The Policy-Driven Political Style of James K. Polk

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fred I. Greenstein ◽  
Dale Anderson
Keyword(s):  
Great Britain ◽  
Organizational Capacity ◽  
Chief Executive ◽  
Public Communication ◽  
Andrew Jackson ◽  
White House ◽  
Territory Acquisition ◽  
Private Banks ◽  
The Government ◽  
To Come

This chapter assesses the strengths and weaknesses of James K. Polk, focusing on six realms: public communication, organizational capacity, political skill, policy vision, cognitive style, and emotional intelligence. Polk, has been called the only strong chief executive between Andrew Jackson and Abraham Lincoln. Polk also ranks near the top in the perennial polls on greatness in the White House. On the day of his inauguration, Polk declared that his administration would advance “four great measures”: division with Great Britain of the jointly administered Oregon Territory, acquisition of California, tariff reduction, and passage of a measure requiring the government to keep its funds in its own vaults instead of in state and private banks. Polk accomplished all this and more in a single four-year term. Despite his accomplishments, Polk lacked foresight. This was particularly evident in his inability to foresee that his territorial acquisitions would trigger a spiral of controversy that was to come to a head in the Civil War.

Abraham Lincoln: Consummate Leader

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fred I. Greenstein ◽  
Dale Anderson
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Intelligence ◽  
Cognitive Style ◽  
House Of Representatives ◽  
Organizational Capacity ◽  
Political Skill ◽  
Abraham Lincoln ◽  
Public Communication ◽  
White House ◽  
State Legislator ◽  
Policy Vision

This chapter assesses the strengths and weaknesses of Abraham Lincoln, focusing on six realms: public communication, organizational capacity, political skill, policy vision, cognitive style, and emotional intelligence. Lincoln entered the White House following a mere eight years as a state legislator and two years in the House of Representatives. He excelled in all of the qualities used here to assess leadership. In the realm of communication, he showed acumen in the way he managed his message, the vision conveyed in his statements, and the clarity of his rhetoric. His organizational methods were unsystematic but effective, and were driven by his political acumen. Lincoln was also a master politician who could cooperate with others regardless of their viewpoints.

The Rough and Ready Leadership of Zachary Taylor

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fred I. Greenstein ◽  
Dale Anderson
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Cognitive Style ◽  
Organizational Capacity ◽  
Political Skill ◽  
The United States ◽  
Public Communication ◽  
Palo Alto ◽  
White House ◽  
La Palma ◽  
Buena Vista

This chapter assesses the strengths and weaknesses of Zachary Taylor, focusing on six realms: public communication, organizational capacity, political skill, policy vision, cognitive style, and emotional intelligence. Taylor was accomplished career officer who lived up to the nickname “Old Rough and Ready.” By February 1847, he had won a series of battles at Palo Alto, Resaca de la Palma, Monterrey, and Buena Vista. The last victory, in which Taylor's forces won despite being outnumbered three to one, earned the general instant fame. On December 2, 1847, Taylor returned to the United States and began his transition from soldier to would-be politician. After being elected president, it comes as no surprise that Taylor governed the nation in a manner better suited for the battlefield than the White House.

Reforming the “President”: The Individual as Leader

1987 ◽  
Vol 20 (03) ◽  
pp. 621-627
Author(s):  
George C. Edwards
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Political System ◽  
Party System ◽  
Institutional Reform ◽  
Chief Executive ◽  
Balance Of Power ◽  
White House ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Rules Of The Game

Proposals to reform the presidency fall into three increasingly exclusive categories. The most inclusive are those that focus on reforming the American political system and by doing so altering the balance of power within the government, usually in favor of the chief executive. The effort to strengthen the party system is probably the most prominent representative of this orientation. Other proposals, such as a presidential item veto, would increase the president's power on a more modest scale but still require change in the fundamental rules of the game.A second class of proposals has the narrower aim of reforming the presidency as an institution. Rather than emphasizing increased power for the president, these recommendations attempt to aid the chief executive in carrying out his responsibilities more judiciously. They often focus on providing the president more or better decision-making resources. Plans for reorganizing or otherwise improving the White House staff system or the Executive Office of the President or for insulating the president from parochial demands through a single six-year term are notable examples of suggestions for institutional reform.The variety of reformist proposals that is most common and most restricted in scope concentrates on improving the presidency by changing the characteristics of the individuals who occupy the Oval Office. Some would have us pay more attention to the character or personality of candidates for the office, while others stress the importance of choosing presidents who possess the proper skills for governing. To achieve these goals, proponents of change advocate reforms ranging from alterations in the processes by which we select presidents to candidate psychoanalysis.

