Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Introduction

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Semi-Presidential Policy-Making in Europe

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Presidential Politics ((PASTPRPO))

  • 314 Accesses

Abstract

This introductory chapter explains the main idea and objectives of emphasizing institutional coordination between the president and the prime minister in semi-presidential regimes. The book makes four main contributions to the literature: it develops a multidisciplinary theoretical framework drawing on four strands of literature; it provides an in-depth analysis of intra-executive decision-making based on unique expert interview data; it offers new insights on foreign policy leadership in semi-presidential regimes; and finally, it identifies institutional conditions that facilitate successful policy coordination in semi-presidential regimes. The chapter introduces the research design and data, presenting the focused comparison of Finland, Lithuania, and Romania and the use of expert interviews to reach behind the scenes of semi-presidential policy-making.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 69.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 89.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 89.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    Duverger (1980: 4) provided a definition of semi-presidentialism including three criteria: (1) the president is elected by universal suffrage, (2) the president possesses quite considerable powers, and (3) there is also a prime minister and other ministers who possesses executive and governmental power and can stay in office only with the consent of the parliament.

Bibliography

  • Ã…berg, J. (2017). Imitating the Neighbors? A Multinominal Logistic Regression Analysis of Regime Type Choices as Related to Time and Space. Paper presented at Method Conference, Lund University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ã…berg, J., & Sedelius, T. (2018). Review Article: A Structured Review of Semi-Presidential Studies: Debates, Results and Missing Pieces. British Journal of Political Science, First View. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007123418000017.

  • Amorim Neto, O., & Costa Lobo, M. (2009). Portugal’s Semi-Presidentialism (Re)considered: An Assessment of the President’s Role in the Policy Process, 1976–2006. European Journal of Political Research, 48(2), 234–255.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Amorim Neto, O., & Strøm, K. (2006). Breaking the Parliamentary Chain of Delegation: Presidents and Non-partisan Cabinet Members in European Democracies. British Journal of Political Science, 36(4), 619–643.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arvo-ja asennetutkimus/EVA Attitude and Value Survey. (2018). www.eva.fi/eng. Accessed 13 Dec 2018.

  • Beuman, L. M. (2016). Political Institutions in East Timor: Semi-Presidentialism and Democratisation. Abingdon: Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Carrier, M. (2015). Executive Politics in Semi-Presidential Regimes: Power Distribution and Conflict Between Presidents and Prime Ministers. Lanham: Lexington Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cheibub, J. A., Elkins, Z., & Ginsburg, T. (2014). Beyond Presidentialism and Parliamentarism. British Journal of Political Science, 44(3), 515–544.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Doyle, D., & Elgie, R. (2016). Maximizing the Reliability of Cross-National Measures of Presidential Power. British Journal of Political Science, 46(4), 731–741.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duverger, M. (1980). A New Political System Model: Semi-Presidential Government. European Journal of Political Research, 8(2), 165–187.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duvold, K., & Jurkynas, M. (2004). Lithuania. In S. Berglund, J. Ekman, & F. H. Aarebrot (Eds.), The Handbook of Political Change in Eastern Europe (2nd ed., pp. 133–179). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ekman, J., Duvold, K., & Berglund, S. (2014). Baltic Barometer 2014 [Datafile]. Huddinge: Södertörn University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ekman, J., Duvold K., & Berglund, S. (2016). Social-Political Survey in Central Europe [Datafile]. Huddinge: Södertörn University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Elgie, R. (Ed.). (1999). Semi-Presidentialism in Europe. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Elgie, R. (2010). Semi-Presidentialism, Cohabitation and the Collapse of Electoral Democracies 1990–2008. Government and Opposition, 45(1), 29–49.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elgie, R. (2011). Semi-Presidentialism: Sub-Types and Democratic Performance. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Elgie, R. (2016). Three Waves of Semi-Presidential Studies. Democratization, 22(7), 1–22.

