Vol. 8, No. 2 (2009) 307–314
LAW
Presidential versus parliamentary systems
ILONA MÁRIA SZILÁGYI
Miklós Zrínyi National Defence University, Budapest, Hungary
This article is a comparison of presidential and parliamentary systems. They are the two most popular types of democratic governments. They have common and dissimilar features. In both presidential and parliamentary systems the chief executive can be removed from office by the legislature but the way of it is different. Dissimilar feature is the election of the chief executive and the debate styles. I present the two best examples of these systems: the USA (presidentialism) and the UK (parliamentary system). Consequently nations can choose which system they sympathise: the more classic parliamentary system or the less rigid presidential system, or the mixture of them. I do not want to stand by neither of them in my essay. I just want to show and compare them. Introduction A nation’s type of government refers to how that state’s executive, legislative, and judicial organs are organized. All nations need some sort of government to avoid anarchy. Democratic governments are those that permit the nation’s citizens to manage their government either directly or through elected representatives. This is opposed to authoritarian governments that limit or prohibit the direct participation of its citizens. Two of the most popular types of democratic governments are the presidential and parliamentary systems [1]. First I write about presidential systems then parliamentary systems in general and in the USA and UK. After these I show the differences and the common features of the two systems, and give a conclusion. Presidential systems My aim is to show the presidential systems in general and after the American presidential system. I am going to write about the president in more details, his power and his limitations. There are presidential republics that have a full presidential system (e.g. the USA),