Political Will and Capacity of Individual Leaders

Abstract

This chapter explores and compares the presence of political will and the capacity of individual leaders of ASEAN and the EU, and how they have affected the progress of the two regional bodies. Data gathered from interviews and document analysis demonstrate that there are three elements crucial in analysing the capacity of individual leaders in the provision of a leadership role in a regional context, namely, positional power; mediation and persuasion skills; and organisational knowledge and experiences. It finds that being a leader is not only about positional power, but also about using the capacity to act politically to influence wider political outcomes. In addition, leaders must be able to use and stretch the power resources available, draw on their individual skills such as persuasion and mediation skills, as well as use their organisational knowledge and experience in the provision of leadership in regional community-building.