Propaganda 70: The Statesmanship Style Of Leadership

1201 Words5 Pages

The way in which a leader selects their style of leadership is predominantly motivated by their underlying priorities and motives concerning the position at hand. These priorities are linked to the goals that the leader themselves wishes to accomplish in their position, but are often influenced by a variety of factors that are derived from two main concerns, the overall well-being of the institution under the leader’s administration and the approval of the people within that institution. The relationship between public approval and the well-being of the institution is often dichotomous in nature, which results in the leader having to make decisions that gravitate towards one side of the spectrum. This conflict between what is good for the institution …show more content…

In the scope of government, this style of leadership can be referred to as statesmanship. In Federalist 70, Publius calls for a strong executive in order to provide the robust energy needed to maintain the republic. A strong executive can prioritize the country itself over the law of the country, thus going against popular and accepted opinion to do what is best for the country. This behavior of putting the country’s needs over the desires of the public is the key aspect in the statesmanship style of leadership. Furthermore, the statesman is more focused on the long-term impacts that their decisions will make on the institution rather than the immediate satisfaction of the public because the well-being and longevity of the institution is prioritized over what the public desires. This form of leadership requires a different view of the elected executive in the sense that, unlike the popular leader, the statesman is not a tool to execute the desires of the public, rather they are elected with the assumption from the voters that they are to make decisions using their discretion for the betterment of the state regardless of what the voters want. This can be an effective style of governing because often the public’s desires do not align with what is best for the country because a great majority do not possess the experience or knowledge that is required to successfully govern an entire country. The strong executive Publius calls for in Federalist 70 cannot be influenced by public opinion too heavily because that would inhibit their ability to exercise the required executive energy. A truly strong and energetic leader is one who can overlook the desires of the public to do what is right for the country