| Summary: | The aim of the study is to examine how the executive leadership and the decision-making process are shaped by the leadership environment in a transition democracy as Venezuela. The questions I intend to answer are: What kind of leadership environment surrounds the leadership and what kind of consequences does it have on the leadership and the decision-making process in Venezuela? To answer my questions I will use the literature: Political Leadership in Liberal Democracies (Elgie, Robert 1995, London: Macmillian), together with the method “The cultural determinist school of history” by Tomas Spencer, later reproduced by Kellerman. The leadership environment provides unique opportunities for a leader to gain control over the decision-making process. Institutional structures and the needs of the society are major parts in determining how the political leadership is exercised. In Venezuela, charismatic President Hugo Chávez is head of the executive branch. The President enjoys great executive power that has diminished the role of the legislature. The policy of a more governmental controlled economy and direct democracy, based on populism has led to a more polarized society. Both historical and socio cultural failures have benefited the presidency. The “partyarchy” is abolished and has been replaced by a personalized policy-making process. The tendency is a leadership environment with a consolidation of the extended power within the executive, and a decision-making process outside the traditional institutional structures that favours the executive.
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