Abstract
Leadership is one of the most important elements in the political life of states. Not only is it an inevitable product of large-scale political organisation,1 but leadership style, the qualities of the occupants of leadership positions, the ability of the political system to recruit leaders of high quality, the commitment of leaders to the values of the regime, the distribution of formal and informal leadership positions — these are all factors which political scientists have studied, and which have been discovered as having influence on the survival, development and capacities of the political system. Leadership is also a form of political behaviour, and can be regarded as a particularly interesting and intensive case of political participation and political influence. It offers to its incumbents opportunities for realising their ideals and plans, whether these concern the unification of Germany, the creation of racial hegemony in Europe, the furtherance of socialism, or whatever.
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Notes
E. Peterson, The Limits of Hitler’s Power (Princeton, 1969).
C. FitzGibbon, Denazification (London, 1969).
F. Ridley, ‘Chancellor Government as a Political System and the German Constitution’, Parliamentary Affairs, XIX 4 (June 1966) 460.
W. Zapf, ‘Führungsgruppen in West- and Ost-Deutschland’, in W. Zapf (ed.), Beiträge zur Analyse der deutschen Oberschicht (Munich, 2nd ed., 1965).
E. Scheuch, ‘Sichtbare and unsichtbare Macht’ and ’Die Macht hat viele Herren’, Die Zeit, 24 Nov. and 11 Dec. 1967.
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© 1972 Geoffrey K. Roberts
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Roberts, G.K. (1972). Leadership and Elites. In: West German Politics. Studies in Comparative Politics. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-15465-4_10
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-15465-4_10
Publisher Name: Palgrave, London
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