International Leadership Research Articles

Staying Too Late at the Table: Retiring CEOs Should Not Remain on the Board

Dr. Joseph C. Santora is the founder of TST, Inc., a management consulting company, editor of the International Leadership Journal, and an executive educator. In this article, he explores the rationale for former CEOs not to assume the board chair position.

Evolution of nanotechnology policy initiatives in the BRICS countries: a comparative overview

The article provides a comparative review of the national nanotechnology initiatives in the largest emerging economies (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa - BRICS). It focuses on the influential role of state action, the evolution of the initiatives, institutional aspects, and a brief comparison of recent scientific production among the countries. Understanding the context of each country's nanotechnology STI policy is essential for comprehending the scope and the primary challenges faced in developing these programs and initiatives. The methodology involved rigorous bibliographical and documentary research, analysis of scientific production indicators, and the estimation of a nanotechnology Activity Index. The political and institutional complexity and socioeconomic adversities in emerging countries are challenging obstacles to promoting emerging technologies. Government perspectives and their role as technology inducers or fosterers significantly differ among countries, even when they are institutionally similar. Overall, the main nanotechnology initiatives in the BRICS countries have historically been led by the state, resulting in significant scientific advancements but limitations on the potential for innovation outcomes. Alongside institutional heterogeneity in the formulation and implementation strategies, geopolitics plays a crucial role in the initiatives' trajectory, especially in countries vying for international leadership against Western powers.

Support from Above: International Organizations, Summits, and Leader Survival

Abstract While existing literature indicates a variety of political consequences caused by IO membership, little attention has been paid to IOs’ impact on leaders. This article argues that IO membership has a positive effect on leader survival through two major mechanisms: IOs carrying information and IOs raising national well-being. The beneficial effect of IOs on leader survival, moreover, is stronger for IOs that regularly or periodically hold leader summits. This is not only because these IOs are more important, but also because IO summits increase leaders’ visibility and serve as an endorsement for leaders’ power-consolidating behavior. Using data on leader failures and IO membership, this article shows that IO membership has a negative effect on leader failures, and this effect is much stronger for IOs that hold regular summits.

Dr. Wu Mengchao (1922-2021), founder and pioneer of Chinese hepatobiliary surgery.

Wu Mengchao had been engaged in basic and clinical research in hepatobiliary surgery since the 1950s and is recognised as the founder and pioneer of hepatobiliary surgery in China. In his career of over 60 years, Wu performed over 16,000 operations and made numerous breakthroughs in hepatobiliary surgery, liver cancer signal transduction, immunotherapy and molecular pathology research. Wu's series of achievements have driven the innovative development of basic theoretical research on the liver in China, establishing it as a long-term international leader in the field of hepatobiliary surgery. This biography elucidates Wu's outstanding contributions to the establishment and development of Chinese hepatobiliary surgery.

CONCEPTUALIZING THE SUBJECTIVITY OF GLOBAL LEADERSHIP IN CONTEMPORARY INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS THEORY

This article, based on an interdisciplinary approach and structural-functional analysis tools, examines the transformation of classical forms of conceptualizing the subjectivity of global leadership in contemporary international relations theory under the influence of new global political realities. It emphasizes that the initial classical positioning of international leadership as the primacy or hegemony of a single state on the international stage is yielding to other political practices that have not yet gained normative consolidation and theoretical conceptualization. It has been identified that modern international processes demonstrate a trend towards the institutionalization of international leadership in the form of a collective subject of international relations, endowed with exceptional powers and special status. New theoretical approaches increasingly note a shift in focus from classical factors ensuring leadership in international relations by enhancing the status and leadership potential of individual actors to the formation of collegial global leadership, including the concept of global governance, which is increasingly seen as the most probable and conventionally interpreted prognostic model for the transformation of the modern world order. Contemporary international relations theory identifies several subjects of international relations, with the nation-state traditionally occupying a leading position. In recent decades, other actors have been added to the list, including international governmental and non-governmental organizations, transnational corporations, civil associations, and private individuals. The emergence of new types of international relations subjects on the international stage, combined with the increasing importance of integration associations and the growing technological potential of digital networks, alongside the practical impossibility of establishing control over them, and the transfer of certain sovereign powers from national states to international institutions, indicates that traditional methods of governance and regulation in world politics are becoming outdated, losing their relevance and effectiveness in contemporary conditions. This necessitates the formation of an institutional foundation appropriate to the modern international system. Increasingly, this foundation of world order is associated with the phenomenon of global leadership. However, attempts to conceptualize it based on classical subjects of international relations are demonstrating increasing methodological inefficiency, leading to the search for new forms of the subjectivity of global leadership on the international stage.

