The Presidential Republic

This study presents the presidential republic as the most widespread form of government in the contemporary world and looks at the countries which pioneered that development.

It assesses the development of presidential republics and looks as the variety of national arrangements and practices, whose common characteristics are to constitute 'presidential republics', and the positioning of this regime alongside monarchies and parliamentary republics. It also addresses the part played by presidential leadership in helping to legitimise the regimes of the new countries.

Offering an insight into presidential republics across Latin America, Africa and the Ex-soviet union, this text is a seminal work on political regimes and essential reading for all students and scholars with an interest in political institutions and leadership world-wide.

Jean Blondel is Professor of Political Science at the European University Institute, Florence, and a Visiting Professor at the University of Siena. He set up the Department of Government at the University of Essex and co-founded the European Consortium of Political Research.

List Of Tables
Preface
Acknowledgement
1. Introduction. The Need To Study The 'Presidential Republic' As A General Phenomenon Of Contemporary Government
PART I: THE GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PHENOMENON OF THE PRESIDENTIAL REPUBLIC
2. The Wide Spread Of Presidential Republics And Their Key Role In The Political Development Of 'New' Countries
3. The Alternatives To The Presidential Republic Which Remained By The Late Twentieth Century: Monarchies, Parliamentary Republics And 'Full' Military Rule
4. The Central Role Of Leadership In Presidential Republics, But The Difficult Emergence Of True 'Civilian Republican Leaders'
PART II: PRESIDENTIAL REPUBLICS IN A COMPARATIVE HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
5. The Almost Total Lack Of Adequate Leadership In Spanish America During A Prolonged And Harsh Independence Process From 1810 To The Late 1820s
6. Latin American Presidential Republics From About 1830 To The Beginning Of The Twenty-First Century
7. The Quasi-Universal Adoption Of The Presidential Republic In Africa After The End Of Colonialism From The 1950s
8. A Divided Africa United By Presidential Republics At The Beginning Of The Twenty-First Century
9. The Quick Move Towards The Presidential Republic In Eleven Very Different Countries Of The Ex-Soviet Union From The Early 1990s
10. The Limited Spread Of Presidential Republics In Asia And Its Highly Exceptional Presence In Europe, Even Outside The EU
PART III: PRESIDENTIAL REPUBLICS: THEIR PAST AND THEIR FUTURE
11. Has There Been 'Progress' In The Characteristic Life Of Presidential Republics?
12. Presidential Republics Are Not Inherently Unfit To Govern
13. Conclusion: Unity And Diversity In Presidential Republics