LIFE AFTER POLITICAL DEATH: FORMER LEADERS IN WESTERN DEMOCRACIES

Abstract

What comes next after high political and governmental office in contemporary Western representative democracies? The role of former leaders is a neglected issue in the study of political leadership in representative democracies. There is no fixed or predetermined role—former leaders have to work it out for themselves, and what they do depends very much on personal choices and on circumstances. In the era of the career politician, the presidentialisation of leadership and the political celebrity, and with intensified and personalised media coverage of politics and leaders, it has become more difficult for former leaders to quietly retire and fade from the scene—even if they want to, and many do not. Individual agency is only part of the picture, however. Contextual factors play a crucial role. First of all there is the importance of the immediate political situation in terms of the circumstances of the former leader's exit from office, alongside the internal party dynamics and relations with the successor-leader. Second, institutional factors structure the opportunities and choices that former leaders face. Finally, the broader environment of modern politics, from the 1960s and 1970s onwards, has clearly opened up new opportunities and possibilities for former leaders.