Expatriate Teachers’ Experiences with Organizational Factors in International Schools: A Case Study

The purpose of this qualitative, exploratory case study was to examine the personal and professional experiences of expatriate international teachers at international schools to develop a deeper, more heuristic understanding of the international teaching experience, particularly how the experiences might affect their decision to remain at a school past their initial contract period. International teachers are more likely to renew contracts when there is a reciprocity of trust and respect between faculty and administration, authentic appreciation, strong community and access to quality professional development. Participants value strong, student-centered leadership and philosophical approaches rooted in diversity, equity, and inclusion. More research surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion in international schools is required, specifically surrounding administrators and the lack of diversity within international school leadership.

Current nursing and midwifery contribution to leading digital health policy and practice: An integrative review.

To review the current nursing and midwifery contribution to leading digital health (DH) policy and practice and what facilitates and/or challenges this. Integrative literature review. Pre-defined inclusion criteria were used. Study selection and quality assessment using the appropriate critical appraisal tools were undertaken by two authors, followed by narrative synthesis. Six databases and hand searching for papers published from 2012 to February 2024. Four themes were identified from 24 included papers. These are discussed according to the World Health Organization's Global Strategic Directions for Nursing and Midwifery and indicate nurses/midwives are leading DH policy and practice, but this is not widespread or systematically enabled. Nurses and midwives are ideally placed to help improve health outcomes through digital healthcare transformation, but their policy leadership potential is underused. Nurses/midwives' DH leadership must be optimized to realize maximum benefit from digital transformation. A robust infrastructure enabling nursing/midwifery DH policy leadership is urgently needed. This study addresses the lack of nursing/midwifery voice in international DH policy leadership. It offers nurses/midwives and health policymakers internationally opportunity to: drive better understanding of nursing/midwifery leadership in a DH policy context; enhance population outcomes by optimizing their contribution; Develop a robust infrastructure to enable this. Reporting adheres to the EQUATOR network, Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. No patient or public contribution.

«Глазами друзей»: использование международной повестки в советском праздничном пропагандистском дискурсе (по материалам юбилейных торжеств 1957 г. в Ленинграде)

Based on the material of the periodical press, texts of festive radio broadcasts and documents of the Soviet and party authorities of Leningrad, the features of using the international agenda as one of the tropes of festive propaganda discourse are recreated. On the example of jubilee celebrations in 1957 In the USSR, the author comes to the conclusion that the use of international themes in the information coverage of holidays contributed to strengthening the positive image of the USSR as an international leader in the eyes of Soviet citizens, and also allowed creating impressions of the celebrations as world-wide events.

P.072 History of the endoscopic approach to the skull base with a highlight on Canada’s contributions

Background: The Endoscopic Transphenoidal Approach to the Skull Base (ETSS) is now used internationally for a wide variety of pathologies ranging from CSF leaks to complex brain tumours. Methods: Case illustrations. Historical review of the evolution of ETSS with a focus on Canada’s contributions. Results: Canadians have been major contributors in the development and advancement of surgery of the skull base, particularly through endoscopic means. These will be highlighted with particular emphasis of those of Hardy, Cusimano, Kassam, Gentili, and others. Conclusions: Canada has been and continues to be an international leader in development and treatment of patients with skull base lesions, particularly those with lesions of the skull base amenable to ETSS.

