Political Leadership

The course will focus on political leadership study and understanding. Political leadership is one of the phenomena that, traditionally, has aroused the most interest both in academia and in the general public. The most classic works focused on the normative configuration of leadership, as the best possible way to exercise power. In modern societies, studies on leadership began to identify different styles of leadership and the suitability of each of them according to which context, from dictatorships to liberal democracies. During the last decades, Political Science and Political Sociology has proceeded to a scientific study of leadership as a relational phenomenon between leaders, their support networks and their followers, as well as leadership as a process of rise and fall. On the other hand, from fields such as Psychology and Communication, increasing efforts have been dedicated to the formation and training of candidates and politicians in their leadership skills.

In this course, we address the academic literature on political leadership and look at its empirical evidence, from the local to the global, going through the national and European levels. The approach is completely theoretical-practical, with activities designed so that students not only learn to analyse political leadership but also to develop their own leadership skills. Thus, together with the readings provided and the assigned team project, activities will be carried out aimed at putting into practice the knowledge acquired in public speaking, debate, negotiation and campaigning.