Semi-presidentialsim in Central and Eastern Europe / edited by Robert Elgie & Sophia Moestrup.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Elgie, Robert.

Moestrup, Sophia, 1964-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Semi-presidential system--Europe, Central.

Semi-presidential system.

Semi-presidential system--Europe, Eastern.

Democratization--Europe, Central.

Democratization.

Democratization--Europe, Eastern.

Eastern Europe.

Central Europe.

Physical Description:

xi, 282 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Manchester ; New York : Manchester University Press ; New York : distributed in the United States exclusively by Palgrave Macmillan, 2008.

Summary:

This book examines the extent to which semi-presidentialism has affected the process of democratisation in Central and Eastern Europe since the early 1990s. The standard academic wisdom is that semi-presidentialism, where there is both a directly elected president and a prime minister who is responsible to the legislature, is a risky choice for nascent democracies because of the in-built potential for conflict between the president and the prime minister. This book demonstrates that semi-presidential regimes can operate in quite different ways, some with very strong presidents, some with strong prime ministers and ceremonial presidents and some with a balance of presidential and prime ministerial powers. In particular, the book analyses the specific impact of the various forms of semi-presidentialism that can be found in Central and Eastern Europe. With chapters on Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Ukraine, the book explores whether some forms of semi-presidentialism are more conducive to democratisation than others. It also looks at how semi-presidentialism may have helped democracy to survive and examines its impact on government performance in terms of stability and policy-making.

Contents:

1 Semi-presidentialism: a common regime type, but one that should be avoided? / Robert Elgie, Sophia Moestrup 1

2 Belarus: a case of unsuccessful semi-presidentialism (1994-1996) / Andrei Arkadyev 14

3 Semi-presidentialism in Bulgaria: the cyclical rise of informal powers and individual political ambitions in a 'dual executive' / Svetlozar A. Andreev 32

4 Semi-presidentialism in Croatia / Mirjana Kasapovic 51

5 Semi-presidentialism in Lithuania: origins, development and challenges / Algis Krupavicius 65

6 Semi-presidentialism in the Republic of Macedonia (former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia) / Francois Frison-Roche 85

7 The impact of party fragmentation on Moldovan semi-presidentialism / Steven D. Roper 108

8 Semi-presidentialism and democratisation in Poland / Iain McMenamin 120

9 Romania: political irresponsibility without constitutional safeguards / Tom Gallagher, Viorel Andrievici 138

10 Russia: the benefits and perils of presidential leadership / Petra Schleiter, Edward Morgan-Jones 159

11 Slovakia's presidency: consolidating democracy by curbing ambiguous powers / Darina Malova, Marek Rybar 180

12 Slovenia: weak formal position, strong informal influence? / Alenka Krasovec, Damjan Lajh 201

13 Ukraine: presidential power, veto strategies and democratisation / Sarah Birch 219

14 The impact of semi-presidentialism on the performance of democracy in Central and Eastern Europe / Robert Elgie, Sophia Moestrup 239.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [258]-275) and index.

ISBN:

9780719075353

0719075351

OCLC:

181601624