The Presidentialization of Politics in Democratic Societies: A Framework for Analysis

Abstract

Abstract Discusses the conceptualization of the presidentialization thesis and presents a framework for analysis. It is argued that democratic political systems are coming to operate according to an essentially presidential logic, irrespective of their formal constitutional make-up. Essentially, they are expected to move along a continuum from a partified to a more presidentialized mode of governance. The logic of presidentialization is revealed in the growing power and autonomy of political leaders within political executives and political parties, and in the emergence of increasingly leadership-centered electoral processes. While these developments, to some extent, reflect the fluctuating contingencies of particular personalities and short-term political contexts, they are more fundamentally explained by processes of long-term structural change affecting state and society. Such processes include the internationalization of political decision-making, the executive’s search for enhanced steering capacity over the state, the changing structure of mass communications, and the erosion of traditional political cleavages. Moreover, the chapter shows that trends towards presidentialization are likely to occur in both majoritarian and consensual democracies even though they will follow different logics.

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