Checking Presidential Power: Executive Decrees and the Legislative Process in New Democracies

Palanza, Valeria

ISBN 10: 1108427626 / ISBN 13: 9781108427623

Published by Cambridge University Press, 2019

About this Item

Seller Inventory # ABE-1715192046667

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Checking Presidential Power: Executive Decrees and the Legislative Process in New Democracies
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication Date: 2019
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1108427626
• ISBN 13: 9781108427623
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: As New

About this title

Synopsis

A central concern about the robustness of democratic rule in new democracies is the concentration of power in the executive branch and the potential this creates for abuse. This concern is felt particularly with regard to the concentration of legislative power. Checking Presidential Power explains the levels of reliance on executive decrees in a comparative perspective. Building on the idea of institutional commitment, which affects the enforcement of decision-making rules, Palanza describes the degree to which countries rely on executive decree authority as more reliance may lead to unbalanced presidential systems and will ultimately affect democratic quality. Breaking new ground by both theorizing and empirically analyzing decree authority from a comparative perspective, this book examines policy making in separation of powers systems. It explains the choice between decrees and statutes, and why legislators are sometimes profoundly engaged in the legislative process and yet other times entirely withdrawn from it.

About the Author

Valeria Palanza is Assistant Professor in the Instituto de Ciencias Políticas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. Her research interests focus on issues of democracy, institutional arrangements, and the legislative process. Her most recent publications appear in Comparative Political Studies, Revista de Ciencia Política, and Legislative Studies Quarterly.