World governments can nowadays be divided into two basic groups: - Representative governments: These are elected by and represent the people; therefore, it is the people who monitor their performance. This group of governments has no choice but to dedicate its full time to serving the general public and running the country according to the constitution chosen by the majority of the population. There are three types of representative governments: presidential, parliamentary and assembly. - Non-representative governments: These can be overtly dictatorial or democratic in appearance, but actually dictatorial. The first group can only be understood in terms of the second group. They are both related to each other and separating them could result in a misunderstanding of each of them and of the political game. The current revolutions in some Arab countries aim to transform governments from non-representative to representative. This goal raises questions about the declared desire of revolutionaries in these countries to transform their governments. Some of these questions include: Which type of representative government would work best for most Arab countries - presidential, parliamentary or assembly? Before attempting to answer this question, we should summarize the characteristics of these types of government. Representative/presidential government: Its distinct characteristics are: 1- The government is republican and the president of the republic is elected directly by the people for a certain term that can be renewed for similar terms. The president of the republic has full powers in this type of government. 2- There is a separation between the legislative and executive authorities. Both authorities have equal powers and distinct jurisdictions. The president (executive authority) cannot dissolve the legislative authority (parliament). The legislative authority also cannot remove the president. 3- The president of the republic selects individuals from the executive authority (ministers and senior executive officials). They are appointed after approval of the legislative authority. The president may remove any member of the legislative authority whenever he pleases without consulting the legislative authority. But when a replacement is appointed, the legislative authority should approve it first. If it does not approve it, the president will have to nominate another person. This process continues until the legislative authority approves the new member. 4- The members of the executive authority are directly responsible to the legislative authority. They answer to the president of the republic who meets with them separately or together to take action whenever he desires. 5- The president of the republic has the right to endorse and veto the decisions issued by the legislative authority. 6- There is an independent judiciary authority. In the next article, we will look at the characteristics of the other types of government and try to identify the best one for Arab states, an issue which has been raised by the Arab Spring revolutions. (Dr. Sadaka Y. Fadhel is a Member of the Shoura Council and Professor of Political Science) __
