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10 - Presidentialism

Busting the Checks and Balances

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 April 2022

Roberto Gargarella
Affiliation:
Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina
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Summary

The proposed constitutional organization of the political sphere, including, in a special way, the design of the executive and legislative branches, also reflected assumptions of democratic distrust. In this I explore the imbalance generated within the system of “checks and balances” by strong presidential systems and, in particular, by the presence of what some have called “hyper-presidentialism” (Nino 1997). In fact -I argue- the current system depends on finding a “President-angel” who is capable of and willing to demonstrate the qualities of her character throughout the term of her administration. When, on the contrary, the person elected President does not turn out to be up to the job, or is susceptible to pressure and influence, or takes offense at criticism from society and begins acting in an authoritarian or abusive manner, then the bare reality of the institutional system is revealed. And when this happens, we see that the system, in truth, is incapable of imposing firm control, that it allows abuse to continue, and that it is vulnerable to authoritarian manipulation. This situation -I maintain- should largely be seen as an endogenous product of the institutional system, much more than the result of personal pathologies (authoritarian leaders or unenlightened representatives).

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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  • Presidentialism
  • Roberto Gargarella, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina
  • Book: The Law As a Conversation among Equals
  • Online publication: 25 April 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009105682.011
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  • Presidentialism
  • Roberto Gargarella, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina
  • Book: The Law As a Conversation among Equals
  • Online publication: 25 April 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009105682.011
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Presidentialism
  • Roberto Gargarella, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina
  • Book: The Law As a Conversation among Equals
  • Online publication: 25 April 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009105682.011
Available formats
×