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"Political leaders are the most universal, recognized, and talked about element of political life. However, the general analysis of political leadership has been little advanced. In this book Professor Blondel provides a general framework for the systematic study of leadership to make possible future empirical study and comparative analysis of political leadership. After examining the current state of political leadership studies, Professor Blondel categorizes the leaders of the world taking into account both their goals and the constraints and opportunities resulting from the environment. Important features and influences on leadership are identified: the sources of personal power, the role of leaders' own psychology and perspective, the instruments of power available to leaders, their relationship with subordinates and citizens, the influence of institutions on leadership and the impact of leaders"--Provided by publisher.
This book is about a variety of national arrangements and practices, whose common characteristics are to constitute 'presidential republics' and which as such have become the main form of government in the contemporary world.
Social structure may historically have been of primary importance in accounting for the attitudes and behaviour of many citizens, but now changes in social structure have diminished the role played by class and religious affiliation, whilst the significance of personality in political leadership has increased. This volume explores, both theoretically and empirically, the increasingly important role played by the personalisation of leadership. Acknowledging the part played by social cleavages, it focuses on the personal relationships and psychological dimension between citizens and political leaders. It begins by examining the changes which have taken place in the relationship among citizens,...
Governments have grown in scope, and spread geographically, to the point where a new phenomenon has emerged -- rule by a political class of ministers regarded as the main instruments of change. Yet ministerial careers and the structure of ministerial careers have been largely neglected areas of study in political science. Jean Blondel's new book is a major, comparative study of the world's government ministers since 1945, which examines both their similarities and differences. Party structures, legislative behaviour, even bureaucratic arrangements vary from country to country, but the nature of the job and the status of ministers is largely uniform, making it possible to study and tackle fundamental questions and assumptions of ministerial government. This volume builds an analytical framework in order to probe the very foundation of the 'ministerial profession' and explore important questions concerning political executives. Do social, economic, cultural or institutional factors contribute to the making of good or bad ministers? Are we justified in complaining about bad government? And, does high ministerial turnover contribute to bad government?
This book gives some insight into the profession of political science and about 'thinking politically'. It shows how thinking politically contributes, in a significant fashion, to answering those questions that, from curiosity or necessity, mankind has incessantly raised and wished to solve.
First published in 1995. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.
“Art, love and longing, the French way . . . an emotionally taut portrayal of late-in-life, post-marriage drift” from the author of The 6:41 to Paris (The New York Times Book Review). A French teacher on the verge of retirement is invited to a glittering opening that showcases the artwork of his former student, who has since become a celebrated painter. This unexpected encounter leads to the older man posing for his portrait. Possibly in the nude. Such personal exposure at close range entails a strange and troubling pact between artist and sitter that prompts both to reevaluate their lives. Blondel, author of the hugely popular novel The 6:41 to Paris, evokes an intimacy of dangerous int...
Governing New European Democracies is a fully comparative study of decision-making processes in the cabinets of ten post-communist countries of East-Central and South-Eastern Europe. It is based on interviews collected from over 300 ministers. This book provides the first comprehensive panorama of life in cabinet governments.
This book is a study of the attitudes to political and social life among the citizens of eighteen countries in Western Europe, East and Southeast Asia. Drawing on data from the largest cross-national survey on political culture for the last half a century, this book assesses how political culture differs across the two regions and whether this can be drawn back to a profound difference in basic societal values, or ‘Asian values’. Examining geographical, religious and socio-economic factors, the authors discuss whether there genuinely is a common political value in the two regions or a profound difference as these countries move towards modernity. This original and comprehensive study of the values, norms and beliefs held by citizens of the East and West will appeal to students and scholars of political culture and comparative politics, as well as Asian and European politics.