Presidents with prime ministers: do direct elections matter?

Using both quantitative and qualitative empirical evidence from democratic systems across the world, this book shows that compared to indirect selection methods, direct elections do not yield more active and contentious presidents, do not polarise political elites or society, and do not remedy political apathy

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. Despite the importance of this topic in practical politics, political scientists have offered little empirical evidence, yet made bold assumptions about the consequences of popular elections for heads of state. A common argument is that direct elections enhance presidents' legitimacythereby increasing their activism and encouraging authoritarian tendencies. Another popular assumption is that direc

Using both quantitative and qualitative empirical evidence from democratic systems across the world, this book shows that compared to indirect selection methods, direct elections do not yield more active and contentious presidents, do not polarise political elites or society, and do not remedy political apathy.