''This book examines the changing role of political parties and political leadership in fourteen modern democracies. As well as examining cross-national differences, it also analyses how modern democracies are increasingly following a presidential logic of governance''. - Съдържа: The presidentialization of politics in democratic societies : a framework for analysis / Thomas Poguntke and Paul Webb -- The British prime minister : much more than 'first among equals' / Richard Heffernan and Paul Webb -- A presidentializing party state? : the Federal Republic of Germany / Thomas Poguntke -- Presidentialization, Italian style / Mauro Calise -- The presidentialization of Spanish democracy : sources of prime ministerial power in post-Franco Spain / Ingrid van Biezen and Jonathan Hopkin -- The Low Countries : from 'prime minister' to president-minister / Stefaan Fiers and Andre? Krouwel -- Denmark : presidentialization in a consensual democracy / Karina Pedersen and Tim Knudsen -- 'President persson' : how did Sweden get him? / Nicholas Aylott -- Canada : executive dominance and presidentialization / Herman Bakvi?s and Steven B. Wolinetz -- Dyarchic presidentialization in a presidentialized polity : the French Fifth Republic / Ben Clift -- Finland : let the force be with the leader, but who is the leader? / Heikki Paloheimo -- The presidentialization of Portuguese democracy? / Marina Costa Lobo -- The failure of presidential parliamentarism : constitutional versus structural presidentialization in Israel's parliamentary democracy / Reuven Y. Hazan -- The semi-sovereign American prince : the dilemma of an independent president in a presidential government / Sergio Fabbrini -- The presidentialization of contemporary democratic politics : evidence, causes, and consequences / Paul Webb and Thomas Poguntke.*