Facing the Perils of Presidentialism?
By: Fukuyama, Francis
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Contributor(s): DRESSEL, Björn | CHANG, Boo-Seung.
Material type: 
ArticlePublisher: Washington, DC : The Johns Hopkins University Press , April 2005Subject(s): Linz, Juan J. (Juan José) | Perils of presidentialism | Estrada, Joseph Ejercito | Wahid, Abdurrahman | Roh, Moo Hyun | Chen, Shuibian | East Asia | Politics and governmentJournal of Democracy 16, 2, p. 102-116Abstract: Indonesia, the Philippines, South Korea, and Taiwan all have presidential systems, and in recent years have experienced many of the ills attributed to presidentialism by critics like Juan Linz, such as weak legitimacy, rigid terms, deadlock with the legislature, and efforts to impeach unpopular presidents. This article concludes that while Asian presidentialism manifests some of the problems of other presidential systems, it is not an institution in crisis as each country has used its democratic institutions, and particularly constitutional courts, to resolve these problems. Indeed, presidential systems better reflect underlying structural shifts in politics and are more likely to promote rapid political change than parliamentary ones.
Indonesia, the Philippines, South Korea, and Taiwan all have presidential systems, and in recent years have experienced many of the ills attributed to presidentialism by critics like Juan Linz, such as weak legitimacy, rigid terms, deadlock with the legislature, and efforts to impeach unpopular presidents. This article concludes that while Asian presidentialism manifests some of the problems of other presidential systems, it is not an institution in crisis as each country has used its democratic institutions, and particularly constitutional courts, to resolve these problems. Indeed, presidential systems better reflect underlying structural shifts in politics and are more likely to promote rapid political change than parliamentary ones.
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