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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.
List of contents
1. Party Leaders in Eastern Europe: Traits, Behaviors and Consequences (Sergiu Gherghina).- 2. 'Deviating' Party Leadership Strategies in Bosnia and Herzegovina: A Comparison of Milorad Dodik and Dragan Covic (Jasmin Hasic).- 3. The Fireman's Ball in Bulgaria? A comparison between Sergey Stanishev and Boyko Borisov (Petar Bankov).- 4. Party Leaders in Croatia: Comparing Ivo Sanader and Zoran Milanovic (Marko Kukec).- 5. From Ideology to interest driven politics: Václav Klaus, Andrej Babis and two eras of party leadership in the Czech Republic (Tomás Cirhan and Petr Kopecký).- 6. Different Styles, Similar Paths: Party Leadership in Georgia (Nanuli Silagadze).- 7. Strong personalities' impact on Hungarian party politics: Viktor Orbán and Gábor Vona (Rudolf Metz and Dániel Oross).- 8. A comparison of two Polish Party Leaders: Jaroslaw Kaczynski and Donald Tusk (Ben Stanley).- 9. Party Leaders in Romania: Designated Successors or Tactical Players? (Clara Volintiru and Sergiu Gherghina).- 10. Rising expectations and centralising power: Party Leaders in Serbia (Dusan Spasojevic).- 11. The Rise and Sustainability of Party Leaders in Slovakia: Robert Fico and Mikulás Dzurinda (Miroslav Nemcok and Peter Spác).- 12. Conclusion: An Aggregate Comparison of Party Leaders in Eastern Europe (Sergiu Gherghina).
About the author
Sergiu Gherghina is Lecturer in Comparative Politics at the Department of Politics, University of Glasgow, UK. His research interests lie in party politics, legislative and voting behavior, democratization, and the use of direct democracy.
Report
"The book is consistent and well-written throughout. ... Gherghina and his colleagues have produced a useful comparative work aimed to inspire more research and innovation in party and political leadership research, and not only in Eastern Europe. ... the book can serve incumbent and aspiring political professionals, too. For all these reasons, Party Leaders in Eastern Europe is a very welcome and highly timely contribution to the scrutiny of our political leaders." (Máté Mátyás, Europe-Asia Studies, August 20, 2021)
