By Richard Stacey & Sujit Choudhry

The semi-presidential form of government offers a middle ground between “pure” presidential and “pure” parliamentary systems of government, and may for this reason be especially attractive to new or transitioning democracies. “Semi-Presidential Government in the Post-Authoritarian Context: Constitutional Reform After the Arab Spring” considers the options available for structuring the semi-presidential system under three headings: constitutional architecture; the distribution of executive powers; and security and emergency powers.