TYPES OF GOVERNMENT

Types of Government

Governments can be classified broadly into two categories:

• Parliamentary type of Government, and;
• Presidential type of Government.

Major difference between these two types of Governments:

• In a Parliamentary type, the Head of the state and the Head of Government are different persons, but in the Presidential type, the Head of the state and the Head of the government is the same person.

For example:-

In Britain, the head of the state is British Monarch and head of the government is Prime Minister, but in U.S.A., the President is head of the state as well as head of the government.

• In a Parliamentary type of government, the head of the state is a nominal/symbolic head, whereas the head of the government is the real head of the government.

For example:-

In Britain, the Monarch is the nominal/symbolic head, whereas the Prime Minister is the real head. This distinction does not apply in U.S.A.

• In a Parliamentary type of government, the tenure of the Prime Minister is not fixed, but holds the office only during the time when he has the majority support of the Lower house of the Parliament, but in a Presidential form, the tenure of President is fixed. For e.g, in India the tenure of the Prime Minister is of five years but it is not fixed, while in the U.S.A, the tenure of the President is fixed (4 years).
• In a Parliamentary type, the members of the executive branch are also the members of the legislative branch e. the Prime Minister and the Ministers are also a part of the legislature, but in a Presidential type of Government, the members of the executive branch are not also the members of the legislative branch of the government.
• The principle of separation of powers (given by French Scholar Montesquieu) doesn’t apply in the parliamentary form, but is a feature of the Presidential form of Government. In the presidential system, three organs of government- legislature, executive and judiciary work separately and independently, but in a parliamentary type of government, executives come from legislature. The Prime minister and his ministers are also members of the legislature.
• In a Parliamentary type of government, the executive is responsible/accountable to legislature, but no such responsibility/accountability exists in the presidential type of government.
• The Principle of collective responsibility applies in the parliamentary type but not in a Presidential type of government. Collective responsibility means every minister is responsible/accountable for the working of his ministry as well as the working of the entire government. In a presidential type of government, a minister is responsible for the working of his own ministry only.

Advantages of Parliamentary type of Government

• Easier to pass laws and legislations.
• Less prone to dictatorship.

Disadvantages of Parliamentary type of Government

• No fixed tenure of government– this leads to political instability.
• No quick decisions are possible.
• No strong decisions are possible.

Advantages of Presidential type of Government

• Direct election of the President by the public. This is a general feature of a Presidential type of government. However, in U.S.A., the President is not directly but indirectly elected by the U.S. public.
• Separations of powers – This system prevents the misuse of power. The three organs of government— Legislature, Executive and Judiciary keep a check and balance to the organs of government.
• Quick decisions are possible.
• Strong decisions are possible.
• There is stability of the Government as the tenure of government is fixed.

Disadvantages of Presidential type of Government

• Prone to dictatorship.
• Chances of political Gridlock (friction) between the legislature and executive.
• Lack of accountability of executive towards legislature.
• Difficult to remove a non-popular President.

Examples of Countries having Parliamentary type of government

U.K., India, Sweden, Japan, Australia, Germany, Pakistan, Italy, Nepal, Bangladesh, Canada, Israel, Malaysia, South Africa, Switzerland, etc.

Examples of Countries having Presidential type of government

U.S.A, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Iran, Maldives, Filipino, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, South Korea, Mexico, Myanmar, Indonesia, etc.

Note:-   Every country is free to make its own Constitution. This classification is general in nature. The Constitution of every country cannot be placed under this classification.

Note:- As per the constitutions of China, Russia, Sri Lanka etc. there is a provision of a President who is the real head of the government. However, the provision of Prime Minister is also there and the Prime Minister is subordinate to the President.