Opportunities and Limits of Presidential Activism : Czech presidents compared

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F00216224%3A14230%2F23%3A00132662" target="_blank" >RIV/00216224:14230/23:00132662 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

<a href="https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/pce-2023-0032" target="_blank" >https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/pce-2023-0032</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.2478/pce-2023-0032" target="_blank" >10.2478/pce-2023-0032</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Opportunities and Limits of Presidential Activism : Czech presidents compared

Original language description

This article analyses the use of powers by Czech presidents Václav Havel (1993–2003), Václav Klaus (2003–2013) and Miloš Zeman (2013–2023). The text is based on the concept of presidential activism, empirically examining mainly their interactions with governments and legislative vetoes. The results show that important incentives for presidential activism are non‑cohesive coalition governments, minority governments, slim government majorities in parliament, the collapse of governments and a chaotic parliament. On the other hand, the internal cohesion of a government acts as a constraint on presidential activism. Popularly elected Zeman interpreted his powers much more widely in appointing and removing governments and ministers than Havel or Klaus, who were elected by parliament. By contrast, Zeman used his legislative powers less than his two predecessors, which was apparently influenced by their low success (with some exceptions) in this area. The president’s political proximity to the government was found to only sometimes limit his agility. Czech presidents have rarely been passive. A specific factor that affected activism was the poor health of Havel and Zeman at certain moments. To reduce systemic risks in the future, it would be useful to define more precisely the rules for appointing and dismissing a government and individual ministers.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

J_SC - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the SCOPUS database

CEP classification

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OECD FORD branch

50601 - Political science

Project

<a href="/en/project/LX22NPO5101" target="_blank" >LX22NPO5101: The National Institute for Research on the Socioeconomic Impact of Diseases and Systemic Risks</a><br>

Continuities

P - Projekt vyzkumu a vyvoje financovany z verejnych zdroju (s odkazem do CEP)

Publication year

2023

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

Politics in Central Europe

ISSN

1801-3422

e-ISSN

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Volume of the periodical

19

Issue of the periodical within the volume

4

Country of publishing house

PL - POLAND

Number of pages

30

Pages from-to

695-724

UT code for WoS article

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EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-85180572583