The Presidential Party: A Theoretical Framework for Comparative Analysis

Abstract

Presidents of the Republic are crucial actors in both presidential and semi-presidential regimes. Despite the fact that these two systems represent the majority of all the world’s political systems, the focus on the head of state has only relatively recently been covered comparatively and systematically. Although big gaps still persist in relation to many aspects of ‘presidential power’, advances have been made, and the ‘presidential’ world has been analysed with more sophisticated tools and concepts. However, the ‘presidential party’ remains relatively understudied at both the theoretical and the empirical levels. The ‘party of the president’ is the key political actor that affects presidential activity during his or her mandate. The article aims to present a theoretical framework and a potential guideline for comparative studies. Starting from a critical review of Shugart and Carey’s seminal book, I propose a conceptualisation of the presidential party and the theoretical possible effects of it on the legislature, which might be useful for further empirical analysis.