From the article “Duration of Party Control in Parliamentary and Presidential Governments: A Study of 65 Democracies, 1950 to 1998”, there are notable similarities and differences that lie between the two forms of democracies which stand out. For instance, in a Presidential system, the entire country usually get the chance to vote for their preferred Presidential candidate, and only a Presidential elections can give executive powers. The president is thus more answerable to the people rather than the legislature. On the other hand, in a Parliamentary System, the whole country do not get to vote for the executive. Instead, the members of the legislature vote for one of the members among them and every election can easily change the person holding the executive powers. The two forms of government are however similar in that both have the technique of having a representative democracy. Also, a constitution spells out ways in which a state should be governed and also outlines the rights of citizens.
The causal link between development and democracy is considered controversial with different parties holding varying opinions. However, there is a close relationship between development and democracy, as derived from the article “Economic Development and Democracy” in that economic development may directly influence democracy. When an economy develops, opposition to, and threats against democracy become weaker. At the same time, capital becomes more important than land and industry becomes more important than agriculture. Democracies are usually vulnerable to bad economic conditions because for a democracy to take hold and flourish, there is a required level of economic development that is necessary. In general, the same factors that cause sustained economic development including good economic institutions, also influence the democracy of a country. It is essential for a nation to have secure property rights because these boosts economic growth and also helps to induce democratization by lessening the stakes from politics.
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When looking at Canada, France, and United States, there are similarities and differences in each of their governments and democracies especially in terms of governance and public policy. Canada, just like America is a democratic country, but with a parliamentary system of government (Forsey, 2016). It consists of three elements; the Crown, the Senate and the House of Commons. When it comes to making laws, the responsibility is shared among one federal, three territorial and ten provincial governments. The country is also a constitutional monarchy and so carries out every act in the name of the Crown. On the contrary, France has a semi-presidential government system in which is jointly headed by a president and a prime minister (Shields 2005). This government is divided into the executive, legislative and the judiciary and it is the president who appoints the prime minister. This government can be described as a republic because of the people, or a good number of them, have control over the government. America and France are similar in that both of them are both democracies and republics. The American president has power as head of government and head of state whereas the French president is only the head of state, but it is the prime minister who is the head of government. Thus, when making public policy, the president makes the final decision if it’s in America, but in France, the prime minister has more authority in policy making.
In general, parliamentary, semi-presidential, and presidential democracies as applied in Canada, France, and United States respectively, are all considered as acceptable systems of government because the importance is that they are all representative democracies and the people of the countries are well represented. Furthermore, it is necessary for developing countries to further improve their economies in order to fully enjoy a sustainable democracy.
References
Forsey, E., A. (2016). How Canadians Govern Themselves: Canadian and American Government. Parliament of Canada . Retrieved from http://www.lop.parl.gc.ca/About/Parliament/senatoreugeneforsey/book/chapter_4-e.html
Shields, J., G. (2005) Political Representation in France: A Crisis of Democracy?. Parliam Aff 2005; 59 (1): 118-137. doi: 10.1093/pa/gsj013
