Studying Political Leadership: Foundations and Contending Accounts (Palgrave Studies in Political Leadership)

Why are some political leaders stronger than others? How do we make sense of the interaction between the leader's personality and the context that the leader faces? This book provides a unique way of approaching these questions, identifying the very different philosophical foundations that underpin the contemporary study of political leadership. Why Are Some Political Leaders Stronger Than Others? Why Are Some Presidents And Prime Ministers Able To Exercise Political Leadership More Successfully Than Others? These Are Questions That Have Engaged Scholars For Centuries. There Is Now Agreement That Leadership Results From The Interaction Of The Personality Of Top-level Political Leaders And The Context They Face. Yet Students Of Political Leadership Seem To Make Sense Of This Interaction In Very Different Ways. This Book Provides New Insights By Identifying The Philosophical Foundations On Which The Study Of Political Leadership Is Based. Distinguishing Between Positivist, Constructivist, And Two Scientific Realist Accounts, This Book Offers A Unique Perspective On Contemporary Scholarship. It Shows That There Are Good Philosophical Reasons Why Political Leadership Is Studied In Very Different Ways. In So Doing, It Provides The Opportunity For More Informed Debate In The Future.-- Foreword 1. Leadership -- The Interactionist Paradigm 2. The Foundations Of The Study Of Political Leadership 3. Positivist Accounts Of Political Leadership 4. Constructivist Accounts Of Political Leadership 5. Scientific Realist Accounts Of Political Leadership: Political Psychology 6. Scientific Realist Accounts Of Political Leadership: Contextual Accounts 7. What Have We Learned And Where Do We Go From Here? Bibliography Index Robert Elgie, Professor Of Government And International Studies, Dublin City University, Ireland. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 186-201) And Index. 1 Leadership – The Interactionist Paradigm 2 The Foundations of the Study of Political Leadership 3 Positivist Accounts of Political Leadership 4 Constructivist Accounts of Political Leadership 5 Scientific Realist Accounts of Political Leadership: Political Psychology 6 Scientific Realism and Political Leadership: Contextual Accounts 7 What Have We Learned and Where Do We Go from Here?