Presidents, Prime Ministers and Chancellors Executive Leadership in Western Democracies

by Helms, Ludger

• ISBN13: 9781403942517
• ISBN10: 140394251X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-03-02
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

This book focuses on the leadership performances of the political chief executives in the United States, Britain and Germany since the end of the Second World War. Drawing on a wide range of material, Ludger Helms provides a genuinely comparative perspective on the conditions and manifestations of executive leadership in three of the world's largest established democracies.

Author Biography

Ludger Helms is Heisenberg Fellow and Academic Visitor in the Department of Government at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Table of Contents

List of Tables and Figures	ix
Acknowledgements	x
List of Abbreviations	xi
Part I Introduction
Studying Executive Leadership	3	(24)
Classifications of Modern Executives	8	(3)
Levels of Executive Activity	11	(4)
The Choice of Countries	15	(1)
Main Currents of Executive Leadership Research	16	(6)
Key Questions and Plan of the Book	22	(5)
Part II Patterns of Core Executive Leadership
The United States: Variations of Presidential Predominance	27	(31)
The Political Profiles of American Post-war Presidents	27	(3)
Staffing the Cabinet and the White House Office	30	(6)
Styles of Presidential Core Executive Decision-making	36	(19)
Conclusion	55	(3)
Britain: Prime Ministers, Cabinets and the Struggle for Supremacy	58	(32)
The Political Profiles of British Post-war Prime Ministers	58	(3)
Staffing the Cabinet and the Administrative Core Executive	61	(9)
Core Executive Leadership in Britain	70	(17)
Conclusion	87	(3)
Germany: Chancellor Dominance and Coalition Rule	90	(37)
The Political Profile of German Post-war Chancellors	90	(5)
Staffing the Cabinet and the Chancellery	95	(8)
Core Executive Leadership in Germany	103	(17)
Conclusion	120	(7)
Part III Executive Leadership in the Wider Political Process
The United States: Providing Leadership in an `Anti-Leadership Environment'	127	(34)
Presidential Leadership in the Congressional Arena	127	(17)
Presidential Leadership and the Influence of other Political Players in the American System	144	(5)
The Public Presidency	149	(8)
Conclusion	157	(4)
Britain: Executive Leadership from the Top	161	(30)
Executive Leadership in the Parliamentary Arena	161	(14)
The Scarcity of Institutional Barriers against Majority Rule	175	(5)
British Governments, the Public and the Media	180	(7)
Conclusion	187	(4)
Germany: Governing a `Semi-sovereign State'	191	(34)
Executive Leadership in the Parliamentary Arena	191	(14)
Executive Leadership in a `Semi-sovereign State'	205	(9)
German Governments, the Public and the Media	214	(6)
Conclusion	220	(5)
Part IV Conclusion
Making Sense of Complexity: Comparative Perspectives and Conclusions	225	(37)
Executive Leadership within the Core Executive	226	(15)
Executive Leadership in the Wider Political Process	241	(11)
Manifestations of `Presidentialism' in Britain and Germany	252	(7)
Concluding Remarks	259	(3)
Notes	262	(21)
References	283	(24)
Index	307