Sacred breath: Ohio nurses respond to COVID-19

In the fall of 2021, the Wick Poetry Center, a recognized international leader in creative writing interventions, launched the website Sacred Breath: Voices of Ohio Nurses in Response to COVID-19 (sacredbreathproject.com) with funding from the Ohio Nurses Foundation. The purpose of the website was to offer Ohio nurses an accessible platform to reflect on their personal and professional lived experiences as caregivers during an historic time of pandemic, sacrifice, uncertainty, and scarcity, and to share their voice with others. What resulted was 204 submissions over a three-month period with participant responses touching on widespread sentiments including grief, fatigue, anger, and resilience. It was from the gap in the current literature on pandemic narratives that the researchers of this study began a basic qualitative thematic analysis of the Sacred Breath project website (SBP) responses to gain a better understanding of how nurses, nurse educators, and nursing students made sense of and gave voice to their personal and professional lived experiences during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.While stories of nursing during the Covid-19 pandemic have been widely available and disseminated by popular media, academic studies have been slower to utilize qualitative and experimental methods to specifically address pandemic narratives and the resulting discourses by nurses working in and around clinical settings. The Wick Poetry Center at Kent State University has spent nearly forty years working in the community to address urgent social needs using expressive writing methods that are often overlooked by traditional social and arts outreach. The Wick Poetry Center engaged local academic networks and community health partners to invite nurses, nursing students, and nurse educators the Sacred Breath Project By evaluating responses to the intervention website, this qualitative study is aimed to fill this gap in the current literature as well as begin to understand how nurses made sense of their work lives during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.What does this paper contribute to the wider global clinical community?What is already known:•The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in substantial increases of alarm fatigue, moral distress, and dysfunctional coping mechanisms among clinical nurses.•Art interventions positively impact mental health conditions in nurses.What this paper adds:•This review of the Sacred Breath thematic analysis broadens the understanding of how nurses made sense of their work lives during the Covid-19 pandemic.•This review creates a new discourse about the nursing profession in times of crisis—one cocreated by practitioners, educators, students, and creative intervention participants.

IMPORTANT ASPECTS TO CONSIDER FOR DESIGNING AND IMPLEMENTING AN EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE EDUCATORS TRAINING PROGRAM IN MEXICO

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative applied research was to learn about the most important aspects to consider for designing and implementing an emotional intelligence (EI) training program among educators of Monterrey, Mexico. Using the results of the analyzed data, a list of the aspects that were found to be very important to consider for designing an EI program. Theoretical framework: For Brackett and Stern (2024) “everyone values Emotional Intelligence, but actually learning the components is another matter entirely” (p. 26). According to Goleman (2020), the components of EI are self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills. Most effective educators based in Goleman’s (2015) view are alike in one crucial way: “they all have a high degree of what it has come to known as emotional intelligence” (p. 1). Methods: The data were collected using a qualitative method. The participants who were purposefully selected for obtaining data were three Mexican expert practitioners on adult professional development and one expert on EI development. Results and conclusions: Using the results of the analyzed data, a list of the aspects that were found to be very important to consider for designing an EI program: (a) establish clear goals, (b) analyze the context, (c) use role plays, (d) use experiential practices, (e) provide time for structured reflection, (f) foster collaboration and a sense of community, (g) analyze case studies, (h) have participants set goals, (i) use qualitative assessment, (j) view and analyze videos of teachers using emotional and classroom management skills, (k) identify sources of stress, (l) use relaxation techniques, (m) identify manifestations of stress, and (n) learn ways to cope with stress. Findings implication: As a result of this study, some of the strategies and aspects recommended to consider within an EI educator training program may be applicable to international leadership educators as well. Uniqueness/value: All of the foundational aspects mentioned in this study represent great assistance in providing a solid base of data that confirmed the need to foster EI among educators.

Approaches to education for sustainability leadership development in higher education: an international comparative study in the Asia Pacific region

Purpose This study aims to focus on key approaches to education for sustainability (EfS) leadership development in the context of Malaysian and Japanese universities. The authors identify key indicators of effective EfS leadership development approaches using both descriptive and inferential analyses, identify and compare the preferred leadership learning methods of academics and examine the impact of marital status, country of residence and administrative position on the three EfS leadership development approaches. Design/methodology/approach The study is quantitative in approach and survey in design. Data were collected from 664 academics and analysed using the efficient partial least squares (PLSe2) methodology. To provide higher education researchers with more analytical insights, the authors re-estimated the models based on the maximum likelihood methodology and compared the results across the two methods. Findings The inferential results underscored the significance of four EfS leadership learning methods, namely, “Involvement in professional leadership groups or associations, including those concerned with EfS”, “Being involved in a formal mentoring/coaching program”, “Completing formal leadership programs provided by my institution” and “Participating in higher education leadership seminars”. Additionally, the authors noted a significant impact of country of residence on the three approaches to EfS leadership development. Furthermore, although marital status emerged as a predictor for self-managed learning and formal leadership development (with little practical relevance), administrative position did not exhibit any influence on the three approaches. Practical implications In addition to the theoretical and methodological implications drawn from the findings, the authors emphasize a number of practical implications, namely, exploring the applicability of the results to other East Asian countries, the adaptation of current higher education leadership development programmes focused on the key challenges faced by successful leaders in similar roles, and the consideration of a range of independent variables including marital status, administrative position and country of residence in the formulation of policies related to EfS leadership development. Originality/value This study represents an inaugural international comparative analysis that specifically examines EfS leadership learning methods. The investigation uses the research approach and conceptual framework used in the international Turnaround Leadership for Sustainability in Higher Education initiative and uses the PLSe2 methodology to inferentially pinpoint key learning methods and test the formulated hypotheses.

