Analysing the conditions under which governments are more likely to present an executive law or a government bill, this book addresses a central aspect of the decision-making process of public policies. Drafting legislation is an important action to achieve specific policy goals, and the path chosen for this process is part of governmental strategy. This book presents a new theoretical explanation of how executives wield legislative power, based in a formal model. The model is tested using new data from Portugal. It shows that in political systems where one of the political actors has veto powers which can easily be overridden, the type of parliamentary majority is the main consideration for the government's choice of legislative instrument. More specifically, when a government does not have the majority in parliament it is more likely to propose an executive law, and contrary, when a government has a majority in parliament, it is more likely to propose a government bill.

This book analyzes the image of the U.S. presidential administrations from 2001-2011 and its political image in foreign countries. Central to the argument are how the U.S. presidencies are perceived by Europeans and their reactions to foreign leaders. Political image is decisive in electoral victory, and more often, is central in the conquest and maintenance of political power. Also, in the analysis made by International Relations and Foreign Affairs, the political image is highly relevant because of the credibility of the states in the international scenario. That has implications gaining confidence and in the celebration of profitable alliances. The comparative term is also present in the topics related with Obama's administration and Bush's administration. The contributors also analyze crisis management and challenges such as 9/11 and the Iraq War. This study of political image has a crucial interdisciplinary framework for disciplines such as communication, political science, and political theory.