Bicameralism as a Form of Government (Or: Why Australia and Japan Do Not Have a Parliamentary System)
The article analyses a certain type of bicameralism not merely as a form of legislative organisation, but as a form of government as a hybrid between parliamentarism and presidentialism. A new typology of pure and hybrid forms of government is proposed, which classifies bicameralism in Australia and Japan as chamber independent government. This type is systematically compared to other forms of government, including hybrids like semi presidentialism, elected prime ministerial government in Israel (from 1996 to 2002) and assembly independent government in Switzerland. The article highlights how chamber independent government has the potential to combine different visions of democracy without leading to presidentialization of political parties.