The specific features of the functioning of the modern semi-presidential system of government in Ukraine are examined. The evolution of the semi-presidential system since 1996 is traced. It is shown that in the Ukrainian political process, the president's concentration of power is influenced not only by formal powers but also by informal mechanisms. It is argued that in the political history of modern Ukraine until 2016, a significant expansion of both formal and informal presidential powers occurred under the president-parliamentary type of semi-presidential system when Presidents of Ukraine (L. Kuchma and V. Yanukovych) obtained a level of power characteristic of super-presidential systems. The fluctuations between the president-parliamentary and premier-presidential types of Ukraine’s semi-presidential system since 1996 are examined. It is observed that the process of strengthening or weakening the institution of the presidency has always been preceded by inter-elite consensus. The phenomenon of patronage-based presidency in Ukraine is analyzed, along with the specific features of its implementation under both the president-parliamentary and premier-presidential types of the semi-presidential system. It is demonstrated that since 2016 to the present day, there has been an atypical strengthening of the presidency in Ukraine, as the president acquires a power typical of super-presidential systems, despite the formally existing premier-presidential type of semi-presidential system. It has been revealed that the main reason for the significant expansion of presidential powers lies in informal practices, the specific functioning of clientelistic and patronage networks, and rent-seeking actors. These elements constitute the foundation that provides support and enables a substantial increase in the actual powers of the presidency despite formal institutional constraints.
Oleg Gaiko (2025) studied this question.