Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dsjbd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-28T04:00:17.075Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Institutions and attribution of responsibility outside the electoral context: a look at French semi-presidentialism

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 November 2015

Mathieu Turgeon  and
Éric Bélanger
Mathieu Turgeon*
Affiliation:
Assistant Professor, Instituto de Ciência Política (IPOL), Universidade de Brasília, Campus Darcy Ribeiro, Brasília, Brazil
Éric Bélanger
Affiliation:
Professor, Department of Political Science, McGill University, Montréal, Québec, Canada
*
*E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Some institutional arrangements may be undesirable for democracy by obscuring which political actors are to be held responsible for failed or successful policies and bad or good macroeconomic performances. Much of the work in the area has focused on whether institutions affect the ‘clarity of political responsibility’ and the ability of voters to punish or reward, in turn, governments and elected officials. Not much has been said, however, about the assignment of responsibility outside the electoral context, for a broad range of policy areas. This paper explores these questions in the context of French semi-presidentialism. It demonstrates that the French public is surprisingly quite responsive to the demands imposed by their political system by adjusting reasonably well their evaluations of both actors of the executive in light of major political events and changes in the economic conditions when the circumstances clearly indicate which of the two is ‘in charge’. At other times, however, this particular institutional arrangement obscures instead political responsibility.

Keywords

executive approvalassignment of responsibilitysemi-presidentialismFrench politicstime series analysis
Type
Research Article
Information
European Political Science Review , Volume 9 , Issue 2 , May 2017 , pp. 209 - 231
Copyright
© European Consortium for Political Research 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anderson, C. (1995), Blaming the Government: Citizens and the Economy in Five European Democracies, Amonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe.Google Scholar
Anderson, C. (2000), ‘Economic voting and political context: a comparative perspective’, Electoral Studies 19: 151–170.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anderson, C.D. (2006), ‘Economic voting and multilevel governance: a comparative individual-level analysis’, American Journal of Political Science 50: 449–463.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bell, D.S. (2000), Presidential Power in Fifth Republic France, Oxford, UK: Berg.Google Scholar
Boya, C., Malizard, J. and Agamaliyev, E. (2010), ‘Fonction de popularité, hypothèse de responsabilité et dynamique des partis’, Revue économique 61: 859–874.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burdeau, G. (1959), ‘La Conception du Pouvoir selon la Constitution française d’Octobre 1958’, Revue Française de Science Politique 9: 87–100.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cheibub, J.A. and Chernykh, S. (2009), ‘Are semi-presidential constitutions bad for democratic performance?’, Constitutional Political Economy 20: 202–229.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Conley, R.S. (2006), ‘From Elysian fields to the guillotine? The dynamics of presidential and prime ministerial approval in Fifth Republic France’, Comparative Political Studies 39: 570–598.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Courbis, R. (1995), ‘De la modélisation macro-économique à la modélisation macropolitique: propos d’étape’, Journal de la société de statistique de Paris 136: 47–70.Google Scholar
Cutler, F. (2004), ‘Government responsibility and electoral accountability in federations’, Publius: The Journal of Federalism 34: 19–38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cutler, F. (2008), ‘Whodunnit? Voters and responsibility in Canadian federalism’, Canadian Journal of Political Science 41: 627–654.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
de Vries, C., Edwards, E. and Tillman, E. (2011), ‘Clarity of responsibility beyond the pocketbook: how political institutions condition eu issue voting’, Comparative Political Studies 44: 339–362.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Duch, R.M. and Stevenson, R.T. (2008), The Economic Vote: How Political and Economic Institutions Condition Election Results, New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Durbin, J. (1970), ‘Testing for serial correlation in least-squares regression when some of the regressors are lagged dependent variables’, Econometrica 38: 410–421.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Durbin, J. and Watson, G.S. (1950), ‘Testing for serial correlation in least-squares regression’, Biometrika 37: 409–428.Google ScholarPubMed
