Machine generated contents note: -- List Of Tables -- Preface -- Acknowledgement -- 1. Introduction. The Need To Study The 'Presidential Republic' As A General Phenomenon Of Contemporary Government -- PART I: THE GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PHENOMENON OF THE PRESIDENTIAL REPUBLIC -- 2. The Wide Spread Of Presidential Republics And Their Key Role In The Political Development Of 'New' Countries -- 3. The Alternatives To The Presidential Republic Which Remained By The Late Twentieth Century: Monarchies, Parliamentary Republics And 'Full' Military Rule -- 4. The Central Role Of Leadership In Presidential Republics, But The Difficult Emergence Of True 'Civilian Republican Leaders' -- PART II: PRESIDENTIAL REPUBLICS IN A COMPARATIVE HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE -- 5. The Almost Total Lack Of Adequate Leadership In Spanish America During A Prolonged And Harsh Independence Process From 1810 To The Late 1820s -- 6. Latin American Presidential Republics From About 1830 To The Beginning Of The Twenty-First Century -- 7. The Quasi-Universal Adoption Of The Presidential Republic In Africa After The End Of Colonialism From The 1950s -- 8. A Divided Africa United By Presidential Republics At The Beginning Of The Twenty-First Century -- 9. The Quick Move Towards The Presidential Republic In Eleven Very Different Countries Of The Ex-Soviet Union From The Early 1990s -- 10. The Limited Spread Of Presidential Republics In Asia And Its Highly Exceptional Presence In Europe, Even Outside The EU -- PART III: PRESIDENTIAL REPUBLICS: THEIR PAST AND THEIR FUTURE -- 11. Has There Been 'Progress' In The Characteristic Life Of Presidential Republics? -- 12. Presidential Republics Are Not Inherently Unfit To Govern -- 13. Conclusion: Unity And Diversity In Presidential Republics.