Political Executives in Party-Based Dictatorships

The longevity of party-based dictatorships can be attributed to the durable institutional framework primarily provided by the ruling political parties. In contrast to an earlier research programme that investigated politics within the political executive, more recent comparative literature on authoritarian politics has largely ignored the role of the political executive in particular. The distinction between a party-based dictatorial regime and the political executive within such a regime allows us to address important questions related to the logic of collective leadership, executive selection and deselection, intra-elite bargaining, and the relationship between party and state executive bodies. Due to the existing methodological difficulties of examining opaque politics within authoritarian regimes, future scholarship may address important questions related to the political executive, drawing from advances in text analytics and expert surveys.

The Nonprofit Career Ladder: Exploring Career Paths as Leadership Development for Future Nonprofit Executives

Pending leadership transitions in the nonprofit sector present a timely need to understand the career path to the executive position, but very few studies on nonprofit career paths have been conducted. A systematic study would help make sense of the existing leadership pipeline to the executive office and offer promising insights that contribute to theory building in the sector. This study investigates the career paths of a national random sample of nonprofit executives serving health and human service nonprofit organizations. Primary and secondary data were collected and analyzed on the experience, education, and credentials these executives hold. The analysis evaluates variations among career characteristics, as well as applies career typologies from within and beyond the nonprofit sector. Respondents also provided qualitative descriptions of their path to executive office, which are insightful about influencing factors that are beyond a resume’s depiction of credentials. The findings are rich in descriptive value and are discussed in light of their utility for nonprofit boards charged with executive selection responsibilities. Finally, the findings are also applied to formulate propositions for future research about how individual career movement may be shaping the nonprofit sector.

How Much Democracy is too Much Democracy?

Despite their widespread use, many rightfully question the prudence of using popular elections to fill state courts. A key difference between federal and state courts is that while federal judges are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate, the majority of jurists at the state level are elected. The reason federal judges, at least judges on the Article III courts, are made by executive selection is the same reason that Supreme Court justices are given life tenure: to insulate them from the whims of public opinion. In this passage, Hamilton articulates the fundamental paradox of democracy, a question that genuine republics have always grappled with: how can we control for the “tyranny of the majority?” In other words, how can we entrust people with the power to govern themselves but also prevent them from stripping away the rights of minority groups or from posing a danger to others?

Consulting Psychology in the Business World

Consulting psychologists working in the private sector of the business world have many roles. This chapter discusses several types of business consulting engagements. The differences between psychotherapy practice and business consulting are explained. Case illustrations are supplied based on the authors’ more than 30 years of experience. Information is given about the type of additional training required to become a consultant. Topics covered are executive coaching, leadership development, family business consulting, executive selection, team building, leadership succession, organizational analysis and design, mergers and acquisitions, and strategic planning.