Parliamentarism or semi-presidentialism? A dispute over classification of Central European democratic regimes Cover Image

Parlamentarismus nebo poloprezidencialismus? Spor o klasifikaci středoevropských demokratických režimů
Parliamentarism or semi-presidentialism? A dispute over classification of Central European democratic regimes

Author(s): Michal Kubát, Miloš Brunclík
Subject(s): Politics / Political Sciences
Published by: Masarykova univerzita nakladatelství
Keywords: Head of State; the Czech Republic; Poland; Slovakia; Form of Government

Summary/Abstract: While reading academic papers and books on political regimes in Central Europe, one can become aware of an interesting and remarkable fact: these regimes (forms of government) are classified rather differently. Whereas some scholars tend to approach them as parliamentary regimes, others classify them as semi-presidential ones. The major dividing line between these two perspectives runs between a large group of English-writing scholars based outside Central Europe and those from Central Europe itself. Having reviewed a large number of relevant studies in this field, the authors of this article argue that the key reason for the different assessments of Central European regimes resides mainly in a different theoretical (but also methodological) approach, which has important implications when considering how these regimes are treated in various studies. Whereas the group of Englishwriting scholars tends to adopt a minimalist institutional definition suggested by Robert Elgie, most Central European scholars prefer an approach (inspired by Duverger or Sartori) that emphasizes presidential powers, which are irrelevant to Elgie’s definition.

  • Issue Year: XVI/2014
  • Issue No: 2-3
  • Page Range: 118-136
  • Page Count: 19
  • Language: Czech