| CODE | PPG2010 | |||||||||
| TITLE | Political Leadership: Psychology and Societal Dynamics | |||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 02 - Years 2, 3 in Modular Undergraduate Course | |||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 6 | |||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 8 | |||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Policy, Politics and Governance | |||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | The study of political leadership is interested in how people, across the world, increasingly look to political leaders (at various levels) to solve issues relating to employment, housing, immigration, foreign policy and the environment, among others. The field also looks at the characteristics that political leaders have and how they operate. The study of political leadership often borrows ideas from the study of leadership in general, and also from other sources that are specific to the political domain, with psychology remaining a key discipline throughout. This study-unit conceptualizes political leadership as involving multiple dynamics between leaders, followers/publics, socio-historical contexts, social representations of public life, propaganda, and increasing levels of psychological (self-)governance and surveillance. Moreover, this study-unit critiques the notion of leadership and looks at how it changes over time, noting both individualist and contextualised approaches to political leadership. Contemporary phenomena 鈥� globalisation, breakdown of community, war, state violence, large-scale surveillance, technological disruption 鈥� also point toward the need for a critical understanding of political leadership that takes changing societal dynamics into consideration. In approaching political leadership as a set of interrelated dynamics (from representation to propaganda, from individual leader psychology to the societal contexts in which they operate, etc.), this study-unit is uniquely positioned to provide students with knowledge on political leadership. Study-Unit Aims: The aims of this study-unit are to: - Introduce students to political leadership theories and practices; - Explore the intersection between political leadership and the different approaches that study it, particularly by contrasting the conventional study of political leadership (leadership models, styles, personalities, etc.) with the social and critical psychological study of political leadership (political leaders in context, the role of ideology, technological disruption, coalitions, etc.); - Explore examples relating to both national and international scenarios, gaining theoretical and practical insights into political leadership in a technologically disrupted world. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Critically examine the development of research into, and theories of, political leadership, the main focus being on psychology and societal dynamics; - Appreciate the value of a societal approach toward political leadership, whilst avoiding reductionistic and scientistic tendencies; - Evaluate the broader implications of political leadership beyond the individual leader (such as representations of public life and propaganda), thus appreciating how psychological dynamics extend into the public domain; - Evaluate the efficacy and consequences of various leadership approaches, and critically examine the implications of using different forms of academic resources and methodological approaches when conducting research into political leadership; - Analyse key contemporary issues and debates in political practice, with a focus on what political leadership can contribute. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Appreciate political leadership in context and in view of contemporary technological and socio-political phenomena; - Appreciate the broader historical considerations that feature in the study of political leadership, and how these interrelate with social psychological considerations; - Discuss and analyse social and critical dimensions surrounding the practice of political leadership, via different case studies. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: - Haslam, SA, Reicher, SD, & Platow, MJ. (2020). The New Psychology of Leadership: Identity, Influence and Power. Routledge, London. - Bryman, A, Collinson, D, Grint, K, Jackson, B, & Uhl-Bien, M (eds) 2011, The SAGE Handbook of Leadership, SAGE, London. Supplementary Readings: - Antonakis, J, & Day DV, 2018, The Nature of Leadership, SAGE, London. - Grint, K. (2000). The Arts of Leadership. Oxford: Oxford University Press. - Teelken, C. et al. (eds.) (2013), Leadership in the Public Sector: Promise and Pitfalls, Routledge. - Ahlquist, J. and Levi, M. (2011). 鈥楲eadership: What it Means, What it Does, and What We Want to Know About It鈥�, Annual Review of Political Science, 14 pp.1鈥�24. - Bennister, M. (2012). Prime Ministers in Power. Basingstoke: Palgrave. - Borchert, J. and Zeiss, J., eds. (2003). The Political Class in Advanced Democracies. Oxford: Oxford University Press. - Ford, J. (2010). Studying leadership critically: A psychosocial lens on leadership identities. Leadership, 6(1), 47-65. - Burns, J. M. (2003). Transforming Leadership. New York: Grove. - Learmonth, M., & Morrell, K. (2021). 鈥楲eadership鈥� as a Project: Neoliberalism and the Proliferation of 鈥楲eaders. Organization Theory, 2(4), 26317877211036708. - Heifetz, R., Grashow, A., and Linsky, M. (2009). The Practice of Adaptive Leadership. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business. - Helms, L., ed. (2012). Comparative Political Leadership. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. - Han, Byung-Chul. (2017). Psycho-politics: Neoliberalism and new technologies of power. Verso. - Masciulli, J. A., Mochanov, M., and Knight, W. A. (2009). 鈥楶olitical Leadership in Context鈥�, in The Ashgate Research Companion to Political Leadership. Aldershot: Ashgate, pp.3鈥�27. - Learmonth, M., & Morrell, K. (2017). Is critical leadership studies 鈥榗ritical鈥�?. Leadership, 13(3), 257-271. - Elgie, R 2015, Studying Political Leadership: Foundations and Contending Accounts, Palgrave Macmillan, London. - Parker, I. (Ed.). (2015). Handbook of critical psychology. Routledge. - Han, Byung-Chul. (2024). The Crisis of Narration. Polity. - Alvesson, M., & Spicer, A. (2012). Critical leadership studies: The case for critical performativity. Human relations, 65(3), 367-390. - 鈥檛 Hart, P. (2011). 鈥楨valuating Public Leadership: Towards an Assessment Framework鈥�, Public Money and Management, 31 (5) pp.323鈥�330. - t Hart, P. and Uhr, J. (2008). Public Leadership: Perspectives and Practices. Canberra: ANU E Press. - 鈥檛 Hart, P. (2014). Understanding Public Leadership. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. - Weber, M. (1991) [1948]. 鈥楶olitics as a Vocation鈥�, in H. Gerth and C. Wright Mills (eds), From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology. London: Routledge, 77鈥�128. - Teo, T. (2015). Critical psychology: A geography of intellectual engagement and resistance. American Psychologist, 70(3), 243. - Kane, J. and Patapan, H. (2012). The Democratic Leader: How Democracy Defines, Empowers and Limits its Leaders. Oxford: Oxford University Press. - Parker, I. (2020). Critical Psychology as Cultural-Historical Psychology: Political Dimensions and Limitations of Psychological Knowledge. In: Fleer, M., Gonz谩lez Rey, F., Jones, P. (eds) Cultural-Historical and Critical Psychology. Perspectives in Cultural-Historical Research, vol 8. Springer, Singapore. - Keohane, N. (2010). Thinking about Leadership. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. - Morse, R. S (2010), Integrative public leadership: Catalyzing collaboration to create public value, The Leadership Quarterly, 21:2, 231-245. - Strangio, P., 鈥檛 Hart, P., and Walter, J., eds. (2013). Understanding Prime Ministerial Performance: Comparative Perspectives. Oxford: Oxford University Press. |
|||||||||
| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | |||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
|
|||||||||
| LECTURER/S | ||||||||||
|
The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
||||||||||