    Google Scholar 

  • Elgie, R. (2018a). Political Leadership: A Pragmatic Institutionalist Approach. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Elgie, R. (2018b). List of Cohabitations. The Semi-Presidential One. Blog Post by Robert Elgie. www.semipresidentialism.com. Accessed 7 Oct 2018.

  • Elgie, R., & McMenamin, I. (2011). Explaining the Onset of Cohabitation Under Semi-Presidentialism. Political Studies, 59(3), 616–635.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elgie, R., & Moestrup, S. (Eds.). (2008). Semi-Presidentialism in Central and Eastern Europe. Manchester: Manchester University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Elgie, R., & Moestrup, S. (Eds.). (2016). Semi-Presidentialism in the Caucasus and Central Asia. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freedom House. Freedom in the World 2017. www.freedomhouse.org. Accessed 27 Jan 2017.

  • Gherghina, S., & Miscoiu, S. (2013). The Failure of Cohabitation: Explaining the 2007 and 2012 Institutional Crises in Romania. East European Politics & Societies and Cultures, 27(4), 668–684.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hicken, A., & Stoll, H. (2013). Are All Presidents Created Equal? Presidential Powers and the Shadow of Presidential Elections. Comparative Political Studies, 46(3), 291–319.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lazardeux, S. G. (2015). Cohabitation and Conflicting Politics in French Policymaking. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Moestrup, S. (2007). Semi-Presidentialism in Young Democracies: Help or Hindrance? In R. Elgie & S. Moestrup (Eds.), Semi-Presidentialism Outside Europe (pp. 30–55). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • New Europe Barometer 2001. (2016). NDB VI Autumn. Dataset SPP 364. CSPP School of Government & Public Policy at the University of Strathclyde. www.cspp.strath.ac.uk/nebo.html. Accessed 15 Sept 2016.

  • New Europe Barometer 2004. (2016). NDB VII Winter. Dataset SPP 404. CSPP School of Government & Public Policy at the University of Strathclyde. www.cspp.strath.ac.uk/nebo.html. Accessed 15 Sept 2016.

  • Passarelli, G. (Ed.). (2015). The Presidentialization of Political Parties: Organizations, Institutions and Leaders. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peters, G. (2012). Institutional Theory in Political Science (3rd ed.). London: Pinter.

    Google Scholar 

  • Protsyk, O. (2005). Politics of Intra-Executive Conflict in Semi-Presidential Regimes in Eastern Europe. East European Politics and Society, 18(2), 1–20.

    Google Scholar 

  • Protsyk, O. (2006). Intra-Executive Competition Between President and Prime Minister: Patterns of Institutional Conflict and Cooperation in Semi-Presidential Regimes. Political Studies, 56(2), 219–241.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raunio, T. (2012). Semi-Presidentialism and European Integration: Lessons from Finland for Constitutional Design. Journal of European Public Policy, 19(4), 567–584.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raunio, T., & Sedelius, T. (2017). Shifting Power-Centres of Semi-Presidentialism: Exploring Executive Coordination in Lithuania. Government and Opposition, First view. https://doi.org/10.1017/gov.2017.31.

