Two decades of semi-presidentialism: issues of intra-executive conflict in Central and Eastern Europe 1991–2011

Semi-presidentialism has become an increasingly popular form of government worldwide and has emerged as the most common regime type in Central and Eastern Europe and among the post-Soviet states. An often identified – although rarely empirically addressed – peril of semi-presidentialism is the risk of intra-executive struggles between the president and the prime minister. This study analyses the trend and issues of intra-executive conflicts in eight semi-presidential (premier–presidential and president–parliamentary) countries in Central and Eastern Europe: Bulgaria, Croatia, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, and Ukraine. By utilising expert survey data as well as indicators derived from documentary and literature analysis, 76 instances of intra-executive (president–cabinet) pairs between 1991 and 2011 are examined. The results show that intra-executive conflict has been a frequently occurring phenomenon under both types of semi-presidentialism, and one that has persisted at similar levels throughout the post-communist era. In addition, we unexpectedly find that the character of conflicts have only slightly changed from being predominantly power struggles over formal rules and competences to being more issue-specific and policy-oriented.