Wikipedia

List of countries by system of government

This is a list of sovereign states by constitutionally defined system of government. This list does not measure degree of democracy, political corruption, or state capacity of governments.

World's states coloured by systems of government:
Parliamentary systems: Head of government is elected by and is accountable to the legislature
  Constitutional monarchy with a ceremonial monarch
  Parliamentary republic with a ceremonial president
  Parliamentary republic with an executive president
Presidential system: President is the head of government and is independent of the legislature
  Presidential republic
Hybrid systems:
  Semi-presidential republic: President is independent of the legislature; head of government is appointed by the president and is accountable to the legislature
  Assembly-independent republic: President or directory is the head of government and is elected by the legislature, but is independent of and not accountable to it
  Semi-constitutional monarchy: Monarch holds significant executive or legislative power
  Absolute monarchy: Monarch has unlimited power
  One-party state: Power is constitutionally linked to a single political party
  Military junta: Committee of military leaders controls the government; constitutional provisions are suspended
  Provisional government: No constitutionally defined basis to current regime
  Dependent territories and places without governments
Note: this chart represent de jure systems of government, not the de facto degree of democracy.[citation needed]
For further information, see List of forms of government.

Parliamentary systems edit

Constitutional monarchies edit

These are systems in which the head of state is a constitutional monarch; the existence of their office and their ability to exercise their authority is established and restrained by constitutional law.

Systems in which a prime minister is the active head of the executive branch of government. In some cases, the prime minister is also leader of the legislature, while in other cases the executive branch is clearly separated from legislature (although the entire cabinet or individual ministers must step down in the case of a vote of no confidence).[1][2][dubious – discuss] The head of state is a constitutional monarch who normally only exercises his or her powers with the consent of the government, the people and/or their representatives (except in emergencies, e.g. a constitutional crisis or a political deadlock).[a]

Parliamentary republics with a ceremonial president edit

In a parliamentary republic, the head of government is selected or nominated by the legislature and is also accountable to it. The head of state is ordinarily called a president and (in full parliamentary republics) is separate from the head of government, serving a largely apolitical, ceremonial role. In these systems, the head of government is usually called the prime minister, chancellor or premier. In mixed republican systems and directorial republican systems, the head of government also serves as head of state and is usually titled president.

In some full parliamentary systems, the head of state is directly elected by voters. Under other classification systems, however, these systems may instead be classed as semi-presidential systems as presidents are always attached to a political party and may have broad powers (despite their weak presidency).[3] Full parliamentary republican systems with presidents being purely ceremonial and neutral with no broad powers, do not have a directly elected head of state and instead usually use either an electoral college or a vote in the legislature to appoint the president.

Directly elected head of state edit

Indirectly elected head of state edit

Nations with limited recognition are in italics.

Parliamentary republics with an executive president edit

A combined head of state and head of government in the form of an executive president is elected by the legislature, and they must maintain the confidence of the legislature to remain in office. In effect, "presidents" in this system function the same as prime ministers do in other parliamentary systems.

Presidential systems edit

In presidential systems a president is the head of government, and is elected and remains in office independently of the legislature. There is generally no prime minister, although if one exists, in most cases they serve purely at the discretion of the president.

Presidential republics without a prime minister edit

Nations with limited recognition are in italics.

Presidential republics with a prime minister edit

The following countries have presidential systems where a post of prime minister (official title may vary) exists alongside that of the president. The president is still both the head of state and government and the prime minister's roles are mostly to assist the president.

Nations with limited recognition are in italics.

Hybrid systems edit

Semi-presidential republics edit

In semi-presidential systems, there is always both a president and a head of government, commonly but not exclusively styled as a prime minister. In such systems, the president has genuine executive authority, but the role of a head of government may be exercised by the prime minister.

Premier-presidential systems edit

The president chooses a prime minister and cabinet from the parliament with approval from the parliament, however only the parliament may remove them from office with a vote of no confidence. The president does not have the right to dismiss the prime minister or the cabinet.

Nations with limited recognition are in italics.

