|
Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
|
Presidentialism, Multipartism, and Democracy
The Difficult Combination
SCOTT MAINWARING
University of Notre Dame
Starting from recent analyses that have argued that presidentialism is less favorable for building stable democracy than parliamentary systems, this article argues that the combination of a multiparty system and presidentialism is especially inimical to stable democracy. None of the world's 31 stable (defined as those that have existed for at least 25 consecutive years) democracies has this institutional configuration, and only one historical example—Chile from 1933 to 1973—did so. There are three reasons why this institutional combination is problematic. First, multiparty presidentialism is especially likely to produce immobilizing executive/legislative deadlock, and such deadlock can destabilize democracy. Second, multipartism is more likely than bipartism to produce ideological polarization, thereby complicating problems often associated with presidentialism. Finally, the combination of presidentialism and multipartism is complicated by the difficulties of interparty coalition building in presidential democracies, with deleterious consequences for democratic stability.
Comparative Political Studies, Vol. 26, No. 2,
198-228 (1993)
DOI: 10.1177/0010414093026002003
 CiteULike  Complore  Connotea  Del.icio.us  Digg  Reddit  Technorati  Twitter What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
|
|
 
J. Gerring, S. C. Thacker, and C. Moreno
Are Parliamentary Systems Better?
Comparative Political Studies,
March 1, 2009;
42(3):
327 - 359.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
B. N. Field and P. M. Siavelis
Candidate Selection Procedures in Transitional Polities: A Research Note
Party Politics,
September 1, 2008;
14(5):
620 - 639.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. Mahoney
Toward a Unified Theory of Causality
Comparative Political Studies,
April 1, 2008;
41(4-5):
412 - 436.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
T. A. O'Brien
The Role of the Transitional Leader: A Comparative Analysis of Adolfo Suarez and Boris Yeltsin
Leadership,
November 1, 2007;
3(4):
419 - 432.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
B. Reilly
Democratization and Electoral Reform in the Asia-Pacific Region: Is There an "Asian Model" of Democracy?
Comparative Political Studies,
November 1, 2007;
40(11):
1350 - 1371.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A. Grzymala-Busse
Encouraging Effective Democratic Competition
East European Politics and Societies,
February 1, 2007;
21(1):
91 - 110.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
L. E. Armijo, P. Faucher, and M. Dembinska
Compared to What?: Assessing Brazil's Political Institutions
Comparative Political Studies,
August 1, 2006;
39(6):
759 - 786.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
W. R. Clark, M. J. Gilligan, and M. Golder
A Simple Multivariate Test for Asymmetric Hypotheses
Political Analysis,
July 1, 2006;
14(3):
311 - 331.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
O. A. Neto
The Presidential Calculus: Executive Policy Making and Cabinet Formation in the Americas
Comparative Political Studies,
May 1, 2006;
39(4):
415 - 440.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
D. Brinks and M. Coppedge
Diffusion Is No Illusion: Neighbor Emulation in the Third Wave of Democracy
Comparative Political Studies,
May 1, 2006;
39(4):
463 - 489.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A. Grzymala-Busse
The Discreet Charm of Formal Institutions: Postcommunist Party Competition and State Oversight
Comparative Political Studies,
April 1, 2006;
39(3):
271 - 300.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
M. V. Beliaev
Presidential Powers and Consolidation of New Postcommunist Democracies
Comparative Political Studies,
April 1, 2006;
39(3):
375 - 398.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
E. Aleman and T. Schwartz
Presidential Vetoes in Latin American Constitutions
Journal of Theoretical Politics,
January 1, 2006;
18(1):
98 - 120.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A. Diskin, H. Diskin, and R. Y. Hazan
Why Democracies Collapse: The Reasons for Democratic Failure and Success
International Political Science Review/ Revue internationale de science pol,
July 1, 2005;
26(3):
291 - 309.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
P. Paolino
Democratization, Divided Government and the 2001 Taiwanese Legislative Yuan Elections
Journal of Asian and African Studies,
April 1, 2005;
40(1-2):
125 - 147.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
T. D. Clark and J. N. Wittrock
Presidentialism and the Effect of Electoral Law in Postcommunist Systems: Regime Type Matters
Comparative Political Studies,
March 1, 2005;
38(2):
171 - 188.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A. Perez-Linan
Democratization and Constitutional Crises in Presidential Regimes: Toward Congressional Supremacy?
Comparative Political Studies,
February 1, 2005;
38(1):
51 - 74.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
D. J. Samuels and M. S. Shugart
Presidentialism, Elections and Representation
Journal of Theoretical Politics,
January 1, 2003;
15(1):
33 - 60.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. A. CHEIBUB
Minority Governments, Deadlock Situations, and the Survival of Presidential Democracies
Comparative Political Studies,
April 1, 2002;
35(3):
284 - 312.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
H. Kitschelt
Linkages between Citizens and Politicians in Democratic Polities
Comparative Political Studies,
September 1, 2000;
33(6-7):
845 - 879.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
D. Altman
The Politics of Coalition Formation and Survival in Multiparty Presidential Democracies: The Case of Uruguay, 1989-1999
Party Politics,
July 1, 2000;
6(3):
259 - 283.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
C. Anckar
Size and Party System Fragmentation
Party Politics,
July 1, 2000;
6(3):
305 - 328.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
L. K. METCALF
Measuring Presidential Power
Comparative Political Studies,
June 1, 2000;
33(5):
660 - 685.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
M. M. TAYLOR-ROBINSON
Who Gets Legislation Passed in a Marginal Legislature and is the Label Marginal Legislature Still Appropriate?: A Study of the Honduran Congress
Comparative Political Studies,
August 1, 1999;
32(5):
589 - 625.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
E. MAGAR, M. R. ROSENBLUM, and D. SAMUELS
On the Absence of Centripetal Incentives in Double-Member Districts: The Case of Chile
Comparative Political Studies,
December 1, 1998;
31(6):
714 - 739.
[Abstract]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
M. J. GASIOROWSKI and T. J. POWER
The Structural Determinants of Democratic Consolidation: Evidence from the Third World
Comparative Political Studies,
December 1, 1998;
31(6):
740 - 771.
[Abstract]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
G. L. Munck and J. A. Bosworth
Patterns of Representation and Competition: Parties and Democracy in Post-Pinochet Chile
Party Politics,
October 1, 1998;
4(4):
471 - 493.
[Abstract]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
M. Coppedge
The Dynamic Diversity of Latin American Party Systems
Party Politics,
October 1, 1998;
4(4):
547 - 568.
[Abstract]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
P. SIAVELIS
Continuity and Change in the Chilean Party System: On the Transformational Effects of Electoral Reform
Comparative Political Studies,
December 1, 1997;
30(6):
651 - 674.
[Abstract]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
T. J. POWER and M. J. GASIOROWSKI
Institutional Design and Democratic Consolidation in the Third World
Comparative Political Studies,
April 1, 1997;
30(2):
123 - 155.
[Abstract]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
L. DIAMOND
Consolidating Democracy in the Americas
The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science,
March 1, 1997;
550(1):
12 - 41.
[Abstract]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
R. RABKIN
Redemocratization, Electoral Engineering, and Party Strategies in Chile, 1989-1995
Comparative Political Studies,
June 1, 1996;
29(3):
335 - 356.
[Abstract]
|
|
|
|
|
