Abstract
The political executive is the historic core of government. Its history is the development of government authority itself, from absolute monarchs to modern forms of executive. The executive predates the emergence of separate legislatures, judiciaries and bureaucracies. These developed as bodies to aid, advise and later constrain executive rulers. In the modern era executives have tended to acquire powers not specifically lodged elsewhere. The executive is where the buck stops.
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Key reading
Rose, R. (1987) The Postmodern Presidency: The White House Meets the World (New York: Chatham House). An illuminating interpretation of the contemporary American presidency.
Weiler, P. (1985) First Among Equals: Prime Ministers in Westminster Systems (Sydney: Allen & Unwin). An instructive comparative analysis of executive leaders in Australia, Britain, Canada and New Zealand.
Jones, G. (ed.) (1991) West European Prime Ministers (London: Cass). Specialists deal with individual countries, but within a comparative framework.
McCauley, M. and Carter, S. (eds) (1985) Leadership and Succession in the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe and China (London: Macmillan). Looks at leadership patterns in communist systems before the deluge. A scholarly literature on postcommunist executives has still to emerge.
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© 1992 Rod Hague, Martin Harrop and Shaun Breslin
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Hague, R., Harrop, M., Breslin, S. (1992). The Political Executive. In: Comparative Government and Politics. Comparative Government and Politics. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-22276-6_13
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-22276-6_13
Publisher Name: Palgrave, London
Print ISBN: 978-0-333-55820-1
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-22276-6
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