President-parliamentary systems edit

The president is head of state and the prime minister is head of government, although the prime minister generally works under the discretion of the former more so than in a premier-presidential system. The president chooses the prime minister and the cabinet without a confidence vote from the parliament. In order to remove a prime minister or their cabinet from power, the president may dismiss them or the parliament can remove them by a vote of no confidence.

Nations with limited recognition are in italics.

Assembly-independent republics edit

A combined head of state and head of government (usually titled president) is elected by the legislature but is not held accountable to it (as is their cabinet), thus acting more independently from the legislature.[32] They may or may not also hold a seat in the legislature.

In a directorial republic, a council jointly exercises the powers and ceremonial roles of both the head of state and head of government. The council is elected by the parliament, but is not subject to parliamentary confidence during its fixed term.

Semi-constitutional monarchies edit

The prime minister is the nation's active executive, but the monarch still has considerable political powers that can be used at their own discretion.

Absolute monarchies edit

Specifically, monarchies in which the monarch's exercise of power is unconstrained by any substantive constitutional law. The monarch acts as both head of state and head of government.

One-party states edit

States in which political power is by law concentrated within one political party whose operations are largely fused with the government hierarchy (in contrast to states where a multi-party system formally exists, but this fusion is achieved anyway through election fraud or underdeveloped multi-party traditions).

Nations with limited recognition are in italics.

Military juntas edit

A committee of the nation's military leaders controls the government for the duration of a state of emergency. Constitutional provisions for government are suspended in these states; constitutional forms of government are stated in parentheses.

Provisional governments edit

States that have a system of government that is in transition or turmoil. These regimes lack a constitutional basis.

Systems of internal structure edit

Unitary states edit

Main article: Unitary state

A state governed as a single power in which the central government is ultimately supreme and any administrative divisions (sub-national units) exercise only the powers that the central government chooses to delegate. The majority of states in the world have a unitary system of government. Of the 193 UN member states, 126 are governed as centralized unitary states, and an additional 40 are regionalized unitary states.

Centralized unitary states edit

States in which most power is exercised by the central government. What local authorities do exist have few powers.

Regionalized unitary states edit

Main article: Regional state

States in which the central government has delegated some of its powers to regional authorities, but where constitutional authority ultimately remains entirely at a national level.

Federation edit

Main article: Federation

States in which the national government shares power with regional governments with which it has legal or constitutional parity. The central government may or may not be (in theory) a creation of the regional governments.

European Union edit

Main article: List of European Union member states by political system

The exact political character of the European Union is debated, some arguing that it is sui generis (unique), but others arguing that it has features of a federation or a confederation. It has elements of intergovernmentalism, with the European Council acting as its collective "president", and also elements of supranationalism, with the European Commission acting as its executive and bureaucracy.[53]

