[...]... demonstrate how direct presidential elections influence democratic stability and intra-executive conflict Yet by considering only directly elected presidents, they are not able to show whether the type of election matters in the first place, that is, whether indirectly elected presidents behave differently Exclusive focus on regimes with directly elected presidents presumes that the method of election matters... of direct popular mandate renders any powers that indirectly elected presidents possess meaningless is equally explicit in empirical studies measuring the constitutional powers of presidents Several studies measure the power of the presidents in countries with direct presidential elections only (Metcalf 2000; Roper 2002; Shugart and Carey 1992) Other studies, while considering both directly and indirectly... activism Since the principals of directly elected presidents are different than those of indirectly elected presidents, we should see behavioral differences between these presidents Specifically, indirectly elected presidents need to please legislators (or members of an electoral college) and are therefore less likely to disagree with other branches of government Directly elected presidents, however, are independent... understanding of how parliamentary systems with presidents function Policy debates accompanying the writing or rewriting of constitutions usually involve a list of potential consequences of directly electing the head of state Some are relatively mundane (e.g., direct elections are costlier than indirect elections) , but others require a societal value debate (e.g., does an indirectly elected president represent... they differ significantly from parliamentary regimes with indirectly elected presidents in the way they function? In sum, a well-established literature is being built around an assumption for which no empirical support has been offered We simply do not know whether and in what respect systems with directly elected presidents differ from those with indirectly elected ones The lack of scholarly studies... if direct elections provide presidents in parliamentary systems with enhanced legitimacy, this may not translate into enhanced activism and powers Presidents, directly or indirectly elected, operate within the constraints of existing institutional structures and constellation of partisan forces Semi-presidentialism scholars have recognized that these constraints condition the leadership style of presidents, ... that direct elections may become overly partisan and divisive Two main concerns have emerged regarding the effect of a popular vote on the nature of elections The first is that direct elections require lengthy and public campaigning, which increases confrontation and divisiveness The second is that direct elections are more partisan, which similarly results in a higher level of conflict Direct elections. .. polarizing contests than those elections that are contested by active politicians at the prime of their careers If direct elections attract active, populist, noncompromising candidates (Bahro et al 1998), these elections themselves turn out to be conflictual Assuming that lower reelection rates of incumbent presidents indicate more contestation in elections, some direct elections indeed appear more contentious... consideration (Wolchik 1997) The activism of many indirectly elected Italian presidents is well known and documented The prime example of presidential activism in Italy is Luigi Scalfaro, who, despite his figurehead status, effectively dominated cabinet formation and controlled the timing of elections (Pasquino and Vasallo 1995) Furthermore, even indirectly elected presidents have referred to their mandate to... assumed that directly elected presidents are more powerful, without much evidence to support this assumption (Frye 1997; Hellman 1996) Some recent studies have acknowledged that direct elections do not necessarily define regime type (Beliaev 2006; Cheibub 2007) Yet their assertion is similarly simply an assumption 1 Thus, a basic conclusion in the limited existing literature is that direct elections alone . y0 w0 h0" alt="" Presidents with Prime Ministers This page intentionally left blank This page intentionally left blank Presidents with Prime Ministers Do Direct Elections Matter? Margit Tavits 1 3 Great. Margit. Presidents with prime ministers : do direct elections matter? / Margit Tavits. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978–0–19–955332–7 (acid-free paper) 1. Elections Cross-cultural. Margit. Presidents with prime ministers : do direct elections matter? / Margit Tavits. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978–0–19–955332–7 (acid-free paper) 1. Elections Cross-cultural