The Personalization of Democratic Politics and the Challenge for Political Parties

Edited by William P. Cross; Richard S. Katz and Scott Pruysers

The implications of the personalization of politics are necessarily widespread and can be found across many different aspects of contemporary democracies. Personalization should influence the way campaigns are waged, how voters determine their preferences, how officials (e.g., MPs) and institutions (e.g., legislatures and governments) function, and the place and operations of political parties in democratic life. However, in an effort to quantify the precise degree of personalization over time and to uncover the various causes of personalization, the existing literature has paid little attention to many of the important questions regarding the consequences of personalization. While the chapters throughout this volume certainly document the extent of personalization, they also seek to address some fundamental questions about the nature of personalization, how it is manifested, and its consequences for political parties, governance, representation, and the state of democracy more generally. Indeed, one of the primary objectives of this volume is to speak to a very broad audience about the implications of personalization. Those interested in election campaigns, voting, gender, governance, legislative behaviour, and political parties will all find something of value in the contributions that follow.

1. Introduction, Scott Pruysers, William Cross & Richard Katz / 2. Personalization and Vote Choice, Amanda Bittner / 3. Personalization and Electoral Systems, Jean-Benoit Pilet and Alan Renwick / 4. The Local and National Dynamics of Campaign Personalization, William Cross and Scott Pruysers / 5. Personalization and Party Leadership Selection, David Stewart / 6. Personalization and Party Members, Anika Gauja / 7. Personalization and Online Political Communication, Gideon Rahat and Shahaf Zamir / 8. Personalization, Privatization nd Gender, Melanee Thomas / 9. Personalization and the Office of Prime Minister, Jonathan Malloy / 10. Personalization and the Role of the MP, Mihail Chiru / 11. Personalization and Presidentialization Reconsidered, Thomas Poguntke & Paul Webb / 12. Personalization, Political Parties and Democracy, Richard Katz