Political Behaviour Impact to Leadership Excellence

Throughout the world there are many diverse political cultures. A political culture is the attitudes, beliefs or practices among a group of likeminded individuals. (Giardino pg. 27) There are different categories that embrace a political culture like an Individualistic, traditionalistic and moralistic. An individualistic culture is one that prefers less government involvement. The traditionalists’ culture maintains government as the social and economic hierarchy and does not like change. The moralistic culture favors public good and it revolves around social issues. In shaping a political culture demographics such as population size, growth, distribution and diversity are essential to determine how a state is in any of the three categories. Society is strongly affected by decisions of who, what and when does an individual receive any types of goods or services. Government is the structure, buildings and institutions that are held within politics.

The behavior of voters has great importance to politics as the people decide mainly who wins. The study of the behavior of the electorate has increased as politicians seek to appeal to the voters and find ways to gain followers and most importantly votes. The two articles Democratic Practice and Democratic Theory and The Responsible Electorate discuss the behavior of voters in the United States, and the importance of the electorate.

From the vantage point of the present, it is easy to look back at the tenure of any great leader and draw conclusions about just what it was that made him/her great. We can examine the circumstances under which their leadership flourished; piece together what we know of their character and personality traits; delve into the factors that may have driven them; and dissect their leadership style all in an effort to pinpoint the source of their success. The ‘Great Man’ theory, popular in the 19th century and now thoroughly debunked, held that leaders are born, not made; suggesting that men like George Washington, Martin Luther King Jr., and Winston Churchill were born with the innate capacity to change the world (Landis,

In Truman’s analysis, the political role of the individual is to be in groups. People act and interact only as members of groups. Truman argues that evidence regarding group affiliations and individual behavior has concluded that individuals are not ignored in any interpretation of politics as based upon groups because groups accommodate the political interests of individuals. Individuals are not found anywhere else but in groups. “The individual” and “the group” are simply convenient ways of classifying behavior, not two separate things.

What is leadership, and how do we attain the best and most effective leaders? These are questions that are as old as civilization itself. Bass (1974) wrote that, “from its infancy, the study of history has been the study of leaders” (as cited in Wren, 1995, p. 50). Since the study of history in the West is commonly held to begin with Herodotus of ancient Athens, it is not surprising that we should examine the historical views of leadership through the eyes of two titans of Greek thought: Plato and Aristotle.

A voter can be defined as an individual who votes, or has the right to vote, in elections. Voting behaviour is explained using the concepts of expressive voting and strategic voting. A rational voter would act more strategically, that is, the voter would vote to produce an election outcome which is as close as possible to his or her own policy preferences, rather than voting on the basis of party attachment, ideology, or social group membership (expressive voting). Strategic voting has become more important than voting on the basis of political cleavages (expressive voting), so voters have become more rational in their approach, however there is always an element of expressiveness in their behaviour. Political parties were initially formed to represent the interests of particular groups in society however, as these parties became more universal in the appeal of their policy programmes, voting behaviour shifted from expressive to strategic. This essay explores the reasons behind the declining importance of political cleavages, and the rise of strategic voting.

Across time, political leaders have often been remembered for their greatness by how they faced challenges than with what particular skills or abilities they had during their time in office. This statement is known to be true as political leaders are often expected to solve certain issues or challenges when in office and if their contributions benefit the state or country. Additionally, history books, records, and scholarly journals will take note of a leader’s response to challenges, how they are handled, and if the issue is solved more than whether they adequately used certain skills and abilities to solve the problem. In short, challenges, when faced, allow the political leaders to be remembered more so than their talents.