Documents and Source Material

2017 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-26
Keyword(s):  
Prime Minister ◽  
Palestinian Authority ◽  
Donald Trump ◽  
The West ◽  
White House ◽  
Peace Negotiations ◽  
Annotated List ◽  
Un Security Council ◽  
The Government ◽  
Source Materials

This section comprises international, Arab, Israeli, and U.S. documents and source materials, as well as an annotated list of recommended reports. Significant developments this quarter: In the international diplomatic arena, the UN Security Council approved Resolution 2334, reaffirming the illegality of Israeli settlements and calling for a return to peace negotiations. Additionally, former U.S. secretary of state John Kerry delivered a final address on the Israel-Palestine conflict, outlining a groundwork for negotiations. Two weeks later, international diplomats met in Paris to establish incentives for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas to return to the negotiating table. Despite international discussions of peace talks and the impediment settlements pose to a two-state solution, the Israeli Knesset passed the controversial Regulation Law, enabling the government to retroactively legalize settlements and confiscate Palestinian land throughout the West Bank. Meanwhile, U.S. president Donald Trump took office on 20 January 2017, and he wasted no time before inviting Netanyahu to the White House for their first meeting, in February.

British Council as an Instrument of Public Diplomacy of Great Britain

2017 ◽  
pp. 305-312
Author(s):  
Mykola Trofymenko
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Great Britain ◽  
Public Diplomacy ◽  
Cultural Diplomacy ◽  
Foreign Minister ◽  
Cultural Relations ◽  
British Council ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The World ◽  
The Government

Public diplomacy of Great Britain is one of the most developed in the EU and in the world. The United Kingdom has developed an extremely efficient public diplomacy mechanism which includes BBC World Service (which due to its popularity boosts the reputation and the image of Great Britain), Chevening Scholarships (provides outstanding foreign students with opportunity to study in Great Britain and thus establishes long-lasting relations with public opinion leaders and foreign countries elite) and the British Council, which deals with international diplomatic ties in the field of culture. The British Council is a unique organization. Being technically independent, it actively and efficiently works on consolidating Great Britain’s interests in the world and contributes to the development of public diplomacy in Great Britain.   The author studies the efforts of the British Council as a unique public diplomacy tool of the United Kingdom. Special attention is paid to the role of British Council, which is independent of the governing board and at the same time finds itself under the influence of the latter due to the peculiarities of the appointment of Board’s officials, financing etc. The author concludes that the British Council is a unique organization established in 1934, which is a non-departmental state body, charitable organization and public corporation, technically independent of the government. The British Council, thanks to its commercial activities covers the lack of public funding caused by the policy of economy conducted by the government. It has good practices in this field worth paying attention by other countries. It is also worth mentioning that the increment in profit was getting higher last year, however the issue of increasing the influence of the government on the activities of British Council is still disputable. Although the Foreign Minister officially reports to the parliament on the activities of the British Council, approves the appointment of the leaders of organizations, the British Council preserves its independence of the government, which makes it more popular abroad, and makes positive influence on the world image of Great Britain. The efficiency of the British Council efforts on fulfillment of targets of the United Kingdom public diplomacy is unquestionable, no matter how it calls its activities: whether it is a cultural relations establishment or a cultural diplomacy implementation. Keywords: The British Council, public diplomacy, cultural diplomacy, cultural relations, Foreign Office, Her Majesty’s Government, official assistance for development

scholarly journals Impact of strategic management, corporate social responsibility on firm performance in the post mandate period: evidence from India

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nayan Mitra
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Firm Performance ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Strategic Management ◽  
Emerging Economies ◽  
Brand Building ◽  
The Government ◽  
To Come ◽  
Key Aspects ◽  
Corporate Social

AbstractCorporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is like a chameleon, that changes its colour according to the context it is in. In the developed economy, it takes the form of sustainability and/ or philanthropy, whereas, in emerging economies, it speaks the language of religious, political and/ or mandated CSR. India, in recent times came into the limelight with its mandated CSR policy that was incorporated into its Companies Act 2013, which became operational from the financial year 2014 - 2015. Mandated CSR is thus a new area of study that is based on the philosophy that ‘CSR should contribute to the national agenda in emerging economies,’ under some statutory guidelines as laid down by the Government.But, business houses, do look for maximising its profit. Profit can be financial and/ or non-financial. If not money, then at least the effort must be compensated with reputation, image, that helps in brand building! And, to have this as an objective, their efforts should be strategic! But, does all strategies work? With these questions and conceptual thinking, this empirical research aims to identify the key aspects of Strategic Management, CSR and Firm Performance and establish relationship between them; apart from developing a valid and reliable scale to do so. This is indeed one of the first researches and documentations done among the large Indian firms in India immediately in the post mandate period and thus forms a base for understanding the CSR dynamics in the years to come.

scholarly journals A War of (Mis)Information: The Political Effects of Rumors and Rumor Rebuttals in an Authoritarian Country

2015 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 283-311 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haifeng Huang
Keyword(s):  
Political Trust ◽  
Political Support ◽  
Specific Content ◽  
Experimental Procedure ◽  
Authoritarian State ◽  
Internet Users ◽  
Political Effects ◽  
Information Politics ◽  
The Government ◽  
To Come

Despite the prevalence of anti-government rumors in authoritarian countries, little is currently known about their effects on citizens’ attitudes toward the government, and whether the authorities can effectively combat rumors. With an experimental procedure embedded in two surveys about Chinese internet users’ information exposure, this study finds that rumors decrease citizens’ trust in the government and support of the regime. Moreover, individuals from diverse socio-economic and political backgrounds are similarly susceptible to thinly evidenced rumors. Rebuttals generally reduce people’s belief in the specific content of rumors, but often do not recover political trust unless the government brings forth solid and vivid evidence to back its refutation or win the endorsement of public figures broadly perceived to be independent. But because such high-quality and strong rebuttals are hard to come by, rumors will erode political support in an authoritarian state. These findings have rich implications for studies of rumors and misinformation in general, and authoritarian information politics in particular.

III. On the figure, dimensions, and mean specific gravity of the Earth, as derived from the ordnance trigonometrical survey of Great Britain and Ireland

1857 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 111-116 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Great Britain ◽  
Specific Gravity ◽  
Royal Society ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Earth ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Government

The Trigonometrical Survey of the United Kingdom commenced in the year 1784, under the immediate auspices of the Royal Society; the first base was traced by General Roy on the 16th of April of that year, on Hounslow Heath, in presence of Sir Joseph Banks, then President of the Society, and some of its most distinguished Fellows. The principal object which the Government had then in view, was the connexion of the Observatories of Paris and Greenwich by means of a triangulation, for the purpose of determining the difference of longitude between the two observatories.

scholarly journals LIBERALISM, LOCAL GOVERNMENT REFORM, AND POLITICAL EDUCATION IN GREAT BRITAIN AND BRITISH INDIA, 1880–1886

2017 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 181-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
BENJAMIN WEINSTEIN
Keyword(s):  
Great Britain ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Body Politic ◽  
The Body ◽  
Political Education ◽  
Government Reform ◽  
British India ◽  
The Government

AbstractThis article attempts to shed new light on the character of late Victorian Liberalism by investigating its political priorities in British India. It takes as its particular focus the debates which raged between 1881 and 1883 over the Government of India Resolution on Local Self-Government. Along with the Ilbert Bill, the Resolution comprised the centrepiece of the marquis of Ripon's self-consciously Liberal programme for dismantling Lytton's Raj. When analysed in conjunction with contemporaneous Liberal discourse on English local government reform, the debates surrounding the Resolution help to clarify many of the central principles of late Victorian Liberalism. In particular, these debates emphasize the profound importance of local government reform to what one might call the Liberal project. Beyond its utility in effecting retrenchment, efficiency, and ‘sound finance’, local government reform was valued by Liberals as the best and safest means of effecting ‘political education’ among populations, in both Britain and India, with increasingly strong claims to inclusion within the body politic.

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