Machine generated contents note: 1.Prime Ministers and the Performance of Public Leadership / James Walter -- pt. I Understanding Power in Prime-Ministerial Performance: Introduction to Part I (the editors) -- 2.Personal Style, Institutional Setting and Historical Opportunity: Prime-Ministerial Performance in Context / James Walter -- 3.Prime-Ministerial Power: Institutional and Personal Factors / Keith Dowding -- 4.The Politics Prime Ministers Make: Political Time and Executive Leadership in Westminster Systems / Brendan McCaffrie -- 5.Gendering Prime-Ministerial Power / Patricia Lee Sykes -- pt. II Prime Ministers and their Parties: Introduction to Part II (the editors) -- 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 -- Note continued: pt. III Evaluating Prime-Ministerial Performance: Introduction to Part III (the editors) -- 10.Evaluating Prime-Ministerial Performance: The British Experience / Kevin Theakston -- 11.Evaluating Prime-Ministerial Performance: The Canadian Experience / Norman Hillmer -- 12.Evaluating Prime-Ministerial Performance: The Australian Experience / Paul Strangio -- 13.Evaluating Prime-Ministerial Performance: The New Zealand Experience / Stephen Levine -- 14.From Prime-Ministerial Leadership to Court Politics / R. A. W. Rhodes.
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.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.