Divided Government in Comparative Perspective

Download or read book Divided Government in Comparative Perspective written by Robert Elgie and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2001-11-08 with total page 255 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Divided government occurs when the executive fails to enjoy majority support in at least one working house of the legislature. To date, the study of divided government has focused almost exclusively on the United States. However, divided government occurs much more widely. It occurs in other presidential systems. Moreover, it is also the equivalent of minority government in parliamentary regimes and cohabitation in French-style semi-presidential systems. This book examines the frequency, causes and management of divided government in comparative context, identifying the similarities and differences between the various experiences of this increasingly frequent form of government. The countries studied include Denmark, Ecuador, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Mexico, Poland, and the US.