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ Some monarchs are given a limited number of discretionary reserve powers only to be used in certain circumstances in accordance with their responsibility to defend the constitution.
  2. ^ The Bishop of Urgell and President of France serve as ex officio co-princes who have their interests known through a representative.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q One of fifteen constitutional monarchies which recognize the Monarch of the United Kingdom as head of state, who presides over an independent government. The Monarch is titled separately in each country (e.g. King of Australia), and notionally appoints a Governor-General (GG) to each country other than the United Kingdom to act as his representative. The prime minister (PM) is the active head of the executive branch of government and also leader of the legislature. These countries may be known as "Commonwealth realms".
    In many cases, the Governor-General or monarch has a lot more theoretical, or constitutional, powers than they actually exercise, except on the advice of elected officials, per constitutional convention. For example, the Constitution of Australia makes the GG the head of the executive branch (including commander-in-chief of the armed forces), although they seldom ever use this power, except on the advice of elected officials, especially the PM, which makes the PM the de facto head of government.[citation needed]
  4. ^ a b c The Cook Islands and Niue are under the sovereignty of the Monarch of New Zealand as self-governing states in free association with New Zealand. New Zealand and its associated states, along with Tokelau and the Ross Dependency, comprise the Realm of New Zealand.[citation needed]
  5. ^ Collective presidency consisting of three members; one for each major ethnic group.
  6. ^ Despite having a collective head of state, Bosnia and Herzegovina's head of state is ceremonial, and as such is not executively governed by a directorial system.
  7. ^ The Republic of Poland has been defined de jure by its Constitution as a parliamentary republic. However, the system is largely semi-presidential in nature as the President of Poland does exercise some power – the head of state appoints the Prime Minister as the head of government, and can veto legislation as well as dissolve parliament in certain situations. The Cabinet and Prime Minister appointed by the President are subject to a vote of confidence by the Polish Parliament (Sejm).[11][12][13][14][15][16]
  8. ^ Their two-person head of state, the Captains Regent, serve for six month terms.
  9. ^ Despite having a collective head of state, San Marino's head of state is ceremonial, and as such is not executively governed by a directorial system.
  10. ^ The president is elected by parliament and holds a parliamentary seat (as an ex-officio), much like a prime minister. If a vote of no confidence is successful and they do not resign, it triggers the dissolution of the legislature and new elections (per section 92 of the Constitution).
  11. ^ a b c d President and legislature are elected directly by the people via double simultaneous vote.
  12. ^ The president is constitutionally obligated to dissolve parliament after a successful no-confidence motion against the government (article 106(6)) and new elections are called within 3 months (article 61).[23]
  13. ^ Self-described as the Islamic Republic, Iran combines the forms of a presidential republic, with a president elected by universal suffrage, and a theocracy, with a Supreme Leader who is ultimately responsible for state policy, chosen for life by the elected Assembly of Experts. Candidates for both the Assembly of Experts and the presidency are vetted by the appointed Guardian Council.
  14. ^ The Republic of Austria is de jure semi-presidential according to the country's Constitution, however behaves more like a parliamentary republic in practice by constitutional convention, with the Chancellor being the country's leading political figure despite nominally being ranked third according to the Constitution.
  15. ^ Holds a legislative seat.
  16. ^ The President of Switzerland serves in a primus inter pares capacity amongst the Swiss Federal Council, the seven-member executive council which constitutes both the presidency and the government.
  17. ^ A federal absolute monarchy in which, different monarchies, or in this case, sheikhdoms fulfill both the duty of president and prime minister, although in actuality they are monarchs.
  18. ^ The Vatican is an elective absolute monarchy and a Roman Catholic theocracy; its monarch, the Pope, is the head of the global Roman Catholic Church. His power within the Vatican City State is unlimited by any constitution; however, as all its citizens and its residents are ordained Catholic clergy, members of the Swiss Guard, or their immediate family, they arguably have consented to obey the Pope or are minors. (Citizenship is jus officii, on the grounds of appointment to work in a certain capacity in the service of the Holy See and usually ceases upon cessation of the appointment. Citizenship is also extended to the spouse and children of a citizen, provided they are living together in the city; in practice, these are few in number, since the bulk of Vatican citizens are celibate Catholic clerics or religious. Some individuals are also authorized to reside in the city but do not qualify or choose not to request citizenship.)[36]
  19. ^ The President of China is legally a ceremonial office; however, since 1993, the presidency has been held by the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, who is the most powerful figure in the political system.[37] For more info see politics of China.
  20. ^ Afghanistan: As of December 2022, despite the loss of territory to the Taliban in 2021, the Islamic Republic continues to hold Afghanistan's seat at the United Nations, with the newly reinstated Islamic Emirate remaining unrecognized by the organization.[50]
  21. ^ Disputed between the internationally recognized Presidential Leadership Council and the Supreme Political Council.[52]

