Cabinet Instability and the Accumulation of Experience: The French Fourth and Fifth Republics in Comparative Perspective

John D. Huber and Cecilia Martinez-Gallardo

British Journal of Political Science, 2004, vol. 34, issue 1, 27-48

Abstract: Drawing on arguments about politics during the French Fourth Republic, the concept of cabinet instability is reconsidered. Rather than studying cabinet duration, the article examines the accumulation of experience by individual cabinet ministers. Two variables are measured in nineteen parliamentary democracies: portfolio experience the experience of cabinet ministers in the specific portfolios that they hold) and political experience (the experience of cabinet ministers in any significant portfolio). The results cast doubt on existing claims about cabinet government in the Fourth and Fifth Republics. They also uncover substantial cabinet turnover in majoritarian systems, suggesting that existing claims about stability in such systems may be overstated.

Date: 2004
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