Tutorial 1 – Key concept & modern political leadership (Chapter 1,2,10)
Hero-in-history
- In crisis: lot of criticism
- People tend to old leaders ‘hero-in-history’
Hard power
Decisive
Alpha males
- Historical leaders often are evaluated better than they were
- But then there also is soft/moral power
- There are various forms of authority
Leadership as ‘the vision-thing’
- There is a call for vision
- But: power-hungry leaders often come with extreme visions
Leadership vs coercion & legitimacy
- No leaders without followers
- Coercion is not leadership, just power
- But why do people support leaders?
Social identification (theory)
Does the leader support/care about your in-group?
Hierarchy vs shared leadership
- Power is always shared in a democracy
- Shared power / balance of power makes slow politics
Leaders and context
- Events can make or break leaders
- Context influences (the evaluation of) leadership skills
Leaders versus leadership
- Characteristics: skills, beliefs, personality
- Vs behavior: meaning making, decision making
Leadership
- Behavior & process (vs person)
- Capacities (in context)
- Relations (legitimacy/support)
- Result (collective & effective)
Good leader <> leadership
- Prudence
Is the leader wise and effective? Has the leader made sound decisions? Have they
produced outcomes beneficial to their communities and/or organisations?
Good judgement
Information seeking
, Cognitive complexity
Management of self
Skills
- Support
Is the leader democratic? Has the leader upheld the social contract and
maintained public confidence? Does the leader engage, consult and communicate
genuinely with followers?
Social support
Engagement with peers
Good public communication
- Trustworthiness
Is the leader ethical? Have they followed the institutional and legal norms
associated with their role? Have they been accountable for their actions?
Comply with norms on roles, position accountability
Observance of role & ethics
Transparency
The relationship between leaders and followers
- Leaders Followers:
Power
o Coercion
o Inducement
o Persuasion
o Manipulation
Authority
o Competent ideational-moral legal-rational
o Traditional
o Charismatic
- Followers Leaders:
Credibility
o How believable or convincing something is
o The credibility of power or claims to authority as perceived by the
followers is fundamental to its effectiveness
Legitimacy
o The acceptance by followers that a leader has the right to use certain
powers or assume certain authority over them
Power
- Coercion: the threat of pain and deprivation
- Inducement: the offer of rewards or benefits
- Persuasion: using argument or emotion to convince
- Manipulation: using deception or hidden methods
Authority
- Personal authority
Reputation
- Position authority
, Certain job or title
- Traditional authority
Evolving from the long-standing customs and practices of cultures and
societies
- Legal-rational
Created by the legal, constitutional, and bureaucratic order of modern
societies
- Charismatic
Based on the perceived extraordinary qualities of an individual, or a a heroic
belief in the leader, by followers
- Ideational-moral
Generated by a leaders’ association with the moral values and ideological
goals of followers
- Competent
Generated by the perception that the leader is competent and has superior
knowledge or skill to followers
Presidentialization
= the term given to the observation that political leaders at the apex of the political
system are claiming an ever-greater share of political power and authority in
contemporary politics
1. Executive domination
Greater dominance of executive decision-making processes by the leader,
including greater control over the cabinet and bureaucracy, and a declining
role of the leader’s party in executive decision-making
2. Party domination
Increasing domination of the leader within their own party, especially over
policy direction, candidate recruitment and internal procedures
3. Media domination
Intensification of media focus on the top leaders, and voter preferences
increasingly determined by assessment of leaders, rather than policies or
issues
Populism
- A style of adversarial politics in which ‘the elites’ of a society are construed as
enemies of ‘the people’
Polarization
- A process whereby individuals move towards the extremes of the political spectrum
and abandon moderate position
- The makes compromise and broad leadership appeals much more challenging
- Seems to incentivize a narrower brand of politics in which rhetoric and grandstanding
by leaders become the norm
Hero-in-history
- In crisis: lot of criticism
- People tend to old leaders ‘hero-in-history’
Hard power
Decisive
Alpha males
- Historical leaders often are evaluated better than they were
- But then there also is soft/moral power
- There are various forms of authority
Leadership as ‘the vision-thing’
- There is a call for vision
- But: power-hungry leaders often come with extreme visions
Leadership vs coercion & legitimacy
- No leaders without followers
- Coercion is not leadership, just power
- But why do people support leaders?
Social identification (theory)
Does the leader support/care about your in-group?
Hierarchy vs shared leadership
- Power is always shared in a democracy
- Shared power / balance of power makes slow politics
Leaders and context
- Events can make or break leaders
- Context influences (the evaluation of) leadership skills
Leaders versus leadership
- Characteristics: skills, beliefs, personality
- Vs behavior: meaning making, decision making
Leadership
- Behavior & process (vs person)
- Capacities (in context)
- Relations (legitimacy/support)
- Result (collective & effective)
Good leader <> leadership
- Prudence
Is the leader wise and effective? Has the leader made sound decisions? Have they
produced outcomes beneficial to their communities and/or organisations?
Good judgement
Information seeking
, Cognitive complexity
Management of self
Skills
- Support
Is the leader democratic? Has the leader upheld the social contract and
maintained public confidence? Does the leader engage, consult and communicate
genuinely with followers?
Social support
Engagement with peers
Good public communication
- Trustworthiness
Is the leader ethical? Have they followed the institutional and legal norms
associated with their role? Have they been accountable for their actions?
Comply with norms on roles, position accountability
Observance of role & ethics
Transparency
The relationship between leaders and followers
- Leaders Followers:
Power
o Coercion
o Inducement
o Persuasion
o Manipulation
Authority
o Competent ideational-moral legal-rational
o Traditional
o Charismatic
- Followers Leaders:
Credibility
o How believable or convincing something is
o The credibility of power or claims to authority as perceived by the
followers is fundamental to its effectiveness
Legitimacy
o The acceptance by followers that a leader has the right to use certain
powers or assume certain authority over them
Power
- Coercion: the threat of pain and deprivation
- Inducement: the offer of rewards or benefits
- Persuasion: using argument or emotion to convince
- Manipulation: using deception or hidden methods
Authority
- Personal authority
Reputation
- Position authority
, Certain job or title
- Traditional authority
Evolving from the long-standing customs and practices of cultures and
societies
- Legal-rational
Created by the legal, constitutional, and bureaucratic order of modern
societies
- Charismatic
Based on the perceived extraordinary qualities of an individual, or a a heroic
belief in the leader, by followers
- Ideational-moral
Generated by a leaders’ association with the moral values and ideological
goals of followers
- Competent
Generated by the perception that the leader is competent and has superior
knowledge or skill to followers
Presidentialization
= the term given to the observation that political leaders at the apex of the political
system are claiming an ever-greater share of political power and authority in
contemporary politics
1. Executive domination
Greater dominance of executive decision-making processes by the leader,
including greater control over the cabinet and bureaucracy, and a declining
role of the leader’s party in executive decision-making
2. Party domination
Increasing domination of the leader within their own party, especially over
policy direction, candidate recruitment and internal procedures
3. Media domination
Intensification of media focus on the top leaders, and voter preferences
increasingly determined by assessment of leaders, rather than policies or
issues
Populism
- A style of adversarial politics in which ‘the elites’ of a society are construed as
enemies of ‘the people’
Polarization
- A process whereby individuals move towards the extremes of the political spectrum
and abandon moderate position
- The makes compromise and broad leadership appeals much more challenging
- Seems to incentivize a narrower brand of politics in which rhetoric and grandstanding
by leaders become the norm