References edit

  1. ^ "The Constitution". Stortinget. 4 September 2019.
  2. ^ "Europe :: Norway — The World Factbook – Central Intelligence Agency". www.cia.gov. 27 June 2022.
  3. ^ Elgie, Robert (2 January 2013). "Presidentialism, Parliamentarism and Semi-Presidentialism: Bringing Parties Back In" (PDF). Government and Opposition. 46 (3): 392–409. doi:10.1111/j.1477-7053.2011.01345.x. S2CID 145748468.
  4. ^ "Bulgaria's Constitution of 1991 with Amendments through 2015" (PDF). www.constituteproject.org. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  5. ^ "Croatia's Constitution of 1991 with Amendments through 2010" (PDF). www.constituteproject.org. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  6. ^ "Czech Republic 1993 (rev. 2013)". www.constituteproject.org. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  7. ^ "Iceland's Constitution of 1944 with Amendments through 2013" (PDF). www.constituteproject.org. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  8. ^ "Ireland's Constitution of 1937 with Amendments through 2012" (PDF). www.constituteproject.org. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  9. ^ "Moldova (Republic of) 1994 (rev. 2016)". www.constituteproject.org. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  10. ^ "Montenegro 2007". www.constituteproject.org. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  11. ^ "Poland 1997 (rev. 2009)". www.constituteproject.org. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
  12. ^ "Poland – The World Factbook". 22 September 2021. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  13. ^ Veser, Ernst [in German] (23 September 1997). "Semi-Presidentialism-Duverger's Concept — A New Political System Model" (PDF). Department of Education, School of Education, University of Cologne , zh. pp. 39–60. Retrieved 21 August 2017. Duhamel has developed the approach further: He stresses that the French construction does not correspond to either parliamentary or the presidential form of government, and then develops the distinction of 'système politique' and 'régime constitutionnel'. While the former comprises the exercise of power that results from the dominant institutional practice, the latter is the totality of the rules for the dominant institutional practice of the power. In this way, France appears as 'presidentialist system' endowed with a 'semi-presidential regime' (1983: 587). By this standard he recognizes Duverger's pléiade as semi-presidential regimes, as well as Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and Lithuania (1993: 87).
  14. ^ Shugart, Matthew Søberg (September 2005). "Semi-Presidential Systems: Dual Executive and Mixed Authority Patterns" (PDF). Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 August 2008. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
  15. ^ Shugart, Matthew Søberg (December 2005). "Semi-Presidential Systems: Dual Executive And Mixed Authority Patterns" (PDF). French Politics. 3 (3): 323–351. doi:10.1057/palgrave.fp.8200087. Retrieved 21 August 2017. Even if the president has no discretion in the forming of cabinets or the right to dissolve parliament, his or her constitutional authority can be regarded as 'quite considerable' in Duverger's sense if cabinet legislation approved in parliament can be blocked by the people's elected agent. Such powers are especially relevant if an extraordinary majority is required to override a veto, as in Mongolia, Poland, and Senegal. In these cases, while the government is fully accountable to parliament, it cannot legislate without taking the potentially different policy preferences of the president into account.
  16. ^ McMenamin, Iain. "Semi-Presidentialism and Democratisation in Poland" (PDF). School of Law and Government, Dublin City University. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 February 2012. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
  17. ^ "Serbia 2006". www.constituteproject.org. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  18. ^ "Singapore 1963 (rev. 2016)". www.constituteproject.org. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  19. ^ "Slovakia 1992 (rev. 2017)". www.constituteproject.org. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  20. ^ "Slovenia 1991 (rev. 2013)". www.constituteproject.org. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  21. ^ "San Marino: Constitution - 1974" (PDF). Peaceful Assembly Worldwide.
  22. ^ "San Marino: Freedom in the World 2021 Country Report".
  23. ^ Constitution (2012). "CONSTITUTION OF THE CO-OPERATIVE REPUBLIC OF GUYANA ACT" (PDF). Parliament of Guyana.
