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Defence date: 18 December 2006 Examining Board: Prof. Brigid Laffan (University College Dublin) ; Prof. Christopher Lord (The University of Reading) ; Prof. Stefano Bartolini (European University Institute)(Supervisor) PDF of thesis uploaded from the Library digitised archive of EUI PhD theses completed between 2013 and 2017 Despite the European Commission President’s importance as an agent of supranational integration, the presidency has attracted relatively little academic attention. This thesis examines the phenomenon of leader effectiveness in the context of the presidency by asking "how can the President's effectiveness be explained?” Two branches of theory - institutionalism and charisma theory - drive this research. By examining leadership from these contrasting perspectives a broad understanding is attained. Two independent variables - political / institutional context and leader charisma - are proposed as the core determinants of leader effectiveness. Human resource management theory is used to develop a job description for the President and a set of metrics is proposed to measure presidential effectiveness. Seven case studies are undertaken. Each examines the leadership of a Commission President. Firstly, the nature of their political / institutional context is established and the effect it had upon their leadership is estimated. Secondly the President’s character, behaviour and impact upon others are examined. Finally their effectiveness is assessed. Each case is based upon data derived from eighty one interviews with political actors and a questionnaire completed by thirty academics and journalists. The cross-case analysis strongly supports the research hypotheses - presidential effectiveness consistently relates to the nature of the political / institutional context and the leader’s charisma. Furthermore both independent variables relate positively to effectiveness- i.e. when charisma is high and the political / institutional context is empowering, leadership is typically effective, and vice versa. Although both independent variables are important, charisma is found to exert greater influence over effectiveness. |
