Presidents in business. Career and destiny of democratic leaders

Abstract

Deep changes regard the political careers of democratic leaders. Until recently, becoming president or prime minister was the last step before retirement or withdrawal to an undemanding seat on the back benches. On the contrary recent heads of government are enthusiastically seeking alternative ways to capitalize on their prestige and contacts portfolio, often ending up in the world of business or international finance. There are many examples of such a trend, from Blair to Mulroney, from Schröder to Barak. This article provides an empirical analysis of the phenomenon, by examining a dataset of 441 leaders in 78 different democratic countries over a period dating from 1989 to 2012. Attention will be focused on the political background of the prime ministers and presidents, how long they stay in power, the average age of heads of government, what professional pursuits they are involved in after their term in office and what career model they follow. The article concludes by proposing a post-presidential model which indicates some of the current trends and illustrates how former leaders are gaining decision-making power and visibility.

Polity Size Matters? The Effect of Country Size on Politicians' Professionalization

“…This created the perfect conditions to develop institutional and individual professionalization. The political professionalization of national politics thus became a contemporary characteristic of large-scale democracies (Musella 2014).…”

Are all politicians the same? Reproduction and change of chief executive career patterns in democratic regimes

“…The literature expects three main clusters of factors to explain the change of career patters: regime transition and constitutional reforms (e.g., Samuels and Shugart 2010; Semenova et al. 2013; Grimaldi and Vercesi 2018); emerging career opportunities in the market sector that create incentives to opt for alternative career choices (Musella 2015; Baturo and Mikhaylov 2016); changing societal conditions and disaffection with existing channels and practices of representation (Verzichelli 2018).…”

“…Any substantial and general change of politicians' career backgrounds indicates that former political elites have been challenged and replaced by counter-elites or new elites, as well as that political actors with new professional profiles are entering the political system and, eventually, becoming the new established elite. The literature expects three main clusters of factors to explain the change of career patters: regime transition and constitutional reforms (e.g., Samuels and Shugart 2010;Semenova et al 2013;Grimaldi and Vercesi 2018); emerging career opportunities in the market sector that create incentives to opt for alternative career choices (Musella 2015;Baturo and Mikhaylov 2016); changing societal conditions and disaffection with existing channels and practices of representation (Verzichelli 2018).…”

La importancia de los gobernantes invisibles en la democracia. Un estudio de la "estructura de poder latente" de dos Gobiernos en España (2004 y 2012)

“…En este sentido, Musella (2015), al estudiar la trayectoria individual de un conjunto de expresidentes, ha afirmado que es durante su experiencia de Gobierno cuando las posibilidades de futuras colaboraciones con empresas y otras instituciones aparecen, lo que incluso puede llegar a afectar a las propias políticas públicas. Aunque un gran número de investigaciones se han dedicado al estudio de los movimientos y de las pautas de circulación de los exministros hacia las instituciones públicas y privadas después de haber dejado el cargo (Rose, 1987;Thiébault, 1991;Suleiman y Mendras, 1995;Parrado, 1996;Rodríguez Teruel, 2010;Botella et al, 2011), se ha prestado menos atención a la influencia que estos ex altos cargos pueden llegar a ejercer sobre los Gobiernos del mismo signo político a los que pertenecieron y, en consecuencia, a cómo ciertos Ejecutivos quedan potencialmente conectados con los grupos de poder que han reclutado a estos exministros (y a cómo, en suma, estos nuevos grupos, tales como empresas e instituciones supranacionales, pueden adquirir contactos privilegiados con los organismos gubernamentales).…”