Semi-Presidential Policy-Making in Europe: Executive Coordination and Political Leadership (Palgrave Studies in Presidential Politics)

This book explores how power-sharing between the president and the prime minister works in semi-presidential regimes. In contrast to much of the existing comparative work on semi-presidentialism, the book emphasizes the role of institutional coordination at the most concrete level of executive policy-making, and asks how institutional coordination between the president and prime minister influences presidential activism and the balance of power within the executive. The authors develop a tentative framework embedded in institutionalism and based on four strands of research - semi-presidentialism, public administration, political leadership, and foreign policy analysis - which is subsequently applied to the cases of Lithuania, Romania and Finland. Given the political challenges facing many semi-presidential countries, the study ultimately seeks to identify institutional solutions that facilitate power-sharing and successful policy-making. Tapio Raunio is Professor of Political Science at Tampere University, Finland. His research interests include legislatures and political parties, the Europeanization of domestic politics, semi-presidentialism, and the Finnish political system. He has published articles in many leading journals, including European Journal of Political Research, Journal of Common Market Studies, Party Politics, Scandinavian Political Studies, and West European Politics. Thomas Sedelius is Professor of Political Science at Dalarna University, Sweden. His research focuses on political institutions in new democracies and transitional regimes. His previous work on semi-presidentialism has appeared in leading journals such as British Journal of Political Science, Democratization, and Government and Opposition. In 2015, his article with Olga Mashtaler "Two Decades of Semi-Presidentialism" received the East European Politics Prize.-- Provided by publisher Preface 6 Acknowledgments 8 Contents 10 List of Figures 12 List of Tables 13 Chapter 1: Introduction 14 1.1 Aim and Research Questions 15 1.2 What Is Semi-Presidentialism and What Do We Know About It? 16 1.3 Why Study Executive Coordination in Semi-Presidential Regimes? 19 1.4 Research Design and Data 20 Expert Interviews 22 Documents and Literature 23 Macro-Level Indicators and Measures 24 1.5 Outline of the Book 25 Appendix 26 Bibliography 27 Chapter 2: Institutions, Coordination, and Leadership 31 2.1 Institutional Theory and Policy Coordination 32 Formal and Informal Institutions 34 2.2 Semi-Presidentialism and the Challenge of Cooperation 37 The Incentives for Coordination 38 The Ultimate Goal of Winning Office 39 President’s Toolbox and Contextual Determinants 40 2.3 Foreign Policy and the Challenge of Leadership 42 Speaking with One Voice 43 Security and the National Interest 44 EU and the Potential for Jurisdictional Disputes 45 2.4 Theoretical Framework and Coordination Mechanisms 46 Institutions of Executive Coordination: An Explorative Model 49 Bibliography 53 Chapter 3: The Semi-Presidential Cases in Comparative Context 57 3.1 Semi-Presidential Regimes in Europe 57 3.2 Presidential Power 64 3.3 President-Cabinet Conflict and Cohabitation 70 3.4 Public Trust in the President and Other Institutions 78 3.5 A Comparative Design with Explorative Ambitions 84 Bibliography 86 Chapter 4: Formal Coordination Mechanisms 90 4.1 Establishing Variation Between Finland, Lithuania, and Romania 91 Bilateral Exchanges 91 Meetings with the Government 94 Security and Defence Policy Councils 96 4.2 Explaining the Variation 98 Bibliography 101 Chapter 5: Informal Avenues of Influence 103 5.1 Finland: Constrained Presidency 104 5.2 Lithuania: Presidents Stamping Their Authority 109 5.3 Romania: When Mediation Goes Too Far 118 5.4 Concluding Discussion: ‘where is it forbidden?’ 129 Bibliography 134 Chapter 6: Decision-Making in Foreign and Security Policies and EU Affairs 137 6.1 Finland: Establishing a Logical Division of Labor 138 6.2 Lithuania: Presidential ‘Power Grabs’ 145 6.3 Romania: President as the Undisputed Leader in Foreign Affairs 151 6.4 Concluding Reflections: Consensus but Potential for Disputes 155 Bibliography 159 Chapter 7: Conclusions 161 7.1 Informal Avenues and Political Leadership 162 7.2 Popular and Dangerous Presidents? 170 Index 174 Front Matter ....Pages i-xiii Introduction (Tapio Raunio, Thomas Sedelius)....Pages 1-17 Institutions, Coordination, and Leadership (Tapio Raunio, Thomas Sedelius)....Pages 19-44 The Semi-Presidential Cases in Comparative Context (Tapio Raunio, Thomas Sedelius)....Pages 45-77 Formal Coordination Mechanisms (Tapio Raunio, Thomas Sedelius)....Pages 79-91 Informal Avenues of Influence (Tapio Raunio, Thomas Sedelius)....Pages 93-126 Decision-Making in Foreign and Security Policies and EU Affairs (Tapio Raunio, Thomas Sedelius)....Pages 127-150 Conclusions (Tapio Raunio, Thomas Sedelius)....Pages 151-163 Back Matter ....Pages 165-169