Moderated parliamentarism with Tarunabh Khaitan

Rules of the Game – discussing democratic institutions

With Tarunabh Khaitan I discuss “Moderated Parliamentarism”, a concept of a system of government that he describes in great detail in a paper titled “Balancing Accountability and Effectiveness: A Case for Moderated Parliamentarism”. It seeks to combine the most attractive elements of different regime types and electoral systems – checks and balances from presidentialism, continuous confidence of the political executive from parliamentarism, preventing factions through majoritarian electoral systems, and political plurality via proportional representation systems.

Moderated parliamentarism is a version of semi-parliamentarism, with two symmetric but incongruent chambers that perform different functions. It is a form of government that I have discussed with Steffen Ganghof in a previous episode. So this insightful discussion with Tarunabh Khaitan is an excellent follow-up to get into some further details and variations of a semi-parliamentary system. While Tarun says that he doesn’t actually see a country adopting his exact version of Moderated Parliamentarism, the paper presents an inspiring case of design thinking with respect to democratic institutions.

Tarunabh Khaitan is Professor of Public Law and Legal Theory, and Head of Research in the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights. He specializes in legal theory, constitutional studies, and discrimination law. He is the founding General Editor of the Indian Law Review and founder & advisor of the Junior Faculty Forum for Indian Law Teachers. He completed his undergraduate studies at the National Law School of Bangalore in 2004 and then came to Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar and completed his postgraduate studies, including his Doctor of Philosophy at Exeter College. Tarunabh Khaitan was awarded the 2018 Letten Prize, an award given every years to a young researcher under the age of 45 conducting research of great social relevance.

Show notes with a full transcript and links to all material discussed: https://rulesofthegame.blog/moderated-parliamentarism/

Schedule: 00:00 Introduction / 03:43 Personal questions / 05:59 Main discussion / 58:45 Recommendations by Tarunabh Khaitan

Find more of Tarun's research on his website and please follow Tarun on Twitter.

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Please enjoy this wide ranging conversation with Tarunabh Khaitan.