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The Semi-Presidential Cases in Comparative Context

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Book cover Semi-Presidential Policy-Making in Europe

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

Abstract

This chapter sets Finland, Lithuania, and Romania in a comparative context of semi-presidentialism in Europe. It justifies the selection of cases by including them in a broader set of semi-presidential regimes and uses this comparison to provide a range of basic and institutional data for setting the stage for the subsequent chapters on executive coordination. It provides key indicators on semi-presidential subtypes (premier-presidentialism and president-parliamentarism): level of democracy, presidential power, intra-executive conflict, and cohabitation. Drawing on public opinion surveys, it also assesses general levels of institutional trust with an emphasis on public support for the presidency.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    A 2000 amendment of the French Constitution shortened the president’s term of office from seven to five years and changed the electoral calendar so that presidential and legislative elections occur at the same time. This change has made it less likely that cohabitation will occur in the future.

  2. 2.

    In the post-communist period Iliescu somewhat benefited politically from the humiliations he suffered under Ceausescu after expressing disagreement with his way of ruling Romania in the 1980s.

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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

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  1. Tapio Raunio
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  2. Thomas Sedelius
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Correspondence to Tapio Raunio .

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Raunio, T., Sedelius, T. (2020). The Semi-Presidential Cases in Comparative Context. 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_3

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