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Is Democratic Leadership Possible?

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  • BEERBOHM, ERIC

Abstract

Leadership can baffle our ideal of democracy. If representatives track our preferences, actual or ideal, what room is left for them to pushback against a constituency? This has led some political theorists to conclude that the concept of democratic leadership is paradoxical. I challenge this view by constructing a theory that takes shared commitment as its principal ingredient. The Commitment Theory brings out what is morally distinctive about leadership in a representative democracy. In principle, democratic leadership recruits citizens as genuine partners in shared political activity. The account explains why leadership is taken to be a core property of a functioning democracy and, at the same time, a potential threat to the practice. It is then tested against cases of opinion formation, cue-taking, and frame manipulation. I conclude that the theory avoids dual objections: that it either overcounts or undercounts instances of democratic leadership.

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  • Beerbohm, Eric, 2015. "Is Democratic Leadership Possible?," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 109(4), pages 639-652, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:apsrev:v:109:y:2015:i:04:p:639-652_00
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    Cited by:

    1. V. P. Kirilenko & G. V. Alekseev, 2018. "Modern Democracy and Political Leaders," Administrative Consulting, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration. North-West Institute of Management., vol. 1(7).
    2. N. A. Mozumder, 2022. "Can Ethical Political Leadership Restore Public Trust in Political Leaders?," Public Organization Review, Springer, vol. 22(3), pages 821-835, September.
    3. Joana Costa & Mariana Pádua & António Carrizo Moreira, 2023. "Leadership Styles and Innovation Management: What Is the Role of Human Capital?," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-21, February.
    4. Seung‐Hun Hong & Jong‐sung You, 2018. "Limits of regulatory responsiveness: Democratic credentials of responsive regulation," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 12(3), pages 413-427, September.

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