Judgment and Democratic Leadership
Judgment and Democratic Leadership
This chapter examines the qualities required of good leaders—tactical and strategic judgment, empathy, moral judgment, a good deal of luck—but also notes the importance of courage. It demonstrates the latter point by examining the long and difficult negotiations between F. W. de Klerk and Nelson Mandela that led to the new democratic South Africa. The unlikelihood of this alliance holding under the pressure of mutual mistrust and the spoiling maneuvers of extremists on either side meant that the leaders had to take a strategically hopeful but very risky stance. The positive outcome achieved was a tribute to the courage and leadership shown by both men but never a foregone conclusion, a point demonstrated by a comparison with the cases of Northern Irish and Palestinian–Israeli negotiations. Lastly, the chapter notes that democracy depends absolutely on leaders relinquishing their hold on power when the time comes.
Keywords: good leadership, de Klerk, Mandela, courage, political alliances, power
Oxford Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs , and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us .