"This book explores the effect of semi-presidentialism on newly-democratising countries. In recent years semi-presidentialism -- the situation where a constitution makes provision for both a directly elected president and a prime minister who is responsible to the legislature -- has become the regime type of choice for many countries"--

The institution of the prime minister in France remains understudied. There are many personalized accounts of the work of individual prime ministers and their relations with presidents and government ministers. However, there has been no rigorous attempt to analyse the prime minister's overall influence in the decision-making process. This study aims to examine the contemporary role of the prime minister in the French political system. By so doing, the book provides a systematic analysis of the prime minister's influence over the policy-making process from 1981-1991. There is also new evidence on the student demonstrations of 1986. Robert Elgie has published articles for journals such as "Governance", "West European Politics" and "Modern and Contemporary France".

Explores the effect of semi-presidentialism on newly-democratising countries. In recent years semi-presidentialism - the situation where a constitution makes provision for both a directly elected president and a prime minister who is responsible to the legislature - has become the regime type of choice for many countries.