Executive (government)

The executive is the part of the government that executes and enforces law and policy. The powers of the executive may be divided and vary depending on the specific government office.

In parliamentary systems, the executive is usually called the 'government' (the legislature and judiciary are therefore not branches of the government), the top level of which is the cabinet or council of ministers lead by a prime minister, while in congressional systems the executive is one branch of the government, with executive power usually vested in the president.

Function

The scope of executive power varies greatly depending on the political context in which it emerges, and it can change over time in a given country. They are usually laid out in a constitution. In democratic countries, the executive often exercises broad influence over national politics, though limitations are often applied to the executive.

In political systems based on the separation of powers, government authority is distributed between several branches to prevent power from being concentrated in the hands of a single person or group. To achieve this, each branch is subject to checks by the other branches; in general, the executive or the legislature can propose laws, the legislature can pass or block laws, laws are then enforced by the executive, and interpreted by the judiciary. The executive can also be the source of certain types of law or law-derived rules, such as a decree, executive order, or delegated legislation. For example, the U.S. federal legislative branch frequently delegates rulemaking (creation of regulations) to the U.S. federal executive branch.

Fused and separate executives

Vanhanen II Cabinet in a session of the Finnish Parliament, 2007

In parliamentary systems, the executive is responsible to the elected legislature, and must maintain the confidence of the legislature. This is called the fusion of powers. As Sartori describes it, "parliamentary systems do not permit a separation of power between parliament and government [executive]", but are based on executive-legislative power sharing. Under the fusion of powers, the executive gains legitimacy and is responsible to the legislature but the usually, in turn, the executive may dissolve the legislature. Parliamentary systems usually have a head of government which is distinct from the head of state, who does not exercise executive power. Members of the executive (ministers) are also members of the legislature, and hence play an important part in both the writing and enforcing of law.

In separation of powers models, like presidential systems, the directly elected head of government appoints the ministers. Alternatively, ministers can also be directly elected by voters, such as in Switzerland at the cantonal (state) level.

Shugart highlights two dimensions of separation of powers: origin and survival. Origin described the choosing of the executive and survival is the possibility of removal of the executive. Presidential systems are separation of powers systems on both dimensions, parliamentary systems on neither, while directly elected prime ministers and assembly independent executives are "pure hybrids".

In states that are characterized to have unified state power, the executive performs both judicial and legislative duties. This is the case in states founded on Marxist-Leninist principles, which rejected the classical liberal understanding of the division of executive and legislative powers.

Internal organization and personnel

In a presidential system, the leader of the executive is both the head of state and government. In some cases, such as South Korea, there is a Prime Minister who assists the President, but who is not the head of government but is the second in the chain.

In a parliamentary system, a cabinet minister responsible to the legislature is the head of government, while the head of state is usually a largely ceremonial monarch or president. Parliamentary systems have three main types of executive models:

See also

References

  1. ↑ Brown, Garrett W.; McLean, Iain; McMillan, Alistair (6 January 2018). The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Politics and International Relations. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-254584-8.
  2. ↑ Martinez, Jenny S. (2006). "Inherent Executive Power: A Comparative Perspective". The Yale Law Journal. 115 (9): 2480–2511. doi:10.2307/20455703. ISSN 0044-0094. JSTOR 20455703. Archived from the original on 2022-12-30. Retrieved 2022-12-30.
  3. ↑ "separation of powers". LII / Legal Information Institute. Retrieved 2026-10-14.
  4. ↑ "Legislative Branch". Regulatory Studies Center, Columbian College of Arts & Sciences. The George Washington University. Retrieved 2026-02-07.
  5. ↑ "Parliamentary system | Definition & Facts | Britannica".
  6. 1 2 Takahashi, Kazuyuki (1990). "Contemporary Democracy in a Parliamentary System". Law and Contemporary Problems. 53 (1). Duke University School of Law: 105–122. doi:10.2307/1191830. ISSN 0023-9186. JSTOR 1191830.
  7. 1 2 "The Project Gutenberg E-text of The English Constitution, by Walter Bagehot". www.gutenberg.org. Retrieved 2026-10-19.
  8. ↑ "Head of state | Role, Powers & Responsibilities | Britannica".
  9. ↑ Barber, N. W. (2021). "Realising the Separation of Powers". The United Kingdom Constitution. pp. 206–214. doi:10.1093/oso/9780198852315.003.0012. ISBN 978-0-19-885231-5.
  10. ↑ Shugart, Matthew Søberg (2005-12). "Semi-Presidential Systems: Dual Executive And Mixed Authority Patterns". French Politics. 3 (3): 323–351. doi:10.1057/palgrave.fp.8200087. ISSN 1476-3419. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ↑ Buchs, Aurélia; Soguel, Nils (2022-04-01). "Fiscal performance and the re-election of finance ministers–evidence from the Swiss cantons". Public Choice. 191 (1): 31–49. doi:10.1007/s11127-021-00949-z. ISSN 1573-7101. S2CID 246371550.
  12. ↑ Shugart, Matthew Søberg (2005-12). "Semi-Presidential Systems: Dual Executive And Mixed Authority Patterns". French Politics. 3 (3): 323–351. doi:10.1057/palgrave.fp.8200087. ISSN 1476-3419. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ↑ Bihari, Ottó (1979). The constitutional models of socialist state organization. Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó. ISBN 978-963-05-2077-5.
  14. ↑ "The Executive Branch". The White House. Archived from the original on 20 January 2021. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  15. ↑ "Executive Branch of Government in Canada". Parliament of Canada. Archived from the original on 2 May 2017. Retrieved 4 July 2015.