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Public leadership in comparative perspective

This program takes as its starting point the current renaissance of `leadership' in discourse about politics and public administration in many Western countries. Even in countries with deep cultural biases against `strong', `heroic', and `charismatic' leadership ideals, scholarly, practitioner and public talk about leadership has changed. Senior bureaucrats are now no longer to be expert `managers,' they need to be leaders - and an entire industry of trainers and consultants has sprung up to assist them in chasing this (elusive) ideal.

In the political realm, many countries have seen trends towards the `personalisation' of politics and the `presidentialization' of traditionally more collegiate offices such as the prime ministership. Institutional reforms to `strengthen' the mandate and/or prerogatives of political and executive leaders are on the agenda of many countries. Where does this trend come from, what problems of democratic governance does it seek to tackle, and which problems does it in turn create?

It aims to compare and critically examine the evolution of leadership discourse, institutional designs for enabling and constraining leadership, and leadership functions styles and practices in both consensual and majoritarian democracies. Specific projects include:

Comparative studies of leadership succession in political parties and public organizations (with Fredrik Bynander, Uppsala University, Sweden). Publications include: 'When power changes hands: The political psychology of leadership succession' in Political Psychology, Oct 2006; 'The Politics of Party Leader Survival and Succession: Australia in Comparative perspective' (with Fredrik Bynander) in Australian Journal of Political Science, March 2007; 'How Adenauer lost Power: Leadership Rivalry and Democratic Succession in Postwar Germany' in German Politics, June 2007; 'The art of handing over: (Mis)managing party leadership successions' (with Fredrik Bynander) in Government and Opposition (forthcoming).

Comparative studies of leadership in the political management of major emergencies and other crises (with Arjen Boin, Louisiana State University; Bengt Sundelius, Uppsala University; Eric Stern, Swedish Defence College; and Allan McConnell, Sydney University). Publications include: The Politics of Crisis Management (Cambridge University Press 2005) and Governing After Crises (cambridge University Press 2008)

Understanding Public Leadership. A state of the art textbook bringing together state of the art research on political, bureaucratic and civic leadership, and presenting five complementary conceptual lenses for studying and improving public leadership. Publication: planned 2009

Public Leadership in Australia and Beyond. A workshop and edited volume co-organized with John Uhr (ANU), bringing together scholars and practitioners from around Australia (and New Zealand, and South East Asia), taking stock of present day knowledge about and (Australasian) practices of political, bureaucratic and civic leadership. Publication: workshop planned late November 2007; volume planned late 2008, early 2009

Leadership and Democratic Office. A workshop and edited volume project co-organized with John Kane and Haig Patapan (both Griffith University), bringing together a select group of leading international scholars to examine the nature of the institutional opportunities and constraints for leadership offered by different types of 'offices' embedded in the fabric of a democratic policy, and the ways in which holders of these offices understand and negotiate these role requirements. Publication: workshop planned April 2008, volume late 2009

For information, contact Paul ‘t Hart at hart@coombs.anu.edu.au