POLS 2510 Lecture Notes - Lecture 15: Decolonization, Presidential System
8 Dec 2017
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Document Summary
2 major models of democratic government: british style, presidential system. Most parliamentary systems are older than presidential systems. The british empire looked successful and unbeatable. Countries that became democracies in the 1920s were influenced by the parliamentary system. 4 basic criteria: governability, accountability, stability, adaptability and flexibility. The british parliamentary system is a champion on all 4. The executive comes from the legislative, the pm is a member of the lower half. There"s a mutual dependence on executive and legislative. The pm is the individual who has the most support in the house. The pm depends on the legislature, if the house votes against the pm, it will lead to a new election. They can vote the pm out of office. British pm system is a system of countervailing powers. The pm/the house have massive power but are always subject to a countervailing force. British parliamentary is a equilibrium, high governability.
