World's states coloured by systems of government: Parliamentary systems: Head of government is elected or nominated by and accountable to the legislature
Constitutional monarchy with a ceremonial monarch
Parliamentary republic with a ceremonial president
Parliamentary republic with an executive president
Presidential system: Head of government (president) is popularly elected and independent of the legislature
Presidential republic
Hybrid systems:
Semi-presidential republic: Executive president is independent of the legislature; head of government is appointed by the president and is accountable to the legislature
Assembly-independent republic: Head of government (president or directory) is elected by the legislature, but is not accountable to it
Semi-constitutional monarchy: Monarch holds significant executive or legislative power
Absolute monarchy: Monarch has unlimited power
One-party state: Power is constitutionally linked to a single political party
Military junta: Committee of military leaders controls the government; constitutional provisions are suspended
Provisional government: No constitutionally defined basis to current regime
Dependent territories and places without governments
Note: this chart represent de jure systems of government, not the de facto degree of democracy.[citation needed]
v
t
e
Part of the Politics series
Politics
Outline
Index
Category
Primary topics
Outline of political science
Index of politics articles
Politics by country
Politics by subdivision
Political economy
Political history
Political history of the world
Political philosophy
Political systems
Anarchy
City-state
Collective leadership
Democracy
Dictatorship
Directorial
Federacy
Feudalism
Hybrid regime
Meritocracy
Monarchy
Parliamentary
Presidential
Republic
Semi-parliamentary
Semi-presidential
Theocracy
Academic disciplines
Political science (political scientists)
International relations (theory)
Comparative politics
Election science
Political analysis
Political theory
Policy studies
Political psychology
Political sociology
Public administration
Bureaucracy (street-level)
Technocracy
Adhocracy
Service
(Public / Civil)
Policy
Public policy (doctrine)
Domestic policy
Foreign policy
Civil society
Public interest
Government branches
Separation of powers
Legislature
Executive
Judiciary
Election commission
Related topics
Sovereignty
Polity / State
(Politeia / Nation / Sovereign / Civilization / Territorial / Rump / Quasi / Warlord)
Theories of political behavior
Biology and political orientation
Political organisations
Critique of political economy
Subseries
Electoral systems
Elections
voting
Unitarism
Federalism
Government
(forms / Governance)
Ideology
Culture
Political campaigning
Political parties
Politics portal
v
t
e
A parliamentary system, or parliamentary democracy, is a system of democratic government where the head of government (who may also be the head of state) derives their democratic legitimacy from their ability to command the support ("confidence") of the legislature, typically a parliament, to which they are accountable.
In a parliamentary system, the head of state and head of government are usually two separate positions, with the head of state serving as a ceremonial figurehead with little if any power, while all of the real political power is vested in the head of government. This is in contrast to a presidential system, which features a president who is usually both the head of state and the head of government and, most importantly, does not derive their legitimacy from the legislature.
Countries with parliamentary systems may be constitutional monarchies, where a monarch is the head of state while the head of government is almost always a member of parliament, or parliamentary republics, where a mostly ceremonial president is the head of state while the head of government is regularly from the legislature. In a few parliamentary republics, among some others, the head of government is also head of state, but is elected by and is answerable to parliament. In bicameral parliaments, the head of government is generally, though not always, a member of the lower house.
Parliamentarianism is the dominant form of government in Europe, with 32 of its 50 sovereign states being parliamentarian. It is also common across the Caribbean, being the form of government of 10 of its 13 island states, and in Oceania. Elsewhere in the world, parliamentary governments are less common, but they are distributed through all continents, most often in former colonies of the British Empire that subscribe to a particular brand of parliamentarianism known as the Westminster system.
and 24 Related for: Parliamentary system information
A parliamentarysystem, or parliamentary democracy, is a system of democratic government where the head of government (who may also be the head of state)...
The Westminster system, or Westminster model, is a type of parliamentary government that incorporates a series of procedures for operating a legislature...
president except in extraordinary cases. A presidential system contrasts with a parliamentarysystem, where the head of government comes to power by gaining...
A parliamentary republic is a republic that operates under a parliamentarysystem of government where the executive branch (the government) derives its...
some full parliamentarysystems, the head of state is directly elected by voters. Under other classification systems, however, these systems may instead...
figurehead or concurrently the head of government and more. In a parliamentarysystem, such as India or the United Kingdom, the head of state usually has...
following respects (though they vary among jurisdictions): Powers: In a parliamentarysystem, it often has much less power than the lower house. Therefore, in...
political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentarysystem form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically seen...
cabinet) is elected indirectly. This includes the cabinets of most parliamentarysystems; members of the public elect the parliamentarians, who then elect...
presidential, semi-presidential, and parliamentarysystems. They contrast with figurehead presidents, common in most parliamentary republics, in which the president...
Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentarysystem. This...
intention of the new Constitution's authors was to rationalize the parliamentarysystem. Ministers were accountable to the legislative body, the French National...
parliamentary seats are list rather than district seats, the districts are necessarily up to twice as large as with a plurality/majoritarian system where...
similar ideologies. Some parliamentarysystems allow smaller political parties, who are not numerous enough to form parliamentary groups in their own names...
National Assembly (parliamentary elections): and local government elections. The Hungarian electoral system also includes the systems used for the European...
strengthened parliamentarysystem (Turkish: Güçlendirilmiş parlamenter sistem), also referred to as an enhanced and strengthened parliamentarysystem (Turkish:...
cabinet portfolio such as home minister or finance minister. In the parliamentarysystem of government, the Chief Minister is treated as the "first among...
characteristics (though they vary per jurisdiction). Powers In a parliamentarysystem, the lower house; In the modern era, has much more power, usually...
cabinet portfolio such as home minister or finance minister. In the parliamentarysystem of government, the Chief Minister is treated as the "first among...
an example of perfect bicameralism. However, in many parliamentary and semi-presidential systems, the house to which the executive is responsible (e.g...
India is a federal constitutional republic governed under a parliamentarysystem consisting of 28 states and 8 union territories. All states, as well as...
democratically elected government, Bangladesh adopted a parliamentary democracy based on a Westminster system. The President is now a largely ceremonial post...
of the Madras State, with Kurnool as its capital and a unicameral parliamentarysystem with a legislative assembly chamber. A total of two people have served...
the word parliament to parliamentarysystems, although it is also used to describe the legislature in some presidential systems (e.g., the Parliament of...
Global Information
Politics portal