  24. ^ "Kiribati's Constitution of 1979 with Amendments through 1995" (PDF). www.constituteproject.org. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  25. ^ "Marshall Islands 1979 (rev. 1995)". www.constituteproject.org. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  26. ^ "Nauru 1968 (rev. 2015)". www.constituteproject.org. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  27. ^ "South Africa's Constitution of 1996 with Amendments through 2012" (PDF). www.constituteproject.org. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  28. ^ "CONSTITUIÇÃO DA REPÚBLICA DE ANGOLA" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 March 2012. Retrieved 3 August 2011.
  29. ^ Kudelia, Serhiy (4 May 2018). "Presidential activism and government termination in dual-executive Ukraine". Post-Soviet Affairs. 34 (4): 246–261. doi:10.1080/1060586X.2018.1465251. S2CID 158492144.
  30. ^ a b Zaznaev, Oleg (2005). "Атипичные президентские и полупрезидентские системы" [Atypical presidential and semi-presidential systems]. Uchenyye Zapiski Kazanskogo Gosudarstvennogo Universiteta (in Russian). 147 (1): 62–64. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  31. ^ https://www.venice.coe.int/webforms/documents/default.aspx?pdffile=CDL-AD(2017)010-e
  32. ^ Shugart, Matthew Søberg (December 2005). "Semi-Presidential Systems: Dual Executive And Mixed Authority Patterns". French Politics. 3 (3): 323–351. doi:10.1057/palgrave.fp.8200087.
  33. ^ "Micronesia (Federated States of)'s Constitution of 1978 with Amendments through 1990" (PDF). www.constituteproject.org. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  34. ^ Stewart, Dona J. (2013). The Middle East Today: Political, Geographical and Cultural Perspectives. London and New York: Routledge. p. 155. ISBN 978-0415782432.
  35. ^ Day, Alan John (1996). Political Parties of The World. Stockton. p. 599. ISBN 1561591440.
  36. ^ "Law on citizenship, residence and access" (in Italian). Vatican City State. 11 February 2011.
  37. ^ Chris Buckley and Adam Wu (10 March 2018). "Ending Term Limits for China's Xi Is a Big Deal. Here's Why. – Is the presidency powerful in China?". New York Times. Archived from the original on 12 March 2018. Retrieved 1 December 2019. In China, the political job that matters most is the general secretary of the Communist Party. The party controls the military and domestic security forces, and sets the policies that the government carries out. China's presidency lacks the authority of the American and French presidencies.
  38. ^ "Burkina Faso military says it has seized power". BBC News. 24 January 2022. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  39. ^ "Chad's President Idriss Déby dies 'in clashes with rebels'". BBC News. 20 April 2021. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  40. ^ "Gabon army officers say they have seized power after election in oil-rich country". Reuters. 30 August 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  41. ^ "Army colonel on Guinean TV says govt dissolved, borders shut". AP NEWS. 5 September 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  42. ^ "Guinea coup attempt: Soldiers claim to seize power from Alpha Condé". BBC News. 5 September 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  43. ^ Booty, Natasha; Pivac, Mark (23 July 2023). "Assimi Goïta: President gets sweeping powers in new Mali constitution". BBC News. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  44. ^ Abebe, Adem; Bulmer, Elliot (2019). "Electing Presidents in Presidential and Semi-Presidential Democracies" (PDF). International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  45. ^ Paddock, Richard C. (31 March 2022). "Myanmar Junta's Political Prisoners Since Coup Now Number 10,000". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  46. ^ Aksar, Moussa; Balima, Boureima (27 July 2023). "Niger soldiers say President Bazoum's government has been removed". Reuters. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  47. ^ Gavin, Michelle (8 April 2022). "Junta and Public at Odds in Sudan". Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  48. ^ Jeffrey, Jack (23 October 2022). "Analysis: Year post-coup, cracks in Sudan's military junta". Associated Press News. Cairo, Egypt. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  49. ^ "Sudan's Constitution of 2005" (PDF). constituteproject.org. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  50. ^ Nichols, Michelle (15 December 2022). "Afghan Taliban Administration, Myanmar Junta Not Allowed Into United Nations for Now". Reuters. Archived from the original on 22 December 2022. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
  51. ^ Choi, Joseph (8 September 2021). "EU: Provisional Taliban government does not fulfill promises". The Hill. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  52. ^ Ghobari, Mohamed; Tolba, Ahmed (8 April 2022). "Yemen president cedes powers to council as Saudi Arabia pushes to end war". Reuters. Aden. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  53. ^ For more detailed discussion, see John McCormick, European Union Politics (Palgrave Macmillan, 2011), Chapters 1 and 2.
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