2.1 or topic 2.2.
This means that the national legislature, and more specifically the , canย select orย removeย the head of government and the , not ๐ซ the people. This gives parliament a great deal of power. But how does a parliamentary system function? Well, you're about to see it for yourself!
Parliamentary SystemโRoles and Responsibilities
Role | Responsibility | Explanation |
Prime Minister | Leader of the National Government | |
In the parliamentary system, the executive and are 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 and makes policy for the country.
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2.ย .ย A presidential system is a democratic and republican (meaning the people are represented by government representatives... not political parties!) government in which the head of government leads an that is separate from the legislative branch. Let's discuss ๐ฒ๐ฝ Mexico as an example. Although we are going to focus on Mexico, as it is specifically highlighted in the CED (Course and Exam Description), you should understand that Nigeria ๐ณ๐ฌ is also a presidential system!
Source:ย http://www.mapsopensource.com/mexico?url=mexico
The people of Mexico directly elect the every six 6๏ธโฃ years. The election process is based on direct, universal ๐คsuffrage and the principle of a . In 2018, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador won 30 million popular votes โ๏ธ, or 53% of the votes, and his opponent Ricardo Anaya won 12 million popular votes or 22% of the votes. Therefore, Obrador won the presidency. Legislative elections ๐ณ๏ธ are separate from executive elections and are based upon (more on that later!).
Presidential System - Roles and Responsibilities
Role | Responsibility | Explanation |
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.
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3.ย . Sometimes called a dual โ๏ธexecutive system, this is a system in which a president exists alongside a prime minister and a cabinet. ๐๏ธ It has elements of theย parliamentaryย system, with the prime minister and cabinet handling the legislation of the state,ย andย elements of theย presidentialย system, because the president is a popularly elected head of state. In order to explore this system further, let's use one of our Comp Gov countries, Russia. ๐ท๐บ
Russian Postal Zonesย commons.wikimedia.org
Let's start withย how elections work in Russia. ๐ท๐บ The president is elected by the people of Russia using universal, equal, and direct voting. The prime minister is then appointed by the president, with the consent of the state duma. So to recap, you have a president and a prime minister that co-exist, and the president is directly elected and holds a significant degree of power.
For the exam FRQ, it is important to note that in Russia, the prime minister position held little to no power ๐ฅ until Vladimir Putin took the position in 2008 (he could no longer be president, as he had served 2 consecutive terms). Once Putin was elected president again in 2012, the position went back to being in service to the president. In other semi-presidential systems, such as France ๐ซ๐ท and India ๐ฎ๐ณ (non-Comp Gov countries), the amount of power held by the executives is quite different.
Semi-Presidential SystemโRoles and Responsibilities
Role | Responsibility | Explanation |
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, varies by country.
| | Cabinet | Executive Cabinet | Responsible for aspects of policy makingโexecute monetary policy, ensure the rule of law, protect property, deal with crime, etc.ย
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