1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910826778403321

Autore

Preston Thomas <1963->

Titolo

The President and his inner circle : leadership style and the advisory process in foreign affairs / / Thomas Preston

Pubbl/distr/stampa

New York, : Columbia University Press, c2001

ISBN

0-231-50610-4

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (x, 347 pages)

Collana

Power, conflict, and democracy

Disciplina

327.73/009/045

Soggetti

Presidents - United States - History - 20th century

Presidents - United States - Staff - History - 20th century

Political leadership - United States

Advisory opinions - United States

United States Foreign relations 1945-1989 Case studies

United States Foreign relations 1989- Case studies

United States Foreign relations 20th century Decision making Case studies

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical reference (p.[313]-333) and index.

Nota di contenuto

Introduction: Understanding the Mosaic of Presidential Personality and Leadership Styles -- Presidential Personality and Leadership Style -- Harry S. Truman and the Korean War -- Dwight D. Eisenhower and Dien Bien Phu -- John F. Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis -- Lyndon Johnson and the Partial Bombing Halt in Vietnam, 1967-1968 -- George Bush and the Gulf War -- "A Bridge to the Twenty-first Century": The Leadership Style of Bill Clinton -- Presidential Personality and the Grand Mosaic of Leadership.

Sommario/riassunto

Few would argue that presidential policies and performance would have been the same whether John F. Kennedy or Richard Nixon became president in 1960, or if Jimmy Carter instead of Ronald Reagan had won the White House in 1980. Indeed, in recent elections, the character, prior policy experience, or personalities of candidates have played an increasing role in our assessments of their "fit" for the Oval Office. Further, these same characteristics are often used to explain an administration's success or failure in policy making. Obviously, who the



president is-and what he is like-matters.This book, a new approach to the study of the personal presidency, links the characteristics of six modern American presidents-their personalities and their prior policy-making experience-to their leadership styles, advisory arrangements, and decision making in the White House. Thomas Preston uses M. G. Hermann's Personality Assessment-at-a-Distance (PAD) profiling technique, as well as exhaustive archival research and interviews with former advisors, to develop a leadership style typology. He then compares his model's expectations against the actual policy record of six past presidents, using foreign policy episodes: Korea (1950) for Truman, Dien Bien Phu (1954) for Eisenhower, Cuba (1962) for Kennedy, Vietnam (1967-68) for Johnson, the Gulf War (1990-91) for Bush, and North Korea/Haiti/Bosnia (1994-95) for Clinton.