The President and the Vice President: Different Types of Partnerships for a Unique Power Couple

As the vice presidency evolves over time, the way we assess vice presidents’ influence must also change. We must consider the type of partnership that the president and the vice president developed, which determines not only the latter’s involvement in the decision-making process but also the scope of his/her influence. Since partnerships are not static – they can change from one term to another, but also according to the issues – they can help explain the fluctuations in the influence of vice presidents, whether within the same administration or between them. We have therefore developed a typology of weak and strong partnerships, depending on what level of influence they allowed the vice presidents to exert, based on criteria related to the selection of the running mate, the role and tasks of the vice president within the administration, and the quality of his/her personal and professional relationship with the president.