The Transition to Democracy in Asia- Pacific Countries

After years of authoritarian rule, Asia-Pacific countries slowly undertake the transition into democratic political structures. The three general types of such democratic political structure are: presidential, parliamentary, and semi-presidential. The key distinction between these governing systems depends on the relationship between the government, the legislature, and (if present) the president. The government composition from countries such as South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan demonstrate the differences in legislative responsibility and cohabitation amongst political entities that defines the general types of political systems.

The presidential government system is defined with an executive branch that is led by a president, whom is both head of state and head of government. In such a system, the executive branch exists separately from the legislature; thus, it cannot be dismissed by the legislature. South Korea is an example of the presidential political system. South Korea is headed by a president whom serves a five years term by nationwide population election. Under South Korea’s presidential system, the president performs executive functions through a cabinet consisting of 15 to 30 members (all appointed by the president under the recommendation of the prime minister), which are presided over by the president (who is solely in charge of deciding important government policies decisions). The prime minister is appointed by the president and approved by the National Assembly serves as the principal executive assistant to the president unlike the parliamentary system in which he/she serves as chief executive. As the principal executive assistant to the president, the prime minister supervises the administrative ministries as w...

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... Party. Thus, making China’s political structure a mixed one. However, unlike other semi-presidential model, the executive and legislative branches are not separate but rather are both subjected under the National Congress (highest body of state power). Thus, the president performs functions in pursuance of the National Congress, which bears the signs of a classic parliamentary system. Despite sharing similarities with semi-presidential models in regards to executive branch, Communist regimes should not be regarded as a semi-presidential system due the limited executive power.

Countries such as South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan demonstrate the differences in legislative responsibility and cohabitation amongst political entities in which help defines the three general types of such democratic political structure of presidential, parliamentary, and semi-presidential.