Term Limits at Home and Abroad

Abstract

Leaders seeking to extend their hold on power are generating controversy and conflict around the globe. Several foreign presidents have recently sought to remain in office beyond formal limits. Washington has condemned these term extensions as undemocratic and corrupt. But the passing of Associate Justice Antonin Scalia in February after serving for nearly three decades on the U.S. Supreme Court has raised the issue of tenure length in the United States as well. The absence of term limits for over 1,000 members of all three of the U.S. government's branches as well as for hundreds of officials at the state and local levels underscores the degree to which critical offices in the United States can often be held for life.

Keywords: Terms, Term Limits, U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Congress, U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, Mayor, Governor, Vice President, President, Antonin Scalia, Barack Obama, Michael Bloomberg, Paul Kagame, George Washington, United States, Rwanda, Burundi, Australia, Canada, England, France, Germany