Concepts of Leadership in Western Political Thought

An analysis of political theories from the vantage point of qualities of leadership and human nature. Having established a persuasive conception of leadership, Rejai and Phillips apply it to major thinkers from Plato to Sigmund Freud and Erik Erikson. They find a major shift in leadership theory associated with World War II. Prewar theories are seen as limited and defective in that they posit a vision on the part of the leader and his ability to impose that vision on the followers; postwar theories stress, in addition, a shared vision and leader-follower interaction. A leader’s view of leadership, Rejai and Phillips find, is constrained by the person’s conception of human nature; the lighter the conception of human nature, the more flexible the nature of leadership; the darker the view of human nature, the more rigid the nature of leadership. This book will be of particular interest to scholars, students, and other researchers involved with political theory and leadership studies.