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Difference Between Presidential and Parlimentry System

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Difference Between Presidential and Parlimentry System
This essay will critically analyse the two forms of political governmental systems namely, the presidential system and the parliamentary system. Each system will be briefly defined and the differences and similarities between each form of government will be critically analysed. Thereafter, the essay will focus on the advantages of the presidential and parliamentary forms of government before reaching a conclusion.

Assembly-executive relations more commonly conform to one of two institutional arrangements: parliamentary and presidential systems of government. (Heywood 2007) One of the key features of any political system is the relationship between the assembly and the government: that is, the relationship between the legislative and executive authority. (Heywood 2007) The parliamentary form of government has mostly been adopted by liberal democracies and is based on the model of the UK Parliament known as the Westminster-style system. (Heywood 2007) Dating back to the 13th century, the King’s Court incorporated knights and burgesses into the Westminster Parliament. The House of Commons and the House of The Lords were created to represent the knights and the burgesses, and the barons and churchmen, in the 14th century. (Heywood 2007) The Glorious Revolution of 1688 established parliaments supremacy over the king, and its capacity to call government to account was not recognised until the gradual emergence of a democratic franchise during the 19th century (Heywood 2007).

The parliamentary system, also known as parliamentarism, can be defined as a multi-party form of government wherein which the executive is dependent upon the legislature. Therefore, there is no separation of powers between the executive and legislatives forms of government (Alex Timbers 2011). The executive, also known as the cabinet, is headed by the prime minister who serves as a head of government. The prime minister is the leader of the leading party in the parliamentary system. It is


Bibliography: Alex Timbers, Juliet Chia and David Morris. "Boozy: The Life, Death, & Subsequent Vilification of Le Corbusier." MorrisChia. 2011. http://morrischia.com/david/portfolio/boozy/research/parliamentary_20system.html (accessed August 21, 2013). Chandra, Dilip. "Parliamentary Sytem and Presidential System." Hub Page. February 2, 2013. http://dilipchandra12.hubpages.com/hub/Parliamentary-System-and-Presidential-System (accessed August 8, 2013). Dubroff, M. Dee. "What is the difference between a parliamentary and a presidential system of government?" Wise Geek. August 2, 2013. http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-difference-between-a-parliamentary-and-presidential-system-of-government.htm (accessed August 18, 2013). Heywood, Andrew. "Politics: Third Edition." In Role of Assemblies, by Andrew Heywood, 337-343. Hampshire: Palgrave MacMillan, 2007. Samir. "Comparison between Presidential and parliamentary form of Government ." Preserve Articles. September 13, 2011. http://www.preservearticles.com/2011091313262/comparison-between-presidential-and-parliamentary-form-of-government.html (accessed August 4, 2013). Scholastic Inc. 2013. http://teacher.scholastic.com/researchtools/researchstarters/presidents/ (accessed August 5, 2013). University, Michigan. Chapter 15- Presidential Government. 2007. http://www.chsbs.cmich.edu/fattah/courses/introPolSc/ch15presidential.htm (accessed August 7, 2013).
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