Semipresidentialism in Ukraine. A mixed assessment between institutional conflict and checks on President's superpower

Abstract

After the collapse of communist regimes, semipresidentialism – as a system of government with a two-headed executive and two autonomous powers: a popularly elected President and the legislative assembly – became the most widespread template in transitioning contexts . In the Post-soviet area, Ukraine represents an interesting case. While problematic in its formal design and under strain in practice, as a reflection of a difficult and unstable transition, Ukrainian semipresidentialism proved to resist the test of time. Thirty-two years after Ukraine’s independence, and twenty-seven years after the adoption of a new Constitution, it managed to overcome major crisis – political, economic and military – without consolidating into an authoritarian regime . Still, for some, a strong elected President had detrimental effects on the development of Ukrainian political and party systems and did not allow for real democratic consolidation. In this article, we address the question of the impact of the Ukrainian semipresidential system on democratic consolidation in Ukraine