The Presidentialization Debate

Abstract

This book is a study of party leaders and the role they play in shaping the conduct and outcome of parliamentary election campaigns. More specifically, it is a systematic evaluation of the widely acclaimed ‘presidentialization’ of parliamentary election contests. Its background is the traditional notion that parliamentary politics are party politics and, as such, are devoid of the individualistic element found in regimes where the office of president is the main political prize to be won by an individual who may be affiliated with, and supported by, a political party organization but who to a substantial degree runs for office on the basis of his own qualifications, experience, personality and promise.