July 6 @ 10:00 - 11:30 CESTJuly 6 @ 08:00 - 09:30 UTCJuly 6 @ 04:00 - 05:30 New YorkJuly 6 @ 03:00 - 04:30 BogotáJuly 6 @ 16:00 - 17:30 SingaporeJuly 6 @ 18:00 - 19:30 Sydney

Or create an ICON•S Account here.

Beyond parliamentarism, presidentialism & semi-presidentialism: Exploring a neglected model of separating power

Name: Beyond parliamentarism, presidentialism & semi-presidentialism: Exploring a neglected model of separating power
Start: 2022-07-06T10:00:00+02:00
End: 2022-07-06T11:30:00+02:00

Most debates on legislative-executive relations have focussed on the (pure) parliamentarism, presidentialism, and two varieties of semi-presidentialism. Recent contributions in comparative constitutional law and political science have added a fourth model of separative power: a constitutional systems in which two chambers of a legislative assembly are directly elected (usually employing different electoral systems), but only one of them can remove the prime minister and cabinet through a no-confidence vote. The other chamber acts as a checking chamber alone. These systems potentially optimize the strengths of presidential and parliamentary systems as well as of majoritarian and proportional electoral systems. They may be more resilient in the face of democratic backsliding too. The panel will discuss different versions of this new model, characterised as “semi-parliamentarism“ (Ganghof 2018, 2021) or “moderated parliamentarism“ (Khaitan 2021).

Steffen GanghoffSemi/Moderated Parliamentarism: A fourth model of Separating power

Semi-parliamentary government is a distinct executive-legislative system that mirrors semi-presidentialism. It exists when the legislature is divided into two equally legitimate parts, only one of which can dismiss the prime minister in a no-confidence vote. This system has distinct advantages over pure parliamentary and presidential systems: it establishes a branch-based separation of powers and can balance the ‘majoritarian‘ and ‘proportional‘ visions of democracy without concentrating executive power in a single individual. Moderated parliamentarism is a sub-type of semi-parliamentarism. Its centrist 'confidence and opposition' chamber (elected on a moderated majoritarian process such as approval vote or ranked-choice/preferential vote system) supplies confidence to the government and provides a platform to the opposition's government-in-waiting. The diversified 'checking and appointing' chamber (proportionally elected) checks the government & makes constitutional appointments.

Hannah Whiten/a

Timothy Endicottn/a

Jeff Kingn/a

Oran Doylen/a

Chair(s): Tarun Khaitan

See All Events