parliamentarism

Parliamentarism is a constitutional principle in which the government derives its legitimacy and authority from the legislature and remains accountable to it. In a parliamentary system, the executive is typically led by a prime minister or chancellor who heads a cabinet drawn from the legislature and must retain the confidence of the parliamentary majority to govern.

Key features include a fusion of powers between the legislature and the executive, since the cabinet is usually composed of sitting lawmakers. The government remains in office only while it has the support of the parliamentary majority. If the legislature passes a vote of no confidence or refuses to approve the budget, the government may be required to resign, triggering the formation of a new government or elections. Some systems also employ a constructive vote of no confidence, whereby a successor must be chosen at the same time the government is dismissed. The head of state in many parliamentary systems is a monarch or a president with largely ceremonial duties, while real executive power resides in the prime minister and the cabinet.

Parliamentary systems are often categorized as either parliamentary monarchies (for example, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Canada, Australia) where the monarch's role is largely symbolic, or parliamentary republics (for example, Germany, India) where the president is the ceremonial head of state. These systems contrast with presidential systems, in which the president is directly elected and holds substantial independent executive authority, and with semi-presidential systems, where a separately elected president shares power with a prime minister.

Overall, parliamentarism emphasizes accountability to the legislature and flexible governance tied to legislative support.