Presidents with Prime Ministers

This book is about presidents in parliamentary systems. One commonly recurring political debate within parliamentary systems is over whether or not the public should directly elect the head of state. Existing political science literature has little to contribute to this debate because not much empirical research exists on this topic. This book addresses the most common points of contention in policy debates: Do direct elections enhance presidents' legitimacy thereby increasing their activism and encouraging authoritarian tendencies? Are direct elections more heavily contested, partisan, polarizing and divisive? Do direct elections help decrease voter alienation and apathy? Using both quantitative and qualitative empirical evidence from democratic systems across the world, this book demonstrates that compared to indirect selection methods, direct elections do not yield more active and contentious presidents, do not polarize political elites or society, and do not remedy political apathy.