Duverger, M. (1978), Echec au roi, Paris: Albin Michel.Google Scholar
Duverger, M. (1986), ‘L’expérience française du régime semi-présidential’, in M. Duverger (ed.), Les régimes semiprésidentiels, Paris: PUF, pp. 47–54.Google Scholar
Duverger, M. (1996), Le Système politique français, 21st edn, Paris: PUF.Google Scholar
Elgie, R. (1996), ‘The French presidency: conceptualizing presidential power in the Fifth Republic’, Public Administration 74: 275–291.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elgie, R. (1999), ‘France’, in R Elgie (ed.), Semi-Presidentialism in Europe, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 67–85.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elgie, R. (2001), ‘Cohabitation’: divided government French-style’, in R Elgie (ed.), Divided Government in Comparative Perspective, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 106–126.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elgie, R. (2004), ‘Semi-presidentialism: concepts, consequences and contesting explanations’, Political Studies Review 2: 314–330.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elgie, R. (2009), ‘Duverger, semi-presidentialism and the supposed French archetype’, West European Politics 32: 248–267.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elgie, R. and Griggs, S. (2000), French Politics: Debates and Controversies, New York, NY: Routledge.Google Scholar
Elgie, R.S., Moestrup, S. and Wu, Y. (2011), Semi-Presidentialism and Democracy, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hamilton, A. (1982), ‘The Executive Department further considered, Federalist No. 70’, in A. Hamilton, J. Madison and J. Jay (eds), The Federalist Papers, New York: Bantam Press, pp. 354–361.Google Scholar
Hellwig, T. (2007), ‘Globalization and perceptions of policy maker competence: evidence from France’, Political Research Quarterly 60: 146–158.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hellwig, T. and Samuels, D. (2007), ‘Electoral accountability and the variety of democratic regimes’, British Journal of Political Science 38: 65–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hibbs, D.A. (1981), ‘Economics and politics in France: economic performance and political support for Presidents Pompidou and Giscard d’Estaing’, European Journal of Political Research 9: 133–145.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hobolt, S., Tilley, J. and Banducci, S. (2013), ‘Clarity of responsibility: how government cohesion conditions performance voting’, European Journal of Political Research 52: 164–187.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hoffman, S.H. (1959), ‘The French Constitution of 1958: I. The final text and its prospects’, American Political Science Review 53: 332–357.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kayser, M.A. (2014), ‘The elusive economic vote’, in L. LeDuc, R.G. Niemi and P. Norris (eds), Comparing Democracies 4: Elections and Voting in a Changing World, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, pp. 112–132.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kernell, S. (1978), ‘Explaining presidential popularity’, American Political Science Review 72: 506–522.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lafay, J.-D. (1977), ‘Les conséquences électorales de la conjoncture économique: Essai de prévision chiffrée pour mars 1978’, Vie et sciences économiques 78: 51–54.Google Scholar
Lafay, J.-D. (1985), ‘Political change and stability of the popularity function: the French general election of 1981’, in H. Eulau and M. Lewis-Beck (eds), Economic Conditions and Electoral Outcomes: The U.S. and Western Europe, New York, NY: Agathon, pp. 78–97.Google Scholar
Lafay, J.-D. (1991), ‘Political dyarchy and popularity functions: lessons from the 1986 French experience’, in H. Norpoth, M. Lewis-Beck and J.-D. Lafay (eds), Economics and Politics: The Calculus of Support, Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, pp. 123–139.Google Scholar
Lau, R.R. and Redlawsk, D.P. (2006), How Voters Decide: Information Processing During Election Campaigns, New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lavroff, D. G. (1986), ‘La prééminence du Président de la République au sein du système politique français’, in J.-L. Seurin (ed.), La Présidence en France et aux Etats-Unis, Paris: Economica, pp. 321–332.Google Scholar
Lecaillon, J. (1980), ‘Salaires, chômage et situation politique’, Revue d’économie politique 5: 615–627.Google Scholar
