Module Information
Course Delivery
Delivery Type | Delivery length / details |
---|---|
Lecture | 22 x 1 Hour Lectures |
Seminar | 10 x 1 Hour Seminars |
Assessment
Assessment Type | Assessment length / details | Proportion |
---|---|---|
Semester Assessment | Seminar Performance | 10% |
Semester Assessment | 1,500 word project | 30% |
Semester Exam | 2 Hours Exam | 60% |
Supplementary Assessment | 1 x 1,500 word essay | 30% |
Supplementary Assessment | 1 x 1,500 word assignment in lieu of seminar performance | 10% |
Supplementary Exam | 2 Hours (1 x 2 hour exam) | 60% |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of the module, students will be able to:
- understand the meaning, position and techniques of leadership in a political environment;
- demonstrate a grasp of the different variants, styles and purposes of leadership;
- engage critically in current debates over the meaning and value of leadership, and over the implications of leadership politics in contemporary systems;
- apply theoretical perspectives to analytical questions and issues;
- possess an enriched understanding and practical awareness of how leadership can be generated, used, maintained and lost
Brief description
This module provides an analytical framework for the study of the role, conditions and contingencies of leadership.We are all affected by the actions of leaders and by our own expectations of the leadership role within society. The conduct of politics is dominated by rival claims to leadership, by disputed evaluations of leaders and by the competitive struggle to assign accountability to different leaders.
Content
LECTURES
Introduction to the course and to the world of leadership
1 The problem of leadership in democratic politics: Posing questions
2 Measuring the distance from 'monsters': From Hitler to Saddam
3 Ingredients and types of leadership
4 The issue of command
5 Problems of democratic leadership:
(i) Locating, using and protecting the supports
6 Problems of democratic leadership:
(ii) Working within constraints
7 Chief executive decision-making:
President Lyndon Johnson and the Vietnam War (1)
8 Chief executive decision-making:
President Lyndon Johnson and the Vietnam War (2)
9 Inside the individual: Psychology and health as political explanation
10 Experiencing leadership:
11 Trends in contemporary democratic leadership:
The rise of the British presidency
12 The politics of leadership crisis: Tony Blair and Iraq
13 A selected leader:
14 Leaders abroad:
Foreign policy and executive prerogative
15 International leadership: Nelson Mandela
16 Arguments about leadership
SEMINARS
1 Introduction to leadership
2 Comparing leaders and leadership
3 Doing it
4 Being it
5 Experiencing it
6 Leadership politics: UK
7 International leadership
8 Questions of leadership
Aims
The main aim is to analyse the nature and role of leadership in contemporary politics. The course seeks to examine the development of leadership as a central issue in political debate and party calculations; to study the opportunities for, and constraints upon, leadership; to assess significance of leadership as a criterion of political evaluation and as a motive force in public action; and to appraise theories and debates surrounding the concept and practice of leadership in political contexts
Transferable skills
10 ECTS Credits
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 6