ABSTRACT
In the past decade or so, the notion that political institutions play a key role in affecting the course of political and economic transition in new democracies has become quite popular. In particular, considerable attention has been paid to the question of which institutional arrangements best facilitate democratic consolidation and political stability in new democracies. Indeed, much debate has revolved around whether presidentialism or parliamentarianism best facilitates the consolidation of political democracy.1 On the one hand, a considerable amount of literature has suggested that parliamentary systems are superior to presidential systems in promoting political stability and hastening democratic consolidation. On the other hand, others, such as Donald Horowitz, have pointed out that parliamentary systems do not guarantee stability and that presidential systems can foster ‘conciliation and consensus building’.2
