In favor of ‘leader proofing’. (2016)

“As often as not (possibly more often than not) strong leaders pose substantial risks. They are liable to do as much damage as good, possibly more.”

Prof. Anthony King, University of Essex.
A chapter from the special edition of Daedalus (the Journal of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences) ‘On political leadership’, summer 2016.

“Although it is widely assumed that successful polities require strong leaders, something like the opposite is probably the case.

“A successful political system may well be one that has no need of strong leaders and may even eschew them. Strong leaders may occasionally be desirable in any polity, but those occasions are – or should be – rare.

“As often as not (possibly more often than not) strong leaders pose substantial risks. They are liable to do as much damage as good, possibly more. While there may be crises necessitating the acquisition and wielding of power by a single leader, there is much to be said for any polity’s political culture and institutions having built into them a fair amount of ‘leader proofing’.”

Access the full text here: In favor of ‘leader proofing’

More on other articles in the special Daedalus issue is available here.