Institutionalizing Interactive Political Leadership

Abstract

Abstract A key factor that conditions the political leadership of elected politicians is the institutional structure of representative democracy. Political institutions constrain as well as enable political leadership. They regulate what politicians can do, and grant them the authority and legitimacy needed to act in the name of the members of the political community. Then, how do the institutions of representative democracy condition the performance of interactive political leadership? Chapter 10 shows that although the formal structure of representative democracy tends to encourage political competition, the non-formal political institutions promote political bargaining, negotiation and collaboration between political elites. Although neither the formal nor the non-formal institutions promote interaction between politicians and citizens, it takes relatively small-scale reforms to enable politicians to perform interactive political leadership. Political leaders are not only institution-takers but also institution-makers and it is their prerogative to improve the institutional conditions for performing interactive political leadership in representative democracies. A review of recent institutional reforms testifies to a growing interest among politicians in promoting dialogue between politicians and citizens around agenda-setting, policy innovation, and policy application.