Understanding Prime-Ministerial Performance Comparative Perspectives

by Strangio, Paul; 't Hart, Paul; Walter, James

• ISBN13: 9780199666423
• ISBN10: 0199666423
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2013-05-19
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

At the beginning of the twenty-first century prime ministers loom larger in the consciousness of their nations than perhaps in any previous era. But how well do we really understand the variables of prime-ministerial performance, and, specifically, why some prime ministers apparently flourish in the role while others wither? This study examines how prime ministers perform as leaders of their governments, parties, and nations. It offers new ways of thinking about prime-ministerial power and leadership, and systematic empirical studies of prime-ministerial leadership practices in four Westminster democracies: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. The volume features contributions from leading political scientists from all of these countries and is organised into three major sections: understanding power in prime-ministerial performance, prime ministers and their parties, and evaluating prime-ministerial performance. Through its collaborative and multifaceted approach the volume demonstrates that there are no hard and fast propositions or rules of thumb to capture what it is that makes us think of some prime ministers as so much more effective than others. Instead it highlights the importance for students of executive government to grasp the contingent interplay between personal, institutional, and contextual factors in understanding and evaluating prime-ministerial performance.

Table of Contents

1. Prime Ministers and the Performance of Public Leadership, Paul Strangio, Paul 't Hart and James Walter
Part I Understanding Power in Prime-Ministerial Performance
Introduction to Part I, Paul Strangio, Paul 't Hart and James Walter
2. Personal Style, Institutional Setting and Historical Opportunity: Prime-Ministerial Performance in Context, James Walter
3. Power in Prime-Ministerial Performance: Institutional and Personal Factors, Keith Dowding
4. Chapter 4 The Politics Prime Ministers Make: Political Time and Executive Leadership in Westminster Systems, Matthew Laing and Brendan McCaffrie
5. Gendering Prime-Ministerial Power, Patricia Lee Sykes
Part II Prime Ministers and Their Parties
Introduction to Part II, Paul Strangio, Paul 't Hart and James Walter
6. Prime Ministers and Their Parties in the United Kingdom, Timothy Heppell
7. Prime Ministers and Their Parties in Canada, Jonathan Malloy
8. Prime Ministers and Their Parties in Australia, Judith Brett
9. Prime Ministers and Their Parties in New Zealand, Jon Johansson
Part III Evaluating Prime-Ministerial Performance
Introduction to Part III, Paul Strangio, Paul 't Hart and James Walter
10. Evaluating Prime-Ministerial Performance: The British Experience, Kevin Theakston
11. Evaluating Prime-Ministerial Performance: The Canadian Experience, Stephen Azzi and Norman Hillmer
12. Evaluating Prime-Ministerial Performance: The Australian Experience, Paul Strangio
13. Evaluating Prime-Ministerial Performance: The New Zealand Experience, Jon Johansson and Stephen Levine
14. From Prime-Ministerial Leadership to Court Politics, R.A.W. Rhodes