Leadership and Uncertainty Management in Politics : Leaders, Followers and Constraints in Western Democracies

Through a range of international case studies from the USA, UK, France, Germany and Italy, this text assesses the conditions necessary for effective leadership and emphasizes the part played by uncertainty and division amongst followers. Through a range of international case studies from the USA, UK, France, Germany and Italy, this engaging new text examines political leadership and considers the rise in the Executive powers of Western democracies in the last few decades. Unlike earlier assessments of the subject, which have emphasized the importance of a unified force of followers rallying behind a public figure, this volume argues that leadership can also be understood as a risk-taking venture which takes advantage of uncertainty among voters. Assessing the conditions necessary for effective leadership, it emphasizes the part played by indecision and division amongst followers and shows that political leadership can be a cause in itself, which cannot be reduced to a mere consequence of a chain of previous events Front Matter....Pages i-xi Introduction....Pages 1-13 Is Senatorial Leadership even possible? The Deadlock of the American Upper Chamber....Pages 14-31 The Office-Holder: John Boehner as Speaker of the US House of Representatives....Pages 32-50 Tony Blair’s Leadership Style in Foreign Policy: Hubris without Constraints?....Pages 51-64 From Dewar to Salmond: The Scottish First Ministers and the Establishment of their Leadership....Pages 65-81 Political leadership and the instrumentalization of the media: General de Gaulle between politics and the military (1958–1962)....Pages 82-92 Silvio’s Party....Pages 93-110 Leader of my Heart! Use of Twitter by Leaders’ Partners during Election Campaigns....Pages 111-126 Leadership and the European Debate from Margaret Thatcher to John Major....Pages 127-140 The Temptation of Populism in David Cameron’s Leadership Style....Pages 141-156 Leadership Elections and Democracy in the British Labour Party....Pages 157-178 The (Seeming) Power of (Seemingly) Leaderless Organizations: The Tea Party Movement as a Case Study....Pages 179-200 Petra Kelly: Charismatic Leadership in the German Peace Movement and Early Green Party....Pages 201-216 Erika Steinbach: The Last Charismatic Representative of the Expellees?....Pages 217-229 Edward Heath: The Failed Leadership of an Uninspiring Leader....Pages 230-248 When the President is not really the Boss: The Mysterious Case of Ronald Reagan’s Presidential Leadership....Pages 249-266 Conclusion....Pages 267-272 Back Matter....Pages 273-284 Review: "This excellent volume provides fresh insights to fundamental and long-standing, but largely ignored, questions regarding the role of leadership in politics. By adopting a neo-institutional framework and a common focus on the management of contextual and social uncertainty, the rich and diverse set of comparative case studies offers a nuanced perspective on leadership that is valuable to any student of politics and policy." - Gregory Wawro, Professor of Political Science, Columbia University, USA "This wide-ranging volume begins the enormous - and enormously important - task of filling the gap between impressionistic leadership studies and the serious academic investigation of the politicians who are increasingly asserting the institutional powers and leveraging the charismatic opportunities of leadership. Broadly comparative, and combining case studies of both chief executives and legislative leaders, it is nonetheless united by clear themes, consistent categorizations, and systematic analysis that sheds new light on leadership." - Thad Kousser, Professor of Political Science, University of California San Diego, USA