There are several basic forms of government in the modern world that have evolved historically. This article will focus on such a political system as a parliamentary republic. You can also find examples of countries in this article.
What is this?
A parliamentary republic (you will find examples of countries of this form of government below) is a type of government in which all power belongs to a special legislative body - parliament. In different countries it is called differently: the Bundestag - in Germany, the Landtag - in Austria, the Sejm - in Poland, etc.
The "parliamentary republic" form of government differs primarily in that it is the parliament that forms the government, which is fully accountable to it, and also elects the president of the country (in most cases). How does all this work in practice? After the parliamentary popular elections, the winning parties create a coalition majority, on the basis of which a new government is formed. AtIn this case, each of the parties receives the number of "portfolios" in accordance with its weight in this coalition. So, in a few sentences, one can describe the functioning of such an entity as a parliamentary republic.
Examples of countries - "pure" parliamentary republics - are the following: Germany, Austria, Ireland, India (these are the most classic examples). Since 1976, Portugal has been added to their number, and since 1990, the African state of Cape Verde.
Do not confuse such concepts as a parliamentary monarchy and a parliamentary republic, although they are similar in many ways. The main similarity lies in the fact that both there and there the parliament acts as the dominant body of power, and the president (or monarch) performs only representative functions, that is, he is only a kind of symbol of the country. But the main difference between these forms of government is that in a parliamentary republic the president is re-elected every time by parliament, while in a monarchy this position is inherited.
Republic: presidential, parliamentary, mixed
Today, there are three types of republics. Depending on the size and breadth of powers of the head of state - the president - there are presidential and parliamentary republics. The United States is always called a classic example of a presidential republic, Germany, Italy, the Czech Republic and others are traditional examples of a parliamentary republic.
There is also a third type of republic - the so-called mixed one. In such states, both branches of government are endowed with approximately the same powers.and control each other. The most striking examples of such countries are France, Romania.
Main characteristics of a parliamentary republic
All states of a parliamentary republic have similar features that should be listed:
- executive power belongs entirely to the head of government, it can be the prime minister or the chancellor;
- the president is not elected by the people, but by the parliament (or a special board);
- the head of government is appointed by the president, although the candidacy is proposed from among the leaders of the coalition formed by the majority;
- all responsibility for the actions of the government lies with its leader;
- all acts of the President are valid only if they are signed by the Prime Minister or the relevant Minister.
Parliamentary republics: list of countries
The prevalence of this form of government in the world is quite large. Today, there are about thirty parliamentary republics, while it is worth noting that there is no single figure on this matter. The fact is that some countries are very difficult to attribute to one type or another. Examples of a parliamentary republic are given below (they are distributed by parts of the world):
- in Europe - Austria, Albania, Greece, Bulgaria, Italy, Estonia, Ireland, Iceland, Germany, Poland, Portugal, M alta, Lithuania, Latvia, Serbia, Czech Republic, Croatia, Hungary, Finland, Slovenia and Slovakia;
- in Asia - Turkey, Israel, Nepal, Singapore, India, Bangladesh, Iraq;
- in Africa - Ethiopia;
- in America -Dominica;
- in Oceania - Vanuatu.
As we can see, parliamentary republics, the list of which includes over 30 countries, dominate the European region. Another feature that immediately catches your eye is that most of the listed countries (primarily, if we talk about Europe) are economically developed successful states with a high level of democratic development.
If we take into account the rating of countries in the world in terms of the level of democracy (organization Economist Intelligence Unit), we can see that out of 25 states that have been given the highest status of "full-fledged democracy", 21 countries are parliamentary republics and monarchies. Also, these countries are leaders in the IMF rating in terms of GDP per capita of the country. Thus, we can safely say that parliamentary republics are the most effective and successful form of government (at the moment).
The list of countries above can also be represented as the following map, on which parliamentary republics are marked in orange:
"Pros" and "cons" of this form of government
The main advantages of this political system include the following:
- parliamentary system ensures the unity of the legislative and executive branches of government;
- all government initiatives, as a rule, receive the full support of parliament, which ensuresstable operation of the entire power system;
- this management system fully allows you to comply with the principle of popular representation in power.
There are, however, parliamentary republics and their shortcomings, which are partly out of the merits of this political system. First of all, this is the instability of coalition alliances, which often leads to political crises (bright examples are Ukraine or Italy). Also, very often the coalition government has to give up actions useful for the country in order to adhere to the ideological line of the coalition agreement.
Another significant drawback of parliamentary republics is the danger of usurpation of power in the state by the government, when the parliament, in fact, turns into an ordinary "punching machine" for laws.
Next, consider the features of the political structure of the most popular parliamentary republics on the planet: Austria, Germany, India and Poland.
Federal Republic of Austria
The Austrian Parliament is called the Landtag, and its deputies are elected for a four-year term. The central parliament of the country - the Federal Assemblies of Austria - consists of two chambers: the Nationalrat (183 deputies) and the Bundesrat (62 deputies). In addition, each of the nine federal states of Austria has its own Landtag.
There are only about 700 registered parties in Austria, but only five of them are currently represented in the Austrian parliament.
FederalRepublic of Germany
The German parliament is also elected for four years. It consists of two chambers: the Bundestag, which includes 622 deputies, and the Bundesrat (69 deputies). The deputies of the Bundesrat are representatives of all 16 states of the country. Each of the federal states has from 3 to 6 representatives in the state parliament (depending on the size of a particular state).
The German Parliament elects the Federal Chancellor, who heads the executive branch and, in fact, is the main person in the state. Since 2005, this position in Germany has been occupied by Angela Merkel - the first woman to hold the position of Federal Chancellor in the history of the country.
Republic of Poland
The Polish parliament is called the Sejm, it is also bicameral. The Polish Parliament consists of two parts: the Sejm itself, which consists of 460 deputies, and the Senate, consisting of 100 deputies. The Sejm is elected by proportional system, according to the D'Hondt method. At the same time, only those candidates who received at least 5% of the votes in the national vote can get a deputy seat in the Seimas (the only exception is representatives of ethnic minority parties).
Republic of India
India is also a parliamentary republic, in which all power belongs to the parliament and the government that is formed by it. The Indian Parliament includes the House of the People and the Council of States -a body that represents the interests of the individual states.
The People's Chamber (Lok Sabha) deputies are elected by popular vote. The total (maximum under the Constitution of India) number of members of the House of the People is 552 people. The term of one convocation of the Chamber is 5 years. However, the Lok Sabha can be dissolved by the President of the country ahead of schedule, and in some situations, Indian legislation also provides for the extension of the term of the Chamber for one year. The House of the People of India is led by the Speaker, who, upon his election to this position, is obliged to leave his party.
The Council of States (Rajya Sabha) is formed by indirect elections and includes 245 deputies. The composition of the Rajya Sabha is renewed by a third every two years.
In conclusion…
Now you have an idea of what a parliamentary republic is. Examples of countries are also given by us in this information article: these are Austria, Germany, Italy, Poland, India, Singapore, the Czech Republic and other countries (about 30 states in total). In conclusion, we can say that this political system of government has both its advantages and disadvantages. However, today a parliamentary republic is the most optimal and effective form of government in the world.
