Introduction

Abstract

Abstract Democratic transition has come with a number of competing pressures and principal–agent problems for presidents in their relationships with major political institutions that have become legitimate actors in checking and balancing the president’s decision-making. This chapter asserts the importance of understanding the president’s strategy for governance in general and cabinet appointments in particular in the context of young democracies. Although we know about presidential appointment strategy in connection with the legislature, largely based on the region of the Americas, little is known about such strategy in relation to other political institutions, namely the ruling party, the party system, and the bureaucracy, as well as about regions outside the Americas. Given that democracies with elected presidents are in the majority, globally as well as in Asia, it is important to understand the role of presidential cabinet appointment in navigating all these institutional challenges.