Can a feminist foreign policy be undone? Reflections from Sweden

Abstract In 2022, Sweden retracted its feminist foreign policy (FFP). What are the consequences for Swedish foreign policy and for FFPs elsewhere? We published an extensive report on the Swedish FFP in 2023, based on a survey that went out to all Swedish diplomats, interviews with more than 30 key foreign policy officials, and hundreds of steering documents from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The article draws out new insights from the report. The retraction is likely to result in a deprioritization of gender equality in Swedish foreign policy. Sweden will likely lose its international leadership role on gender issues. However, FFPs may be more resilient than anticipated because of how foreign policy is governed. Governments that wish to retract FFPs are constrained by three key governance features: First, international agreements and soft law on women's rights place demands on policy content. Second, the decentralized nature of foreign policy implementation allows considerable autonomy on the ground, so that implementors may continue to work with gender equality. Third, longstanding international expectations for Sweden as a gender equality champion create a role-based constraint. These factors contribute to the ‘stickiness’ of FFPs, suggesting that a retraction is unlikely to result in a wholesale abandonment of gender equality activities. The article also examines the enduring legacy of the Swedish FFP beyond its formal retraction, highlighting adoption of FFPs by a growing number of states in different parts of the world.

Navigating transatlantic power dynamics in ICT standardization – The case of ETSI

Standards are the foundation of global trade facilitating the compatibility and interoperability of goods and services through institutional coordination to reduce transaction costs, shape technological choices, and market access. Such private transnational rulemaking has faced increased competition in key technological sectors. In Europe, ETSI has been critical for the European telecommunications market in the aftermath of liberalization of national monopolies as Europe sought to enhance market power to attract European and non–European firms to develop key technological standards. With the standardization strategy in 2022, the European Union has requested the revision of internal governance and operating norms of ETSI to strengthen European economic interests and social values. This has generated concern in the United States over the increase in government–based membership at the expense of a more open model. As international leadership in standards continues to be challenged by China, the US and EU have highlighted the importance of values–based standards. This has generated efforts to promote cooperation with strategic partners. The reform of ETSI could be viewed as a defensive strategy at odds with its globally oriented model of standards development and may undermine its legitimacy as a leading open and inclusive standards body in the field.

Upgrading the Paradigm of Leadership Analysis

Abstract Leadership analysis has been a traditional paradigm for studying international relations. The theory of moral realism improves this paradigm’s scientific rigour when explaining the relationship between the leadership of major powers and system-level international changes. Methodologically, moral realism uses morality as the criterion to categorise international leadership, the key independent variable. The theory is developed to improve realism’s explanatory power regarding the common historical phenomenon of the rise and fall of great powers. Rather than being Sino-centric, the foreign policy recommendations extrapolated from the theory of moral realism—which are descriptive rather than prescriptive—are applicable to both China and other major powers. Since theories of systemic analysis have failed to explain the transition of global order from globalisation to the counter-globalisation, the paradigm of leadership analysis is worth consideration. It may indeed provide a vector of enquiry regarding the correlation between the current prevalence of populist leadership in major powers and the growing counter-globalisation trend.

Estudios de psicología ambiental con muestras colombianas: una revisión bibliométrica y temática

Studies reviewing environmental psychology in Colombia have focused on documenting the field based on articles published in psychology journals by authors who self-identify with the area. However, there are few studies on the works published in other areas of knowledge about this field. For this reason, the paper reviews in a panoramic way -without distinction of areas- the scientific production in environmental psychology with Colombian samples. A total of 105 documents, retrieved through Scopus, were analyzed. The results report the bibliometric characterization and the thematic quadrants by relevance (niche: environmental management and urban planning; driving force: climate change, research in transformative services, environmental education and sustainability; emerging/declining: thermal comfort, architecture; basic: pro-environmental attitudes and behavior, risk perception). The interdisciplinary nature of the sources, topics, productivity and impact of the agents, different from those reported in other reviews, stands out. On the other hand, there is a low interaction of authors and a concentration of citations to papers with international leadership. These findings broaden the perspective of environmental psychology in the country, with researchers from other disciplines contributing to theory, methods and intervention. It is argued that the structure of the professional field is motivated by an externalist, interdisciplinary and intervention-oriented agenda, therefore, the consolidation and registration of this academic community requires a greater openness of the formal institutions of the field to professionals from other areas and a dynamic and interdisciplinary scientific exchange.

