Personalization of Politics and Electoral Change

Dr. Diego Garzia is Jean Monnet Fellow at the European University Institute, Florence, Italy. He has authored over 60 academic publications and professional reports including articles in journals such as Electoral Studies, Political Psychology, Party Politics, Political Research Quarterly and West European Politics. He is member of the Italian National Election Study (ITANES).

"This elegant and compelling comparative study greatly enhances our understanding of leader effects in parliamentary elections. Systematically analyzing the impact of leader evaluations on partisanship as well as the vote, it shows that leaders matter, and matter increasingly, for the way individuals vote and, often, the way elections turn out." Anthony Mughan, Professor and Director of International Studies, Department of Political Science, Ohio State University, USA "Has the personality of political leaders become more important? Dr. Garzia gives an affirmative reply. He shows that the tug of political parties and social structures has lessened, so allowing leaders more freedom in the electoral arena. As examples, he chooses three different parliamentary democracies - Britain, Germany, The Netherlands. The book seems a natural choice for students and scholars looking for an engaging work on the political psychology of leaders in a comparative elections context." Michael S. Lewis-Beck, F. Wendell Miller Distinguished Professor of Political Science, University of Iowa, USA 'At last, leader personalization is proved to be a key component of partisanship in Western Europe and electoral behaviour research has to give political psychology the fundamental place it deserves!' Jean Blondel, Emeritus Professor, Robert Schumann Centre for Advanced Studies, European University Institute, Italy

• 1. Introduction 2. The Personalization of Politics 3. The Attitudinal Consequences of the Personalization of Politics 4. The Behavioral Consequences of the Personalization of Politics 5. The Electoral Consequences of the Personalization of Politics 6. Normative and Emprical Implications of the Personalization of Politics