þingræðisríki

Þingræðisríki is a form of government in which the legislative branch holds the principal political power and the executive is dependent on its support. In practice, a cabinet is drawn from the parliament and a prime minister or equivalent is the head of government, while the head of state is often ceremonial.

Etymology: the term is formed from þing (parliament) and ræði (rule) and ríki (state). It denotes rule by the assembly or parliament.

Core features: governments must retain the confidence of the parliament; regular elections and vote of no confidence as mechanisms to change governments; ministers typically operate under collective responsibility; the legislative agenda is central to governance; constitutional frameworks may limit executive powers and define the relationship between branches; the head of state is frequently a monarch or ceremonial president in many examples.

Variants and relationships: many countries with parliamentary regimes have constitutional monarchies or parliamentary republics. Compared with presidential systems, the executive in a þingræðisríki derives its legitimacy from the legislature rather than direct popular election, and can be replaced without a popular mandate through coalitions or changes in parliamentary support.

Examples: the United Kingdom, Sweden, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Norway operate parliamentary regimes; Germany and the Netherlands are parliamentary but have distinct constitutional arrangements.

See also: parliamentary democracy; constitutional monarchy; responsible government; vote of confidence.