  • Samuels, D. J., & Shugart, M. S. (2010). Presidents, Parties, and Prime Ministers: How the Separation of Powers Affects Party Organization and Behavior. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Schleiter, P., & Morgan-Jones, E. (2009). Citizens, Presidents, and Assemblies: The Study of Semi-Presidentialism Beyond Duverger and Linz. British Journal of Political Science, 39(4), 871–892.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schleiter, P., & Morgan-Jones, E. (2010). Who’s in Charge? Presidents, Assemblies, and the Political Control of Semipresidential Cabinets. Comparative Political Studies, 43(11), 1415–1441.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sedelius, T. (2015). Party Presidentialization in Ukraine. In G. Passarelli (Ed.), The Presidentialization of Political Parties: Organizations, Institutions and Leaders (pp. 124–141). New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Sedelius, T. (2016). Ukrainas konstitutionella sicksackande: Regimförändring och partiutveckling under semipresidentialism. Nordisk Østforum, 30(1), 18–37.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sedelius, T., & Ã…berg, J. (2018). Eastern Europe’s Semi-Presidential Regimes. In P. Kopecky & A. Fagan (Eds.), Routledge Handbook of East European Politics (pp. 67–81). New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sedelius, T., & Ekman, J. (2010). Intra-Executive Conflict and Cabinet Instability: Effects of Semi-Presidentialism in Central and Eastern Europe. Government and Opposition, 45(4), 505–530.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sedelius, T., & Linde, J. (2018). Unravelling Semi-Presidentialism: Democracy and Government Performance in Four Distinct Regime Types. Democratization, 25(1), 136–157.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sedelius, T., & Mashtaler, O. (2013). Two Decades of Semi-Presidentialism: Issues of Intra-Executive Conflict in Central and Eastern Europe 1991–2011. East European Politics, 29(2), 109–134.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shen, Y. (2011). Semi-Presidentialism in Taiwan: A Shadow of the Constitution of the Weimar Republic. Taiwan Journal of Democracy, 7(1), 135–152.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shoesmith, D. (2003). Timor-Leste: Divided Leadership in a Semi-Presidential System. Asian Survey, 43(2), 231–252.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shugart, M. S. (2005). Semi-Presidential Systems: Dual Executive And Mixed Authority Patterns. French Politics, 3(3), 323–351.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shugart, M. S., & Carey, J. M. (1992). Presidents and Assemblies: Constitutional Design and Electoral Dynamics. New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Siaroff, A. (2003). Comparative Presidencies: The Inadequacy of the Presidential, Semi-Presidential and Parliamentary Distinction. European Journal of Political Research, 42(3), 287–312.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Skach, C. (2005). Constitutional Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy. Constitutional Political Economy, 16(4), 347–368.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Transparency International. (2019). The Corruption Perception Index 2018. http://www.transparency.org. Accessed 10 Jan 2019.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Management and Business, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland

    Tapio Raunio

  2. School of Education, Health and Social Sciences, Dalarna University, Falun, Sweden

    Thomas Sedelius

Authors
  1. Tapio Raunio
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Thomas Sedelius
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tapio Raunio .

Appendix

Appendix

Guiding questions used for semi-structured interviews with experts in Finland, Lithuania, and Romania. While this formed the core set of questions for each interviewee, additional questions were also asked depending on the positions held by the interviewed persons.

  1. 1.

    Can you tell us how coordination between the president and the prime minister and/or the government works?

  2. 2.

    Which forms of coordination are most important and why? Has the importance of various coordination mechanisms changed over time?

  3. 3.

    Is there regular coordination at the level of civil servants between the president’s office and the prime minister’s office? If yes, what forms does this take?

  4. 4.

    The powers of the president cover legislation (veto), appointments, and foreign policy. Are there differences in coordination between these issues?

  5. 5.

    According to the constitution, the president leads foreign policy but implements it together with the government. The government is responsible for EU policy while the president has attended the European Council meetings. How does cooperation in foreign and EU policies work?

  6. 6.

    Both the president and the prime minister give speeches and meet foreign leaders at home and abroad. Is there coordination regarding such activities? For example, are president’s speeches checked beforehand by the prime minister’s office?

  7. 7.

    If there is disagreement between the president and the prime minister over some issue (legislation, appointments, foreign policy, etc.), what is the main mechanism for attempting to solve the matter?

  8. 8.

    Can you identify a recent issue that would serve as an example of policy coordination between the president and the prime minister?

  9. 9.

    To what extent would you say that the forms of president/cabinet coordination matter to the relationship between the president and the cabinet? Does it affect policy outcomes or other political aspects? In what way?

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Raunio, T., Sedelius, T. (2020). Introduction. In: Semi-Presidential Policy-Making in Europe. Palgrave Studies in Presidential Politics. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-16431-7_1

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation