Complex Political Decision-Making

Peter Bursens is Professor of Political Science at the Department of Political Science of the University of Antwerp, Belgium. He also teaches at the Antwerp Management School and at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium, and holds a Jean Monnet Chair ad personam from the European Commission. Christ'l De Landtsheer is Professor at the Department of Communication of the University of Antwerp, Belgium. She has taught at numerous institutions across Europe, Russia, the United States and China. Her interests are in the psychology of politics and political personality, as well as political rhetoric and metaphor.Luc Braeckmans is Professor at the Department of Philosophy at the University of Antwerp, Belgium, and Chair of the Centre for Andragogy. He is also Director of Academic Affairs of the University Centre Saint-Ignatius Antwerp, Belgium. Barbara Segaert is Scientific Coordinator at the University Centre Saint-Ignatius Antwerp, Belgium.

• Introduction Part I: Complex Decision Making and Legitamcy1. Covert Integration of Core State Powers: Renegotiating Incomplete Contracts2. Patterns of Covert Integration in EU Governance. Response to Adrienne Héritier3. Collective Decision Making within the European Union’s Legislative Competences: A Need for Change?4. Diversity and Democratic Legitimacy in the EU: What Can We Learn from Other Federal Systems?5. Controlling Covert Integration in EU PoliticsPart II: Complex Decision Making and Leadership6. Leaders under Stress: Does Cognitive Ability Affect Career Stability?7. Is Complexity a Stable Personality Construct Component or Is It (Just) a Matter of Style and Propaganda? Response to Peter Suedfeld8. Political Personality and Complex Decision Making: The Psychological Profile and Leadership Style of Angela Merkel, the World’s Most Powerful WomanPart III: Complex Decision Making and Communication 9. Collective Decision Making in Complex Matters: Decision-making Processes at an International Level10. The Ukranian Crisis Revisited. Response to Richard Herrmann11. Politics, It Has Never Been So Simple. Complex versus Simplistic Rhetoric and the Use of Hyperbole in Political Decision-making in the NetherlandsConclusion: Complex Political Decision Making: Leadership, Legitimacy and Communication