Pacific perspectives on Health Professions Education leadership – An interpretivist case study

Introduction: Health Professions Education (HPE) leadership development is advocated for success at the individual, team, and institutional levels. Many leadership theories exist informed mainly by Western perspectives, however, Pacific HPE leadership has not been investigated. Therefore, this research aimed to understand Pacific HPE leaders’ perspectives to develop substantive theory to guide faculty development in this setting and add nuanced perspectives to the international HPE leadership discourse. Methods: Using an interpretivist case-study methodology, seven HPE leaders were purposefully recruited. Data collection tools included Rich Pictures, Talanoa Zoom interviews, and reflective journals. Participants drew a picture on ‘Being an HPE leader’, subsequently explaining their depiction, and then reflected on leadership events in their journals over six months. Codes and themes were identified using Miles, Huberman and Saldaña’s approach. Results: Metaphors were assigned to three HPE leadership styles identified: The ‘Bridge’- helping students from novice to competent; the ‘Coconut Tree’- multiple roles and sturdy in the storm; and the ‘Boat’ - navigating towards the vision. Conclusions: Rich Pictures, interviews and reflective journals allowed HPE leaders to reflect on ‘Being an HPE Leader’ and revealed tacit perspectives. This study suggests there are different styles of leadership, pertinent to the Pacific context, depending on the aims, strategies, and attributes of different HPE leaders. Although grounded in the Pacific, certain aspects may resonate in similar contexts. Notwithstanding that many facets of leadership identified align with current leadership models, intrapersonal emotional intelligence and cultural aspects of HPE leadership should be considered when designing contextually embedded faculty development. Keywords: Medical Education, Health Professions Education, Leadership, Qualitative Research, Case Study, Pacific

International Schools and De-globalisation: Exploring the tensions during the Covid-19 crisis

This paper explores the thesis of de-globalisation in relation to international education. Through interrogating accounts of international school leadership during the Covid-19 crisis, the tension between international expectations and localised realities is charted, with four central tenets of internationalism undermined by the pandemic experience. It is argued that the Covid-19 crisis, ostensibly a single global event, resulted in the fractalisation of international education; the conceptualisation of unified internationalism was undermined by the inherently localised material effects of the pandemic. In place of an internationalism that is unified, transcendent, inclusive and connected, international school leaders’ accounts of leading through the pandemic focused on their sense that their schools were fractured, rooted, privileged and isolated. It is suggested that this international crisis demonstrates the precarious nature of the respatialising of the global that is intrinsic to international schooling.

英国科学数据发展政策与规划

The United Kingdom (UK) stands as a pioneer in offering a clear definition of scientific data/research data, setting a global standard with its policies on scientific data. The UK’s data development strategy, planning, and action plans have effectively positioned it as a global leader in the realm of scientific data management, sharing, and reuse. This paper conducts a systematic review of the UK's scientific data policies, supporting institutions, and development plans through a comprehensive analysis of literature, websites, and other information resources. The results illustrate that the UK has established a comprehensive policy framework for scientific data management across various levels, encompassing government departments, supporting institutions, and research organizations. This framework revolves around the development, management, sharing, and application of scientific data, and incorporates strategic planning and action plans at both the national and regulatory levels. These initiatives have laid a solid foundation for the UK’s international leadership in the open sharing and utilization of scientific data. Notably, the UK’s practice of incorporating scientific data centers into national infrastructure construction ensures the continuous accumulation, management, sharing, and efficient utilization of scientific data assets within the country. The UK’s policy system for scientific data development and its planning practices in fostering such progress can serve as a valuable reference for the establishment of scientific data centers in China.

Leadership as a socially and culturally informed praxis: The question of internationalisation in international school leadership

Leadership as a socially and culturally informed praxis: The question of internationalisation in international school leadership