Political Leaders Beyond Party Politics

verfasst von: Fortunato Musella

Verlag: Springer International Publishing

Enthalten in: Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" , Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

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This book studies party leaders from selection to post-presidency. Based on data covering a large set of Western countries, and focusing on the trends of personalisation of politics, the volume is one of the first empirical investigations into how party leaders are elected, how long they stay in office, and whether they enter and guide democratic governments. It also provides novel data on how leaders end their career in a broad and diverse range of business activities. Topics covered include political leaders’ increasing autonomy, their reinforcement of popular legitimation, often through the introduction of direct election by party rank and file, and their grip on party organization. The book will appeal to students and scholars interested in political parties, political leadership, the transformation of democracy, and comparative politics.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter

Chapter 1. Leader and Party: Still an Oxymoron?

Abstract

Political personalization is one of the most relevant processes of our time, affecting every aspect of contemporary politics. Yet when it occurs in political parties, this is the last place we want to see it happening. This chapter investigates the reasons why party leadership remains a quite neglected theme in political science and presents the current state of the art on this topic. An overview of the contents and main research questions of the volume will be also given, focusing attention on the journey of party leaders through the different stages of their mandate: pre-presidency, presidency and post-presidency.

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Chapter 2. The Direct Election of Party Heads

Abstract

This chapter deals with the new way of nominating party leaders in Western democracies. The topic of leader selection has been the subject of great attention by a growing body of political science literature, with a particular focus on the effects of such changes on both intra-party power and the relationship between leaders and party affiliates. On the one hand, comparative research has shown a significant tendency towards the adoption of a more open method in nominating party candidates for public office, especially through the use of primary elections. On the other hand, in new personal parties, the leader founds and creates his party and then he is confirmed leader by means of acclamation. As a result of such trends, party heads are reinforcing their position in the organizations they lead, starting from the increase in their popular legitimation.

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Chapter 3. The Iron Law of Leadership: Ideology and Party Organization

Abstract

This chapter investigates on the impact of personalization on party organization and ideology. The idea that parties tend to concentrate power at the top of their organization dates back to Robert Michels’ “iron law of oligarchy” and was followed by the Weberian reflection on charismatic leadership. In the last few years, the field of party organization has been the object of major innovation, as the substitution of the traditional party oligarchies with more personalized actors and roles has impacted upon all Western democracies, both at the political and the institutional levels. With reference to these deep transformations, this chapter also takes into consideration the charisma of new party leaders by questioning whether it may be compared to the charismatic phenomenon of past prophets and commanders.

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Chapter 4. The Party Leader in Government

Abstract

Thanks to the process of the presidentialization of politics, party leaders are gaining a crucial position in legislative and governmental activities. An increasing number of contemporary democracies show the combining of the figures of chief executive and party leaders, as well as in countries with different political histories. Many empirical indicators testify that leader-centered executives are becoming the dominant actors in many countries, and they are gradually expropriating parliamentary chambers of their previous law-making leverage. Yet, while the personalization of politics has strengthened the leader, he may experience more difficulties in conducting and disciplining his own party. In this chapter, both the increasing power of party leaders in the institutional arena as well as data presenting the lack of cohesion of political parties in the legislative arena will be examined.

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Chapter 5. Leaders in Business

Abstract

This chapter deals with career paths of political leaders by showing how they do not stop with politics, but continue through a complex system of relationships that politics opens up for them. Whether we are talking about advisory and/or consultancy posts, or company directorships, the number of democratic leaders who go into business following the end of their term in office is steadily increasing. These leaders make full use of the personal and professional skills that guaranteed their original rise to power, but they also rely on government networks. Very often, the new generation of “leaders in business” use their term in office as a springboard toward a post-presidential future that is more active and better paid than their previous post.

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Chapter 6. The Personal Side of Politics

Abstract

In this conclusive chapter, the main thesis of the book is summed up, and question of the future of political parties and democracies is raised. In particular, personalization is viewed as a “Sword of Damocles” for party leaders, as while it reinforces them as the “dominus of political parties” and sometimes of the political system, they experience several difficulties in ensuring the strength and continuity of their political actions. Moreover, a new relationship between politics and private business emerges from our study of post-presidential professional activity, posing new challenges for Western democracies and their representative mechanisms.

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Backmatter

Titel: Political Leaders Beyond Party Politics
verfasst von: Fortunato Musella
Verlag: Springer International Publishing
Electronic ISBN: 978-3-319-59348-7
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-59347-0
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-59348-7

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Über dieses Buch

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter

Chapter 1. Leader and Party: Still an Oxymoron?

Chapter 2. The Direct Election of Party Heads

Chapter 3. The Iron Law of Leadership: Ideology and Party Organization

Chapter 4. The Party Leader in Government

Chapter 5. Leaders in Business

Chapter 6. The Personal Side of Politics

Backmatter

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