Presidentialism and Executive Stability in the Pacific Islands: Quick fix or long-term solution?

As outlined in my recent blog post on Marshall Islands, executive instability has become the salient feature of democratic politics in the Pacific region over the last two and a half decades. In particular, given the relative absence of institutionalised political parties, commentators regularly bemoan the side switching, party hopping or grass hopping of expedient MPs who frequently topple governments in pursuit of personal advantage (usually control of ministerial portfolios). In most cases, this feature of politics is interpreted as a problem particular to the way Westminster has been transferred, with reformers often extolling the relative executive stability of Presidential systems when canvassing alternatives.