IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/glopol/v14y2023i3p451-463.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Strongman leadership and the limits to international cooperation

Author

Listed:
  • Richard Higgott
  • Taelyn Reid

Abstract

Extensive institutional and policy change is necessary for the values of co‐operation and constructive dialogue in international relations to be restored in the current context of the declining world order. But that alone is not sufficient. We also need behavioural changes in the world's top leaders. Hypermasculine and hubristic performance in strongman leader behaviour have consequences for stable world order. While there is robust research on corporate leadership, similar research focusing on the personal socio‐psychological agency of strongman leaders in international relations is in its infancy. This paper uses the psychoanalytic frameworks: of narcissism and hubris syndrome to focus on the styles and practices of strongman leadership in international relations. The cognitive behavioural practices of this kind of leadership on co‐operation and dialogue reflect a set of gender‐performative, hypermasculine practices. While this is not an exercise in feminist scholarship, it is our analytical and not very subtle normative and prescriptive conclusion that any reform of international co‐operation will be greatly limited without a greater gendered understanding and practice of power, if we are to combat the all too easily condoned rebarbative behaviour of strongman leaders in international relations.

Suggested Citation

  • Richard Higgott & Taelyn Reid, 2023. "Strongman leadership and the limits to international cooperation," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 14(3), pages 451-463, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:glopol:v:14:y:2023:i:3:p:451-463
    DOI: 10.1111/1758-5899.13234
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/1758-5899.13234
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/1758-5899.13234?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hafner-Burton, Emilie M. & Haggard, Stephan & Lake, David A. & Victor, David G., 2017. "The Behavioral Revolution and International Relations," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 71(S1), pages 1-31, April.
    2. Ruggie, John Gerard, 1992. "Multilateralism: the anatomy of an institution," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 46(3), pages 561-598, July.
    3. Richard Higgott & Simon Reich, 2022. "The age of fuzzy bifurcation: Lessons from the pandemic and the Ukraine War," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 13(5), pages 627-639, November.
    4. Stein, Janice Gross, 1994. "Political learning by doing: Gorbachev as uncommitted thinker and motivated learner," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 48(2), pages 155-183, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Michał Dulak, 2023. "Contribution of subnational authorities to multilateralism from the EU perspective—Implementation of the SDGs," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 14(S2), pages 13-21, March.
    2. Prather, Lauren, 2024. "Ideology at the Water’s Edge: Explaining Variation in Public Support for Foreign Aid," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    3. John Ravenhill, 2012. "The Numbers Game in Asia-Pacific Cooperation," Chapters, in: Christopher M. Dent & Jörn Dosch (ed.), The Asia-Pacific, Regionalism and the Global System, chapter 5, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    4. Jérôme Sgard, 2004. "IMF in Theory: Sovereign Debts, Judicialisation and Multilateralism," Sciences Po publications 2004-21, Sciences Po.
    5. Mark Beeson & Jolanta Hewitt, 2022. "Does Multilateralism still Matter? ASEAN and the Arctic Council in Comparative Perspective," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 13(2), pages 208-218, May.
    6. Stranadko, Nataliya, 2021. "EU-US climate cooperation: Challenges and opportunities for the implementation of the Paris agreement," Discussion Papers 02/2021, Europa-Kolleg Hamburg, Institute for European Integration.
    7. Klaus H. Goetz & Ronny Patz & Erin R. Graham, 2017. "Follow the Money: How Trends in Financing Are Changing Governance at International Organizations," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 8(s5), pages 15-25, August.
    8. Lauri Siitonen, 2022. "A normative power or fortress Europe? Normative policy coherence between the European Unionʼs development, migration, and foreign policies," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 40(S1), June.
    9. Marcel Lumkowsky & Emily K. Carlton & David G. Victor & Astrid Dannenberg, 2023. "Determining the willingness to link climate and trade policy," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 176(10), pages 1-24, October.
    10. Daniel Verdier, 2009. "Successful and Failed Screening Mechanisms in the Two Gulf Wars," Journal of Theoretical Politics, , vol. 21(3), pages 311-342, July.
    11. Nathan Jensen, 2007. "International institutions and market expectations: Stock price responses to the WTO ruling on the 2002 U.S. steel tariffs," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 2(3), pages 261-280, September.
    12. repec:bla:glopol:v:8:y:2017:i::p:15-25 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Gorm Rye Olsen, 2022. "Twenty-First Century Military Multilateralism: “Messy” and With Unintended Consequences," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 10(2), pages 15-24.
    14. Eric Tremolada Álvarez, 2018. "La Cooperación Internacional como alternativa a los unilateralismos. colección Ius Cogens n.° 6," Books, Universidad Externado de Colombia, Facultad de Derecho, number 1037, August.
    15. Jürgen Rüland, 2012. "The rise of “diminished multilateralism”: East Asian and European forum shopping in global governance," Asia Europe Journal, Springer, vol. 9(2), pages 255-270, March.
    16. Yang, Deli, 2019. "National treatment, institutions and IP uncertainties: An analytics of compliance, change and comparability," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(5), pages 1-1.
    17. Lora Anne Viola, 2020. "US Strategies of Institutional Adaptation in the Face of Hegemonic Decline," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 11(S3), pages 28-39, October.
    18. Hamanaka, Shintaro, 2016. "Accession clause of TPP : Is it really open?," IDE Discussion Papers 606, Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization(JETRO).
    19. Oscar Ugarteche, 2016. "Towards the Privatization of Global Governance?," Development, Palgrave Macmillan;Society for International Deveopment, vol. 59(1), pages 14-20, June.
    20. Roxana Hincu, 2014. "The Eu-Us Relations In An Emerging Multipolar World," CES Working Papers, Centre for European Studies, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, vol. 6(2a), pages 111-122, August.
    21. Benno Torgler, 2022. "The power of public choice in law and economics," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(5), pages 1410-1453, December.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:glopol:v:14:y:2023:i:3:p:451-463. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/lsepsuk.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.