Dewan, Torun and Myatt, David P. (2007) The qualities of leadership: direction, communication, and obfuscation. PSPE working papers, 01-2008. Department of Government, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK.
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Abstract
Party activists wish to (i) advocate the best policy and yet (ii) unify behind a common party line. An activist’s understanding of his environment is based on the speeches of party leaders. A leader’s influence, measured by the weight placed on her speech, increases with her judgement on policy (sense of direction) and her ability to convey ideas (clarity of communication). A leader with perfect clarity of communication enjoys greater influence than one with a perfect sense of direction. Activists can choose how much attention to pay to leaders. A necessary condition for a leader to monopolize the agenda is that she is the most coherent communicator. Sometimes leaders attract more attention by obfuscating their messages. A concern for party unity mitigates this incentive; when activists emphasize following the party line, they learn more about their environment.
| Item Type: | Monograph (Working Paper) |
|---|---|
| Official URL: | http://www2.lse.ac.uk/government/PSPE/WorkingPaper... |
| Additional Information: | © 2007 The Authors |
| Library of Congress subject classification: | J Political Science > JA Political science (General) |
| Sets: | Departments > Government Research centres and groups > Political Science and Political Economy Group |
| Identification Number: | 01-2008 |
| Date Deposited: | 11 Sep 2009 08:44 |
| URL: | http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/25159/ |
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