Party Leaders In Eastern Europe: Personality, Behavior And Consequences

Description

This book explores the relationship between the personality of political leaders, its interaction with top leadership positions and its impact on the respective parties' electoral performance and organization. It focuses on the less-investigated region of Eastern Europe and includes chapters on Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Georgia, Hungary, Poland, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia and Slovakia. Each chapter compares and contrasts two party leaders with at least two terms in office between 1991 and 2019. The book applies systematically a common theoretical and methodological framework across leaders and countries, thus providing rich empirical evidence. Front Matter ....Pages i-xviii Party Leaders in Eastern Europe: Traits, Behaviors and Consequences (Sergiu Gherghina)....Pages 1-15 ‘Deviating’ Party Leadership Strategies in Bosnia and Herzegovina: A Comparison of Milorad Dodik and Dragan Čović (Jasmin Hasić)....Pages 17-41 The Fireman’s Ball in Bulgaria? A Comparison Between Sergey Stanishev and Boyko Borisov (Petar Bankov)....Pages 43-66 Party Leaders in Croatia: Comparing Ivo Sanader and Zoran Milanović (Marko Kukec)....Pages 67-91 From Ideology to Interest-Driven Politics: Václav Klaus, Andrej Babiš and Two Eras of Party Leadership in the Czech Republic (Tomáš Cirhan, Petr Kopecký)....Pages 93-119 Different Styles, Similar Paths: Party Leadership in Georgia (Nanuli Silagadze)....Pages 121-143 Strong Personalities’ Impact on Hungarian Party Politics: Viktor Orbán and Gábor Vona (Rudolf Metz, Daniel Oross)....Pages 145-170 A Comparison of Two Polish Party Leaders: Jarosław Kaczyński and Donald Tusk (Ben Stanley)....Pages 171-195 Party Leaders in Romania: Designated Successors or Tactical Players? (Clara Volintiru, Sergiu Gherghina)....Pages 197-218 Rising Expectations and Centralizing Power: Party Leaders in Serbia (Dušan Spasojević)....Pages 219-240 The Rise and Sustainability of Party Leaders in Slovakia: Robert Fico and Mikuláš Dzurinda (Miroslav Nemčok, Peter Spáč)....Pages 241-264 Conclusion: An Aggregate Comparison of Party Leaders in Eastern Europe (Sergiu Gherghina)....Pages 265-272 Back Matter ....Pages 273-278