Constitutional Reform in Semipresidential Systems: Armenia, Croatia, Russia and Ukraine Compared

Semipresidentialism is a prominent topic in the comparative study of political institutions, especially since it represented a popular choice of government for third wave democracies. While much research has been conducted on the origins and effects of semipresidentialism, less attention has been drawn to the evolution of semipresidential systems over time. While they have overall proven to be relatively stable in the first two decades of transition, there have been attempts at reducing presidential powers in almost all president-parliamentary countries. Since these countries often struggle with the consequences of excessive presidential powers, reforms that limit the powers of the executive can – as the literature states – be potentially beneficial to the overall development of democracy. The paper therefore aims at uncovering similarities and differences in processes of constitutional reform in four president-parliamentary countries.