Rallying Around the Presidency? Citizens and Presidents in Times of Crises

Abstract

Presidents tend to be more popular than prime ministers and other ‘party politicians’. This provides presidents as heads of state an advantage vis-à-vis the government, particularly if the latter is weakened due to scandals or economic decline. The literature is full of examples of the presidents using such occasions for publicly criticizing the prime minister. Crises arguably offer further opportunities for presidential activism. Various crises from pandemics to security threats tend to produce a ‘rally around the flag’ effect, where the citizens rally around their leaders and party-political contestation is set aside in favour of national unity. Countries throughout the world have experienced significant turmoil in the early 2020s – first due to the COVID pandemic and then because of worsening security situation, not least Russian invasion of Ukraine. This panel examines presidents during these crises, paying particular attention to how citizens view the heads of state in such exceptional circumstances. Often situated ‘above party politics’ and seen as guardians of national unity and territorial integrity, crises offer possibilities for presidents to expand their authority. Yet, the rally-around-the-flag effect implies that citizens might value ‘statespersonlike’ conduct where presidents do not ‘rock the boat’ through attacking their political opponents. Crises are also expected to impact citizens’ perceptions of the presidential institution and of trust in the incumbent officeholders. This panel invites papers that analyse presidential behaviour and attitudes towards the presidency during crises in different regime types – presidential, semi-presidential, and parliamentary. Both comparative approaches and case studies are welcomed. Potential paper topics include public opinion on presidents, presidential elections in the early 2020s, intra-executive relations during the crises, and presidential communication and leadership style.

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