ABSTRACT
Western democratic regimes usually conform to one of two models. The first is a parliamentary system in which there is an executive composed of two “units”: a monarch or a figurehead president, and a prime minister and his or her cabinet, the latter two selected by, and ultimately responsible to, a parliament. The alternative is a presidential system in which a popularly elected president functions as both chief of state and head of government and is independent of the legislative branch; in such a system, both branches normally cooperate with and balance each other.
