Under what conditions are parliamentary forms of government more appropriate than presidential forms?

The first 200 words of this essay...

Under what conditions are parliamentary forms of government more appropriate than presidential forms?

The issue of analysing forms of government is one that is difficult because whilst in theory different approaches may always be divisble, in reality the boundaries in political society are much less defined. In this essay, through structured analysis, I intend to compare the parliamentary and presidential governments. In order to evaluate these two forms of government I have devised four circumstances which I believe should be desired in all successful democratic states. These are: the desire for stability, the desire for a fully representative democracy, the desire for accountability, and the desire for fast and effective policy implementation. Through analysis of these circumstances, I intend to reach the conclusion that in all senses of the debate, the parliamentary approach to government is more appropriate than the presidential approach.

One of the key political conditions within states which needs to be analysed is the desire for either increased stability or increased flexibility in the political arena. This may be particularly prevalent in scenarios of economic uncertainty or technological change. Generally, as Bara and Pennington (2009. p.137) assert, stability within the presidential form of government can