Modern Reconstructive Presidential Leadership: Reordering Institutions in a Constrained Environment

Nichols, Curt

doi:10.1515/for-2014-5004

Cited by 3 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…By getting a 'quasi-superweapon' (parliamentary supermajority) to eliminate almost any of the opposing institutions (except for the supranational players mentioned), Orbán did not face strong veto players that would have opposed the changes he had initiated. Therefore, in the Hungarian context a more voluntaristic reconstructive leadership could be realised than in the American context (Laing, 2012;Nichols, 2014Nichols, , 2015.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Broadening the limits of reconstructive leadership: Constructivist elements of Viktor Orbán’s regime-building politics

Illés

Körösényi

Metz

2018

The British Journal of Politics and International Relations

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Hungary's political backsliding, which has transformed it from a former frontrunner of liberal democracy in the post-communist region to an illiberal and/or authoritarian state, has puzzled political scientists. As a contribution to understanding the problem of Viktor Orbán's leadership and the regime change, we apply Stephen Skowronek's concept of 'reconstructive leadership'. The politics of reconstruction, with an emphasis on the introduction of new standards of legitimacy, and the mobilization of support for new modes of governance, leaves ample room for appreciating the role of political leadership. Through an analysis of three policy areas (constitution-making, macroeconomic-and immigration policy) related to Orbán's efforts at reconstruction, we argue that the Hungarian case underscores the formative role of agency even more than in Skowronek's original conception. Reviewing some possible criticisms of Skowronek's perspective and some recent literature about 'discursive institutionalism' we argue that the Hungarian case makes a vital correction to the Skowronekian concept, suggesting the value of taking a more constructivist approach.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Broadening the limits of reconstructive leadership: Constructivist elements of Viktor Orbán’s regime-building politics

Illés

Körösényi

Metz

2018

The British Journal of Politics and International Relations

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“…It then requires them to come up with a strategy based on that context. As the descriptors of the strategies indicate-subversive, insurrectionary, opportunistic, and symbiotic-change pathways need not always be ethical (Nichols 2014(Nichols , 2015. Though this article focuses on how, when, and where, we close with another question.…”

Section: Implications For the Study Of Donald Trumpmentioning

confidence: 95%

Donald Trump and Institutional Change Strategies

Cash

Bridge

2018

Laws

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This article integrates three fields of study: the "regime politics" paradigm in law and courts, the "institutional change" approach in public policy, and the "unilateral presidency" literature. In doing so, we show how law, politics, and public policy are inextricably linked, and that researchers can borrow assumptions, methods, and theories from a variety of fields. We use Donald Trump's early presidency to show how political actors (especially presidents) can use four different change strategies. In the case of Trump, we highlight: shifting of decision-making authority via insurrectionary displacement; the elimination of the individual mandate via subversive layering; a change in drone use policy via opportunistic conversion; and a gradual desensitization and change in school choice education policy via symbiotic drift. We conclude by offering lessons for all three literatures we incorporate, as well as a way forward for studying a presidential administration that many find difficult to analyze.

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“…Their success would, however, require reliance upon different means (than those stressed by Skowronek) to achieve the same ends. Computer simulation, empowered by historical–institutioinal theory and employing Polya's urn model to calculate effects, already suggests as much (Nichols ). Indeed, this recent work concludes that modern reconstructive presidents may need to utilize all the methods of change together to reorder institutions.…”

Section: The Reconstructive Conundrummentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is expected because the third reconstructive task entails reordering across a wide array of institutional domains. It is therefore likely for a reconstructive president to “encounter all four of Mahoney and Thelen's institutional environments” (Nichols , 14). Reconstructive presidents would then need to employ all the modalities, separately and together, to succeed in their efforts.…”

Section: Historical–institutional Scholarship Suggests a Solutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Case study suggests that constraining environmental conditions pushed Reagan to rely on creatively employing the MMCS to reorder institutions. One potential problem with this is the fact that “the strategy requires reconstructive presidents to rely more heavily on subterfuge or exploitation of loosely constrained discretionary authority—or both—to succeed” (Nichols , 19). Mahoney and Thelen () have suggested that the layering and drift modalities both benefit from a degree of deception in their inception and implementation.…”

Section: Confirming Expectations and Demonstrating Utilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Reagan Reorders the Political Regime: A Historical–Institutional Approach to Analysis of Change

Nichols

2015

Pres Stud Q

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The future of reconstructive presidential leadership is in question. It is increasingly difficult to tear out and replace institutions in today's constraining environment. However, historical-institutional theory suggests that alternative leadership possibilities exist. A reconstructive president may be able to reorder the political regime through application of a multiple modalities of change strategy. This project explores this prospect through study of Ronald Reagan's accomplishments in the budget battles of 1981. It applies a new analytic approach to determine if his well-known successes can be translated into the historicalinstitutional conceptual framework. It confirms that previously hypothesized leadership possibilities exist and demonstrates the utility of the new analytic approach to the study of institutional change. Pros and cons of modern reconstructive leadership are illuminated and the new change-framework is recommended for broader application in presidential studies. The Reconstructive ConundrumThe continued viability of reconstructive presidential leadership is in doubt. It has become progressively harder for even contextually well-placed presidents to employ the order shattering and order creating style of leadership historically associated with reconstructive presidents (Balkin 2014;Skowronek 1997). This recent development is an artifact of the welfare state and the general thickening of the institutional environment that trails in its wake. These impediments have already hindered the reconstructive president's ability to respond to enervated conditions. Debate still rages, but according to

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Modern Reconstructive Presidential Leadership: Reordering Institutions in a Constrained Environment

Cited by 3 publications

References 7 publications

Broadening the limits of reconstructive leadership: Constructivist elements of Viktor Orbán’s regime-building politics

Broadening the limits of reconstructive leadership: Constructivist elements of Viktor Orbán’s regime-building politics

Donald Trump and Institutional Change Strategies

Reagan Reorders the Political Regime: A Historical–Institutional Approach to Analysis of Change

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