Everyone knows that the head of state of the USA is the president. Whoever it is they are among the most famous people in the world. However, many other countries have presidents too, especially in Central and South America. In fact, look across these regions and essentially every country has a president. But what about worldwide? Are there are actually any countries that don’t have presidents?
There are many countries around the world that do not have the presidents. Although every country has a political leader, not all of them have the position of president as head of state. For example, many have prime ministers or monarchs instead.
…but that’s just an overview. In order to fully understand if there is a country without a president, we need to look in a bit more detail.
Why Countries Don’t Have Presidents
Ok, so it’s clear that there are many countries that don’t have presidents. But why? Actually, there are four main reasons:
- Countries have alternatives to presidents
- Countries political systems pre-date the idea of a president
- Nations have not adopted a presidential model
- Not all countries want a president
Let’s take a quick look at each of these…
Countries Have Alternatives To Presidents
A first reason why there are many countries that don’t have presidents is because they actually have an alternative political leader.
Almost every country in the world has a single figure who is the head of state, leads the government and ultimately makes many of the political decisions. However, in lots of countries these figures are not presidents. A very common political leader would be a prime minister. This is similar to a president, but is at the head of a parliamentary political system, rather than a presidential one. Some countries also have monarchs as their political leaders, not presidents.
There are a huge range of different political leaders that counties can have. Many do not have a president, but almost all have some kind of alternative.
Countries Political Systems Pre-Date The Idea Of A President
A second reason why there are countries without presidents is because their political systems pre-date the idea of having a president.
Really, the idea of a president is relatively recent. The world’s first ever president is thought to be around the 1600s in the Netherlands. However, the idea of a presidential political system was really popularized by the United States after it gained independence from Great Britain in 1776. As there had been many political systems designed before the idea of a president really came about, there are still countries that do not have presidents because their political systems pre-date this.
Nations Have Not Adopted A Presidential Model
Another reason why there are countries that don’t have presidents is because some countries have not adopted a presidential system.
As we’ve discussed, many countries still have political systems that actually pre-date the idea of having a president. These countries have not transitioned to a presidential model since.
There are many countries around the world that were formed, or gained independence, over the last 250 years that had opportunities to choose their political systems. Some of these chose to have presidents. However, many opted to go with different political systems, and as a result do not have a president.
Not All Countries Want A President
A final reason why some countries don’t have presidents is simply because they don’t want one.
There are many different political systems and each country chooses the model of politics it wants. This means there are lots of different types of leaders a country can have. Some countries have looked at others that have presidents and thought the model worked and could be adapted to their own political contexts. Others believe their system already works and do not want to adopt a presidential one. Still further, there are countries that could choose a political system but thought the presidential model flawed, and so choose to have a different system and a different type of leader.
Could There Be A Country With No President?
Right, so we’ve covered the main reasons why today there are many countries that don’t have presidents. But what about looking forward? Could there one day be a nation that didn’t have a president? In fact, definitely yes. And there are three main reasons why:
- All countries need a leader, but not all need a president
- Many countries already don’t have presidents
- Countries could move away from having presidents
Now we’ll briefly look at each of these…
All Countries Need A Leader, But Not All Need A President
A first reason why there could be a country without a president is because nations may need a political leader, but they don’t necessarily need a president.
Essentially every country in the world has decided that they need a single person to be their political leader. This helps with decision making, as well as diplomacy and international relations. However, this political figurehead could take on a number of roles, they do not have to do a president. This is a key reason why today, and looking forward, there are definitely countries that can not have presidents.
Many Countries Already Don’t Have Presidents
A second reason why there could definitely be a country without a president is because there already so many. Around the world there are dozens of countries that have other political leaders, including prime ministers, kings, queens, sultans and emirs. These all prove that it is possible to have a country without having a president.
Countries Could Move Away From Having Presidents
A final reason why there could, for sure, be a country without a president is because some countries that currently have presidents could change their political systems.
A country’s political system is not set for ever. Some countries change their constitution through referendums or as a response to a political crises, others have coups or revolutions that result in the change of a political systems. These changes can result in the ending of the position of president, and result in their being a different type of political leader. As a result, some countries that have presidents now, could end up not having them in the future.
Has There Ever Been A Country Without A President?
There have been many countries throughout history that have not had presidents. In the role of president is a comparatively recent idea. Throughout much of human history countries had other positions as their head of states, often monarchs.
As we’ve covered, it wasn’t really until the founding of the United States in 1776 that the role of president as a head of state became a common idea. Many of the countries since that have adapted presidential systems have done so to model the US.
Before the late 18th Century, essentially no country has a president. Most were ruled by kings, queens, sultans or emirs – hereditary and absolute rulers. Some countries had become more democratic, but they usually looked to the British model and had a prime minister or similar position. This means that there have been many countries that didn’t have presidents.