In the 21st century, Presidential systems seem to be uniquely vulnerable to fascist politics. Not just Trump, but also Bolsonaro, Bukele, and the Chilean and now the Colombian examples as well. Parliamentary systems are of course not immune (cf Meloni and Orban) but they seem to be more resilient. At the same time, eg. in Turkey, the move towards authoritarianism seems to also be coupled with a move towards a more and more presidential models. It seems fascists love the kinds of institutional shortcuts that strong executives can take.
the point of a strong executive was to have a military commander chosen by the people, at least here in statesia.
parliaments can appoint those. but like, set up your government around a General (gee how did that happen) and wonder why we’re always at war. I ain’t blame Washington per se (it seems like he saw the problem and did what he could, but then again centuries of lionizing folk doesn’t give the clearest picture). i blame the other Washington definitely.
In the US context specifically, I blame the ridiculous sacralisation of the US Constitution as some perfect document that you need to interpret under the original intent of the semi divine founding daddies. France is in its fifth Republic and there are people actually talking about the need for a Sixth.
i wish i understood international geopolitics well enough to explain things in a non-US context, but like, all y’all are great. I’ll glean enough here and there and eventually figure it out.
In the 21st century, Presidential systems seem to be uniquely vulnerable to fascist politics. Not just Trump, but also Bolsonaro, Bukele, and the Chilean and now the Colombian examples as well. Parliamentary systems are of course not immune (cf Meloni and Orban) but they seem to be more resilient. At the same time, eg. in Turkey, the move towards authoritarianism seems to also be coupled with a move towards a more and more presidential models. It seems fascists love the kinds of institutional shortcuts that strong executives can take.
the point of a strong executive was to have a military commander chosen by the people, at least here in statesia.
parliaments can appoint those. but like, set up your government around a General (gee how did that happen) and wonder why we’re always at war. I ain’t blame Washington per se (it seems like he saw the problem and did what he could, but then again centuries of lionizing folk doesn’t give the clearest picture). i blame the other Washington definitely.
In the US context specifically, I blame the ridiculous sacralisation of the US Constitution as some perfect document that you need to interpret under the original intent of the semi divine founding daddies. France is in its fifth Republic and there are people actually talking about the need for a Sixth.
angry Scalia noises
i wish i understood international geopolitics well enough to explain things in a non-US context, but like, all y’all are great. I’ll glean enough here and there and eventually figure it out.