Personalism

Session Submission Type: Virtual Full Paper Panel

Session Description

A growing number of works have started to explore the expressions of personalism – a leader-centered political strategy embraced by politicians and parties alike – in democracies. The panel introduces some of these explorations. It addresses four central questions. First, papers will discuss how the concept of personalism, usually employed to study the reality of authoritarian regimes, can be employed for the study of democracies. Defining and measuring personalism across the regime divide will be the focus. Second, scholars will discuss the consequences of personalism for democracy. Since, by definition, personalist leaders are less constrained by political parties or other political organizations and loyalties, understanding how they interact with democratic institutions is critical. Third, papers will explore the causes of personalism. An examination of both the incentives and the preconditions that promote personalism in electoral regimes will help the panel provide an overview of the contemporary and historical faces of the phenomenon. Fourth, we will study the public opinion expressions of personalism. Panelists will explore when and why voters' support for personalist politicians varies. Two additional features of this panel are worth highlighting. First, scholars will explore personalism across the globe and over time, asking whether the phenomenon has become more salient recently than before and studying its expression in places as diverse as Latin America and Eastern Europe. Second, and relatedly, the papers in the panel will discuss personalism in light of related, but separate concepts, such as populism, which has had a major impact on democracies around the world.

Sub Unit

• Division 11: Comparative Politics

Individual Presentations

• Personalist Democracies - Fernando Bizzarro Neto, Harvard University

• The Perils of Personalism - Raul L. Madrid, University of Texas, Austin; Matthew Rhodes-Purdy, Clemson University

• Personalist Parties in Democracies - Joseph Wright, Pennsylvania State University; Erica Frantz, Michigan State University; Andrea Herschman Kendall-Taylor; Jia Li, Penn State University

• Measuring Personalism: Voting for a Populist Leader in Russia and Turkey - Tatiana Kostadinova, Florida International University; Dilara Hekimci, Florida International University

Chair

• Rachel Beatty Riedl Cornell University

Discussant

• Jessica L. P. Weeks University of Wisconsin-Madison