Every great revolution or movement has a significant leader pulling it forward. An example of this is the Civil Rights movement which is well known and memorable by the people like Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks. These two leaders helped keep the fight of their people stay alive through their actions and words. This making them some of the most beloved and strongest leaders in history. Yet, not all people can show the leadership abilities King, Parks, and others possess. It takes certain character traits and actions to be a great leader. Potentially bad leaders on the other hand also possess traits and actions that caused them to be dangerous if given a leadership position. Brutus from the play Julius Caesar by Shakespeare displays what

Furthermore, citizens have indicated an unwillingness to engage in political activities. For instance, voter recruitment drives are fully-fledged social-political undertakings but they cannot guarantee civic engagement. On the other hand, politicians continue to be treated with suspicion by the American public. Consequently, Volgy and other political scholars have contributed to the debate on declining empathy and civic

Many of the same principles that applied in nineteenth century society, prescribe to today's as well. In over 100 years, society still sees popular individuals as heroes and idols. Those who follow their lead now have a term to classify them by, which is hero worshipers. Carlyle better explains this as he said, "Worship of a Hero is transcendent admiration of a great man."(Carlyle,11) It is the natural meaning of man to do such a thing, to look up to someone higher than themselves. These are the basic principles to leadership in the modern world. It can be applied from the beginnings of time to the present, or "It is to this hour, and at all hours, the vivifying influence in a man's life."(Carlyle,11)

Leadership is a trait that few people possess, but many are influenced by its powerful qualities. Leadership has been described by most accounts as the ability to unite a group under one common goal or task. This crucial quality is necessary in order to be remembered by many people. It is necessary when people around you need guidance, or a sense of direction. When people need guidance, they look to figures of power or authority, to ultimately lead them in the right direction. Many years later, that person, who had leaded others, will be revered. This reverence, or legacy that they leave behind, will make them a hero. People who possessed great leadership throughout history left a huge legacy behind with them. Ben Franklin, a radical during the 18th century for revolution, was a wealthy man of Pennsylvania who possessed great leadership throughout the course of his life. The stand out quality he possessed, his great knowledge, enabled him to lead great numbers of people in their interests. This quality made him looked up upon as a revolutionary by all of the United States, and people were willing to unite behind Franklin due to his self-made image. Years after Franklin had passed, people still remembered and celebrated his legacy every day in the names of warships, towns, and buildings. Benjamin Franklin was a leading revolutionary all of his life due to his educated background and

In addition, these two groups share similarities, both being voluntarily organized groups of people, that are involved in the process of politics. They each have a significant role in democratic societies. They work towards specific goals in the government and both encourage politicians and raise money to accomplish those goals. They are involved in interest expression, political socialization, political communication and leadership requirement. They both have key roles in the social and political life of the

Countless times leaders operate on instinct that has grown from what they have seen in the past. What leaders see others do sets the stage for what they may do in the future. A leader of sound character will exhibit that character at all times.” (p. 7-13)

The study of politics had its roots in philosophy and while there has been a drive to steer the study of politics towards a more scientific approach, many scholars like Max Weber believe that social sciences cannot simply imitate the natural sciences. This essay will examine the various approaches to applying scientific methodology to the study of politics and it will specifically explore Behaviorism, Positivism and Interpretivism and by looking at each methodology briefly explore the advantages and disadvantages of each method.

The term ‘politics’ itself has changed over many years. To ask if the evolution of political culture changes how people participate in politics is simple. The answer is yes. To begin with, let’s define political culture; ‘Authors define the term political culture as the particular distribution of patterns of orientation towards political objects among the members of a nation’ (Almond and Verba 1963: 13 cited in Welzel and Inglehart, 2014 p.285). Now let’s define culture; ‘the term culture covers a broad set of phenomena. It includes traditions, habits, and patterns of behaviour shaped by a society’s prevailing beliefs, norms and values’ (Nolan and Lenski, 1999 cited in Welzel and Inglehart, 2014 p.285). Taking this into account, examples of culture could be how to play hopscotch in a playground or following the rules to a game of tennis or badminton. To address the question, this essay will firstly assess how any capable individual is able to participate in politics and secondly if the growth of political culture has increased or decreased participation.