The Quest for Uncontested Power: Presidents' Personalities and Democratic Erosion in Latin America, 1945-2012

There is a growing scholarly consensus that overreaching heads of government are subverting democracies across the globe. However, the characteristics of these leaders remain unclear. This article examines a type of overreaching presidential behavior that has been commonplace in Latin America: between 1945 and 2012, 25 presidents from 14 countries tried to change their respective constitutions to increase their powers. Building on personality research and semistructured interviews conducted with former presidents, this article proposes that risk taking and assertive leaders are more likely to try to increase their powers. Using a novel database, I conduct discrete-time-duration models to test the hypotheses on the presidents that governed from 1945 to 2012. The results demonstrate that the personalities of presidents are a strong force behind their attempts to consolidate their authority. These findings challenge current approaches in presidential studies and have implications for the study of all types of political elites.