“Presidential Republics and Divided Government: Comparing Lawmaking and Executive Politics in the US and France”

This article examines presidents ’ management of the condition of divided government in the United States and France, two countries with separated institutional structures and a history of split-party control of the presidency and legislature. The article draws distinctions between each executive’s constitutional powers and the intersection of those powers with informal prerogatives. The research focuses on the ways in which “blame-game ” politics develop similarly under select circumstances in the two systems. Particular weight is given to the incentives for presidents in both countries to “go public ” and galvanize opposition to the legislature through the rhetorical levers of their office. Short comparative case studies emphasize the relative advantage of the president compared to the Speaker of the House (US) or prime minister (France) in the war of words during periods of institutional combat, despite differences in presidents ’ formal, constitutional powers.