Contradictory Approaches: Discussing Semi-Presidentialism in Central Europe (original) (raw)
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Studium Europy Środkowej i Wschodniej
The article is dedicated to theoretical, methodological and empirical justification for different types and systems of republican government. The author conducted the comparative analysis of the presidential powers in various systems of republican government and explained the nature and different types of semi-presidential systems of government as exemplified by Central and Eastern European countries of the EU. The researcher also argued and identified the main attributes of semi-presidentialism with nominal presidents in the context of its distinction from parliamentarism as exemplified by Bulgaria, Czechia, Slovakia and Slovenia and defined the correlation between parliamentary democracy, semi-presidentialism and parliamentarism.
Lytvyn V. Isolation and taxonomy of semi-presidentialism with nominal presidents in Central and Eastern European countries of the EU: as exemplified by Bulgaria, Slovakia, Slovenia and the Czech Republic / Vitaliy Lytvyn // Studium Europy Srodkowej i Wschodniej. – 2017. – Nr. 7. – P. 18–42., 2017
The article is dedicated to theoretical, methodological and empirical justification for different types and systems of republican government. The author conducted the comparative analysis of the presidential powers in various systems of republican government and explained the nature and different types of semi-presidential systems of government as exemplified by Central and Eastern European countries of the EU. The researcher also argued and identified the main attributes of semi-presidentialism with nominal presidents in the context of its distinction from parliamentarism as exemplified by Bulgaria, Czechia, Slovakia and Slovenia and defined the correlation between parliamentary democracy, semi-presidentialism and parliamentarism. Keywords: semi-presidentialism, parliamentarism, parliamentary democracy, system of government, nominal president, cohabitation, Bulgaria, Czechia, Slovakia, Slovenia.
BALTIC JOURNAL OF LAW & POLITICS IS THE CZECH REPUBLIC ON ITS WAY TO SEMI-PRESIDENTIALISM
The main aim of the article is to contribute to the bourgeoning debate on semi-presidentialism, its definition, and its characteristic features, with analysis of the empirical example of the Czech Republic, a country which, according to Elgie´s standard definition, shifted to semi-presidentialism in 2012. The author investigates whether and how Miloš Zeman, the first directly elected president of the Czech Republic, influences relations among the key political institutions in the direction of the model of a semi-presidential democracy. The paper sets out the working concept of semi-presidentialism first and, through the lenses of process tracing, analyses the goals and acts of Zeman after he entered office in January 2013. The case study of the Czech Republic sheds light not only on the recent development(s) in the Czech political system, but it can be seen as an interesting example of how strong political personalities are attempting to expand their influence on politics in a parliamentary democracy and what the possible limits of this effort are.
Research Article According to the widely accepted view, the existence of a government accountable to the parliament and a head of state elected by the people and endowed with powerful powers is sufficient to define the system as semipresidential. However, although there are many unique definitions and qualifications in itself, it is not possible to talk about the existence of a uniform semi-presidential system. The reason for this is that countries interpret the government system within the framework of their own political culture and administrative tradition. Therefore, government systems are not typical models and can take different forms within the states' own administrative traditions. In this direction, in this study, the semi-presidential model of the Russian Federation and the semi-presidential model of postcommunist Poland will be examined comparatively. Making a comparative study on the semi-presidential government systems of Poland and Russia will not be a comparison only in terms of revealing the differences, as it is thought. This study aims to make a contribution to the studies of the government system by comparing the states of Poland and Russia, which use the semi-presidential government system in a unique way. In addition, the main purpose of this study is to reveal that each country interprets the system of government it uses within the framework of its tradition of governance and political cultures.
Lytvyn V. The Stages of Installation and Institutional, Procedural, Political and Behavioral Attributes of Semi-Presidentialism in Poland and Ukraine: Comparative Analysis / Vitaliy Lytvyn // Studium Europy Srodkowej i Wschodniej. – 2017. – Nr. 8. – S. 15–30., 2017
The research is dedicated to conceptualization, systematization and comparing the attributes and stages of installation and development of semi-presidential system of government in Poland and Ukraine. It was argued that semi-presidentialism should be defined the least subjectively or minimally (or in an institutional and procedural way), but should be classified the most broadly or maximally (or in an institutional, procedural, political and behavioral way). Based on this, it was found that we need to classify semi-presidentialism in a versatile way, i.e. institutionally, procedurally, politically, behaviorally and synthetically. Accordingly, it was found that reflection on semi-presidentialism in singular can be only definitive, but such a logic is unacceptable in the classification of semi-presidentialism, because different "adjectives" and attributes of semi-presidentialism refer to different formal and factual types, phases and scenarios of the analyzed system of government. The researcher reasoned that as of 2017 Poland and Ukraine experienced very similar types of semi-presidentialism, which were determined with the unified majority systems within the constructions of balanced premier-presidentialism. At the same time, it was found that the powers of the various political actors within the conditions of semi-presidentialism are determined with formal, constitutional, institutional, procedural, political, behavioral, party, electoral and personal factors. Keywords: semi-presidentialism, attributes and types of semi-presidentialism, Poland, Ukraine.
"Minimalist” concepts of semi-presidentialism: are Ukraine and Slovenia semi-presidential states
Politička misao, 2007
The concepts of semi-presidentialism by Robert Elgie and Matthew S. Shugart differ greatly. When applied to Ukraine and Slovenia, this shows how a country can be categorized differently depending on the author's understanding of what the defining properties of semi-presidentialism are. Elgie's minimalist concept classifies both countries as semi-presidential, while Shugart's concept points out major differences between the systems of government of these two countries. According to the Shugart's concept, Ukraine is a semipresidential regime; Slovenia is not. These two concepts illustrate the divergences in defining semi-presidential systems and, consequently, the differences in the understanding of the properties and the functioning of political systems in various countries. By comparing the systems of government in those two countries and by the application of Robert Elgie's minimalist and Matthew Shugart's non-minimalist concepts I will test the usefulness of the minimalist concepts in a theoretical and practical way.
Power Beyond Constitutions Presidential Constitutional Conventions in Central Europe
Power Beyond Constitutions Presidential Constitutional Conventions in Central Europe, 2023
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The Czech Parliamentary Regime After 1989: Origins, Developments and Challenges
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