Lewis-Beck, M. (1980), ‘Economic conditions and executive popularity: the French experience’, American Journal of Political Science 24: 306–323.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lewis-Beck, M. (1997), ‘Who’s the chef? Economic voting under a dual executive’, European Journal of Political Research 31: 315–325.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lewis-Beck, M. and Nadeau, R. (2000), ‘French electoral institutions and the economic vote’, Electoral Studies 19: 171–182.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lewis-Beck, M. and Nadeau, R. (2004), ‘Dual governance and economic voting: France and the United States’, in M. Lewis-Beck (ed.), The French Voter, New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 136–154.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lewis-Beck, M.S. and Stegmaier, M. (2013), ‘The VP-function revisited: a survey of the literature on vote and popularity functions after over 40 years’, Public Choice 157: 367–385.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lupia, A. and McCubbins, M.D. (1998), The Democratic Dilemma: Can Citizens Learn What They Really Need to Know? New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Marsh, M. and Tilley, J. (2010), ‘The attribution of credit and blame to governments and its impact on vote choice’, British Journal of Political Science 40: 115–134.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mueller, J. (1973), War, Presidents, and Public Opinion, New York, NY: Wiley.Google Scholar
Nadeau, R., Niemi, R. and Yoshinaka, A. (2002), ‘A cross-national analysis of economic voting: taking account of the political context across time and nations’, Electoral Studies 21: 403–423.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nannestad, P. and Paldam, M. (1994), ‘The VP-function: a survey of the literature on vote and popularity functions after 25 years’, Public Choice 79: 213–245.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nicholson, S.P., Segura, G.M. and Woods, N.D. (2002), ‘Presidential approval and the mixed blessing of divided government’, Journal of Politics 64: 701–720.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Powell, G.B. and Whitten, G.D. (1993), ‘A cross-national analysis of economic voting: taking account of the political context’, American Journal of Political Science 98: 425–436.Google Scholar
Quermonne, J.-L. (1980), ‘Pouvoir présidentiel et pouvoir partisan sous la Ve République’, Projet 150: 1177–1188.Google Scholar
Royed, T.R., Leyden, K.M. and Borrelli, S.A. (2000), ‘Is clarity of responsibility important for economic voting? Revisiting Powell and Whitten’s hypothesis’, British Journal of Political Science 30: 669–698.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rudolph, T.J. (2003), ‘Institutional context and the assignment of political responsibility’, Journal of Politics 65: 190–215.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Safran, W. (1991), The French Polity, White Plains, NY: Longman.Google Scholar
Samuels, D.J. and Shugart, M.S. (2010), Presidents, Parties, and Prime Ministers, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sartori, G. (1997), Comparative Constitutional Engineering, 2nd edn, New York, NY: New York University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shaver, K.G. (1985), The Attribution of Blame: Causality, Responsibility, and Blameworthiness, New York, NY: Springler-Verlag.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Soroka, S.N. and Wlezien, C. (2010), Degrees of Democracy: Politics, Public Opinion, and Policy, New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
van der Brug, W., van der Eijk, C. and Franklin, M. (2007), The Economy and the Vote: Economic Conditions and Elections in Fifteen Countries, New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Veiga, F.J. and Veiga, L.G. (2004), ‘Popularity functions, partisan effects, and support in parliament’, Economics and Politics 16: 101–115.Google Scholar
Weaver, R.K. and Rockman, B.A. (1993), Do Institutions Matter? Government Capabilities in the United States and Abroad, Washington, DC: Brookings Institution.Google Scholar
Whitten, G.D. and Palmer, H.D. (1999), ‘Cross-national analysis of economic voting’, Electoral Studies 18: 49–67.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wright, V. (1989), The Government and Politics of France, London: Unwin Hyman.Google Scholar
Zanna, M.P., Klosson, E.C. and Darley, J.M. (1976), ‘How television news viewers deal with facts that contradict their beliefs: a consistency and attribution analysis’, Journal of Applied Social Psychology 6: 159–176.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zarka, J.-C. (1992), Fonction présidentielle et problématique majorité présidentielle/majorité parlementaire sous la Cinquième République (1986-1992), Paris, France: Librairie Générale de Droit et de Jurisprudence.Google Scholar
Zellner, A. (1962), ‘An efficient method of estimating seemingly unrelated regression equations and tests for aggregation bias’, Journal of the American Statistical Association 57: 348–368.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Supplementary material: PDF

Turgeon and Bélanger supplementary material S1

Online Appendix

Download Turgeon and Bélanger supplementary material S1(PDF)
PDF 67.1 KB