@article{1475984,
      recid = {1475984},
      author = {Grimaldi, Selena.},
      title = {The informal powers of Western European presidents : a way  out of weakness /},
      publisher = {Palgrave Macmillan,},
      address = {Cham, Switzerland :},
      pages = {1 online resource},
      year = {2023},
      abstract = {Elegantly combining quantitative and qualitative  techniques, Grimaldi describes and explains the use of  informal activism of presidents in Austria, Finland,  Germany, Ireland, Italy, and Portugal. This book offers a  unique contribution for our understanding of how  constitutionally weak presidents can maximize their  influence. Carsten Anckar, Professor of Political Science,  bo Akademi University, Finland The book explores how weak  presidents directly or indirectly elected can still play a  crucial role in the political arena. Weak presidents have  been distinguished from strong ones by relying on the  evaluation of the powers they display according to the  constitution. Six Western European countries are analysed:  Germany and Italy which present a consistent constitutional  design (as weak presidents are elected indirectly), and  Austria, Ireland, Finland and Portugal that present  inconsistent constitutional design (as weak presidents are  elected directly). In contrast to much of the existing  comparative works on presidential powers and activism, the  book emphasises the role and the use of informal powers  beyond that of formal ones. In particular, a definition and  a typology of informal powers are provided as well as an  empirical investigation on informal presidential activism.  The positive outcome of presidential informal interventions  are studied by relying on an interactionist approach which  combines presidency-centred as well as president  centred-explanations. The book argues that when dealing  with informal presidential activism the opportunity  structure matters but presidential public support matters  even more. Selena Grimaldi is Assistant Professor and  teaches Political Science at the Department of Political  Science, Communication and International Relations at the  University of Macerata, Italy. .},
      url = {http://library.usi.edu/record/1475984},
      doi = {https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-33330-9},
}