Governing Systems and Executive-Legislative Relations (Presidential, Parliamentary and Hybrid Systems)

This documents explores the common characteristics that underlie presidential, parliamentary, and hybrid political systems. While in practice the structure of government differs depending on the underlying context, these commonalities help understand characteristics of other nations' political systems. Specifically, the paper examines how each of these systems impact the following three criteria: separation of powers, legislative and executive terms and removal from office, and the legislative function, namely who formulates, initiates, and amends legislation. The document sets out a chart illustrating the above comparisons, and briefly looks at absolute and constitutional monarchies, in addition to military regimes.