There are several basic forms of government in the modern world that have formed historically. This article will discuss a political system such as a parliamentary republic. You can also find examples of countries in this article.
What it is?
The parliamentary republic (examples of countries of this form of government can be found below) is a type of state system in which all power is vested in 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 form of government "parliamentary republic" is primarily distinguished by the fact 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 happen in practice? After the parliamentary elections, the winning parties create a coalition majority, on the basis of which a new government is formed. Moreover, each party receives the number of "portfolios" in accordance with its weight in this coalition. So, with a few sentences, you can describe the functioning of such an entity as a parliamentary republic.
Examples of countries - "pure" parliamentary republics - can be cited as follows: these are 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.
Concepts such as a parliamentary monarchy and a parliamentary republic should not be confused, although they are similar in many respects. The main similarity is that in both places the parliament is the dominant authority, while the president (or monarch) performs only representative functions, that is, it is only a kind of symbol of the country. But the main difference between these forms of government is that in the parliamentary republic, the president is re-elected by the parliament each time, and in the monarchy this post 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 - presidential and parliamentary republics are distinguished. The USA is always called a classic example of a presidential republic, and traditional examples of a parliamentary republic are Germany, Italy, the Czech Republic and others.
The third type of republic, the so-called mixed one, also stands out. 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.
The main characteristics of a parliamentary republic
All states of a parliamentary republic have similar features that should be listed:
- the executive power is wholly owned by the head of government; it may be the prime minister or the chancellor;
- the president is elected not by the people, but by parliament (or a special board);
- the head of government is appointed by the president, although a majority is proposed from among the leaders of the formed coalition;
- all responsibility for the actions of the government lies with its head;
- all acts of the president are valid only if they are signed by the prime minister or the corresponding minister.
Parliamentary republics: list of countries
The prevalence in the world of this form of government is quite large. Today, there are about thirty parliamentary republics, while it is worth noting that there is no single figure on this subject. 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 in parts of the world):
- in Europe - Austria, Albania, Greece, Bulgaria, Italy, Estonia, Ireland, Iceland, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Malta, 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 see, parliamentary republics, the list of which includes more than 30 countries, prevail in the European region. Another feature that immediately catches your eye is that most of the countries listed (primarily, if we talk about Europe) belong to economically developed successful states with a high level of development of democracy.
If we take into account the rating of the countries of the world in terms of democracy (of the Economist Intelligence Unit), we can see that of the 25 states that have been given the highest status of "full democracy", 21 are parliamentary republics and monarchies. Also, these countries are leaders in the IMF ranking in terms of GDP per capita. Thus, we can safely say that the most effective and successful form of government (at this point in time) is precisely the parliamentary republics.
The list of countries given above can also be represented in the form of the following map, on which the parliamentary republics are marked in orange:
The pros and cons of this form of government
The main advantages of this political system include the following:
- the parliamentary system ensures the unity of the legislative and executive branches of government;
- all government initiatives, as a rule, receive the full support of the parliament, which ensures the stable operation of the entire power system;
- This management system allows you to fully comply with the principle of popular representation in power.
However, parliamentary republics have their own shortcomings, which partly go beyond the merits of this political system. First of all, it is the instability of coalition unions, which often leads to political crises (vivid examples are Ukraine or Italy). Also, very often the coalition government has to abandon 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 “stamping machine” for laws.
Next, we 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 deputies are elected for a four-year term. The central parliament of the country - the Federal Assembly of Austria - consists of two chambers: the Nationalrate (183 deputies) and the Bundesrat (62 deputies). In addition, each of the nine federal states of Austria has its own landtag.
In Austria, only about 700 parties are registered, but at the moment, only five of them are represented in the Austrian parliament.
Federal Republic 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). Bundesrat deputies are representatives of all 16 lands of the country. Each of the federal lands has from 3 to 6 representatives in the state parliament (depending on the size of a particular land).
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 held by Angela Merkel, the first woman to be the Federal Chancellor in the history of the country.
Republic of Poland
The Polish parliament is called the Sejm; it is also bicameral. The Parliament of Poland consists of two parts: it is actually the Sejm, which consists of 460 deputies, as well as the Senate, consisting of 100 deputies. The Diet is elected according to the proportional system, according to the method of D'Ondt. At the same time, only those candidates who won at least 5% of the votes in the national vote can get a deputy seat in the Sejm (the exception is made only by representatives of ethnic minority parties).
Republic of India
India is also a parliamentary republic in which all power is vested in the parliament and the government it forms. The Indian Parliament includes the People’s Chamber and the Council of States, a body that expresses the interests of individual states.
Deputies are elected to the People’s Chamber (Lok Sabha) by universal popular vote. The total (maximum under the Constitution of India) number of members of the People’s Chamber is 552 people. The term of work of one convocation of the Chamber is 5 years. However, the Lok Sabha may be dissolved by the president of the country ahead of schedule, and in some situations, Indian law also provides for the extension of the Chamber's work by one year. The People’s Chamber of India is led by a speaker who, after being elected to this position, is obliged to quit his party.
The Council of States (Rajya Sabha) is formed by indirect election and includes 245 deputies. Every two years, the composition of the Rajya Sabha is updated by a third.
