Executive Politics in Semi-Presidential Regimes: Power Distribution and Conflicts between Presidents and Prime Ministers

(Hardback)

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This book analyzes the power variations between political executives in semi-presidential regimes. It contrasts institutional, partisan, and extra-institutional explanations and identifies patterns of change for the power distribution between presidents and prime ministers. It provides an empirical analysis of selected case studies and demonstrates the necessity to understand power variations in a configurative perspective, exposing the limits of institutional design explanations. This study ultimately aims to contribute to both the literature on semi-presidentialism and to the literature on democratic regimes by providing a systematic assessment of these different configurations, in both mature and emerging democracies. To explore this phenomenon, this research tests the key factors of power variation proposed in the semi-presidential literature on the power relationship between presidents and prime ministers mainly in Frances Fifth Republic and post-1993 Ukraine, but also to a lesser extent in Finland, post-1993 Russia, and post-1990 Poland.

Reviews

With his comprehensive book, Martin Carrier provides a systematic and convincing assessment of different factors associated with power shifts between presidents and prime ministers in semi-presidential regimes. Carriers in-depth case-comparison emphasizes that if we are to fully grasp the logics of intra-executive politics of semi-presidentialism, both institutional and non-institutional factors have to be carefully taken into the model. His book should be essential reading for scholars of semi-presidentialism, as well as for anyone interested in comparative constitutional politics. -- Thomas Sedelius, Dalarna University
Moving beyond constitutional rules, Carrier shows convincingly how party politics, personalities, and foreign relations influence the distribution of power between the prime minister and the president. Insightful and full of interesting details, Executive Politics in Semi-Presidential Regimes is a must read for any serious student of semi-presidentialism and political executives. -- Tapio Raunio, University of Tampere

Author Bio

Martin Carrier is a lecturer of political science at the University of Montreal.