Most democracies run a parliamentary system, where the head of government has to have the support of parliament. There's no separation between government/execut

Most democracies run a parliamentary system, where the head of government has to have the support of parliament. There's no separation between government/executive from parliament. The point being that if a prime minister can't reach an agreement with parliament on some core issue (like annual budgets), they cease being the PM. Usually this means a new election. The US's checks and balances means that parliament and government can be in opposition to eachother, and prevent eachother from doing what they want. The president/government can veto legislation and parliament can de-fund government. This current manifestation is an odd one because the President is de-funding government, which is de-funding his own stuff. This is because the convention of "shutdown" already existed.