Presidential Leadership in an Age of Change by Michael A. Genovese

Author:Michael A. Genovese [Genovese, Michael A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Leadership, Political Science, Political Process, Executive Branch, American Government, General
ISBN: 9781412862080
Google: mDj_CQAAQBAJ
Goodreads: 27904278
Publisher: Transaction Publishers
Published: 2015-11-03T00:00:00+00:00

Putting all this together is a daunting task. However, in an effort to get to the core of presidential leadership, I offer a pretheoretical dyadic model of presidential leadership designed to both highlight the key variables in understanding leadership and predict levels of presidential power.

This dyadic model suggests an interrelationship between key variables, organized as dyads for theoretical and predictive utility. In this model, the dependent variable is “power.” We want to understand and explain when presidents are more and less powerful. We then present five independent sets of variables that account for—in order of significance—variations in the dependent variable.

It will come as no surprise to the reader that the first and most important relationship posited is the crisis versus routine dyad, and it is asserted that presidents exert more power and authority in crisis versus noncrisis situations. Political scientists have long noted that during a crisis, the restraining web of the checks and balances comes unglued, and we defer to the executive. While crises may be few and far between, it is clear that during an emergency, the power of the presidency swells and the influence of the Congress recedes.

The second dyad in predictive power is the foreign versus domestic policy relationship, our assumption being that presidents wield greater authority in foreign versus domestic affairs. Again, political scientists, starting with the seminal work by Aaron Wildavsky, have noted that presidents usually have greater power in foreign affairs than over domestic or economic policy. While this may be constitutionally questionable, it has become the political reality.

Third, is the partisan membership of Congress, wherein a president should be more powerful when his party controls Congress, and less when the opposition party controls the Congress. While divided government does not necessarily mean deadlocked government, it is clear that a president with a commanding congressional majority has smoother political sailing than a president who faces a Congress controlled by the opposition party.

The fourth set of variables is skill level, with high skill resulting in greater power than low or more limited skill. While it may seem obvious to assert that skill matters, it must be noted that skill is not enough. High-skill presidents facing low-opportunity situations may be more circumscribed than lower skilled presidents who face high opportunity settings.

Finally, the level of presidential response is important, with a more activist president exerting more influence than a president of restraint. Presidents who appear weak and hesitant, who seem paralyzed in high-stress situations, tend to lose respect rather quickly. Americans like a firm, even tough, response to troubles, and expect presidents to “take charge” and be the nation’s problem solver.

Each level of the model connects to the others. Thus, one expects the president to be most powerful, to exert his highest leadership level, in a crisis in foreign policy where the president is highly skilled and has the position backing of the dominant party in Congress, or when the president is highly popular and exerts an activist approach to the problem at hand. Conversely, the

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