In today’s liberal democracies, does the political process focus on the people, or on the political leaders representing them? Building upon the ideas of Joseph Schumpeter and Max Weber, ‘Toward Leader Democracy’ argues that we are currently seeing a movement toward an increasingly pronounced focus on political leaders – ‘leader democracy’. This form of democracy is fashioned by the political will, determination and commitment of top politicians, and is exercised through elite persuasion that actively shapes the preferences of voters so as to give meaning to political processes. As the text reveals, this marks a definite evolution within the world’s ‘advanced democracies’: democratic representation is today realised increasingly through active political leadership, as opposed to the former practices of statistically ‘mirroring’ constituencies, or the deliberative self-adjustment of the executive to match citizen preferences.

Item Type:	Authored Research Book
Research Division:	Human Society
Research Group:	Sociology
Research Field:	Sociology not elsewhere classified
Objective Division:	Law, Politics and Community Services
Objective Group:	International relations
Objective Field:	International relations not elsewhere classified
UTAS Author:	Pakulski, J (Professor Jan Pakulski)
ID Code:	76650
Year Published:	2012
Deposited By:	Sociology and Social Work
Deposited On:	2012-03-08
Last Modified:	2017-11-30
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