The personalization of government: concept and comparative analysis

Abstract

ABSTRACT The personalization of politics is one of the most important political phenomena of our time. Following the decline of traditional party government, various political systems have seen a radical shift of power from collective to individual actors. In this context, one of the main forms of the personalization of politics is the personalization of government. Heads of government have become more central to democratic executives due to their direct relationship with citizens, their greater control over government action, and structural changes in the institutional setting in which they operate. Although a large body of comparative evidence seems to support this trend, the existing literature has not yet offered a precise conceptual lens through which to do a detailed analysis of this transformation over time. This article introduces the concept of “monocratic government” as a way to study the personalization of government in terms of the ability of leaders to create consensus and use their powers effectively, and to analyse other contextual factors such as the party-system and executive-legislative relations. The last section analyses the Italian Republic over different time periods, paving the way for further comparative analysis.