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This volume has been designed as a key resource in the field of international political leadership research. Written by a team of distinguished leadership scholars from three continents and nine countries, the original chapters gathered in this volume cover all the major fields of political leadership, from executive, legislative and party leadership to leadership in social movements and international organizations. The special value and appeal of this book relates to its genuinely comparative focus that characterizes all chapters.

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Foreword-. List of Figures, Tables and Diagrams-. Notes on Contributors-. 1. Introduction: The Importance of Studying Political Leadership Comparatively; Ludger Helms-. 2. Executive Leadership in Comparative Perspective: Politicians, Bureaucrats, and Public Governance; B. Guy Peters and Ludger Helms-. 3. Comparing Leadership Patterns and Dynamics in the Legislative Arena; Philip Norton-. 4. The Presidentialization of Party Leadership? Evaluating Party Leadership and Party Government in the Democratic World; Paul Webb, Thomas Poguntke and Robin Kolodny-. 5. Leadership in Social and Political Movements: A Comparative Exploration; Dieter Rucht-. 6. Political Leadership in Times of Crisis: Comparing Leader Responses to Financial Turbulence; Arjen Boin, Paul ´t Hart and Femke van Esch-. 7. Comparative Keyword Analysis and Leadership Communication: Tony Blair - A Study of Rhetorical Style; Jonathan Charteris-Black-. 8. Political Marketing and Opinion Leadership: Comparative Perspectives and Findings; Jennifer Lees-Marshment-. 9. The Contributions of Political Psychology to Comparative Leadership Analysis; Stanley Renshon-. 10. Comparing and Assessing Gender Effects in Political Leadership; Anne Stevens-. 11. ´Army of One or Join the Club?´: Comparing Local Political Leadership in Europe; Kristof Steyvers, Herwig Reynaert and Tony Valcke-. 12. Confronting the Challenges of Political Leadership in International Organizations; Michael G. Schechter-. 13. Political Leadership in Old and New Democracies; Robert Elgie-. 14. Comparative Leadership in Non-Democracies; Erica Frantz and Elizabeth Stein-. Index.

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´This book is pioneering in systematically applying comparative concepts to study leadership without throwing out the specific knowledge important for understanding the role of individual leaders in their national context.´

- Richard Rose, Professor and Director of the Centre for the Study of Public Policy, University of Strathclyde, UK. Author of The Prime Minister in a Shrinking World

´A most impressive and important collection of chapters written by a truly international team of scholars that will be essential reading for all those seeking an authoritative assessment of recent developments in the key areas of political leadership, and the international state of the art in comparative leadership research.´

- Sergio Fabbrini, Professor Director of the School of Government, LUISS, Rome, Italy. Author of Compound Democracies

´Not just a splendid textbook, but one which significantly deepens and broadens the study of leadership. A brilliant incentive to do further research in the field.´

- Jean Blondel, Professorial Fellow, European University Institute, Florence, Italy. Author of Political Leadership

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