Stable Leadership Research Articles

Transformational Leadership and Non-Teaching Staffs’ Job Satisfaction in Selected Private Higher Educational Institutions

To better enhance the competitiveness of private colleges and universities, especially in the case of fewer and fewer students, the soft power of human resources is particularly important. Thus, research on private colleges and universities is of great significance to promoting the development of higher education in Sichuan and even the entire western region. The research found that the job satisfaction of employees was closely positively correlated with the four aspects of transformational leadership (idealized influence, inspiration motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individual consideration), and the needs for transformational leadership were different for different educational levels, age groups, and professional titles. The study showed that the higher the educational level and professional title, the stronger their demand for transformational leadership, and vice versa; in terms of age and years of work, the older and longer the staff had, the lower their demand for transformational leadership and the lower their scores. They had a fixed mindset and were more inclined to a stable leadership style. On the other hand, the study found that the job satisfaction of administrative staff was significantly affected by leadership style, that is, they had a significant correlation, among which relationship satisfaction had the highest correlation, followed by satisfaction with the environment and welfare, and then the satisfaction with personal growth and progress. The lowest correlation was the satisfaction with the work itself. This is mainly because transformational leaders have a sense of responsibility, motivate and inspire employees, guide employees, and pay attention to the balance between work and life, which evaluates various standards relatively high. The research results are helpful to promote the improvement of transformational leadership in private universities, and then improve employee satisfaction.

Examining sustained sub-national health system development: experience from the Western Cape Province, South Africa, 1994-2016.

Governance and leadership are recognized as central to health system development in low- and middle-income countries, yet few existing studies consider the influence of multilevel governance systems. South Africa is one of the many (quasi-)federal states. Provincial governments have responsibility for managing health care delivery within national policy frameworks and norms. The early post-apartheid period saw country-wide efforts to address the apartheid legacy of health system inequity and inefficiency, but health system transformation subsequently stalled in many provinces. In contrast, the Western Cape provincial health department sustained service delivery reform and strengthened management processes over the period 1994-2016. This department can be considered a 'pocket of relative bureaucratic effectiveness': an organizational entity that, compared to others, is relatively effective in carrying out its functions in pursuit of the public good. This paper considers what factors enabled the development of the Western Cape health system in the period 1994-2016. Two phases of data collection entailed document review, participatory workshops, 43 in-depth interviews with purposively selected key informants from inside and outside the Western Cape and a structured survey testing initial insights (response rate 42%). Analysis included triangulation across data sets, comparison between the Western Cape and other provincial experience and deeper reflection on these experiences drawing on POE theory and public administration literature. The analysis highlights the Western Cape experience of stable and astute sub-national governance and leadership and the deepening of administrative and technical capacity over time-within a specific provincial historical and political economy context that sustained the separation of political and administrative powers. Multilevel governance systems can create the space for sub-national POEs to emerge in their mediation of wider political economy forces, generating spaces for skilled reform leaders to act in the public interest, support the emergence of distributed leadership and develop robust management processes.

National–Local Synergies for Development: How a Local Political Machine Delivered Infrastructure Results in Iloilo City

The upsurge in big-ticket infrastructure projects in Iloilo City for the past two decades owes much to the developmental alliance amongst Senator Franklin Drilon as the national government benefactor, multi-term city mayors, and the local business sector. These government officials’ prolonged tenure in office afforded a stable political leadership that ensured long-term planning around key infrastructure projects and continued access to national government funding. Robust institutional and informal ties between political and economic elites enabled consensus-building on the virtues of market-driven growth for which infrastructure is key. The Drilon political machine orchestrated a diverse but astutely networked group of local businesses by involving them in formal participatory planning processes, thereby facilitating approval of big-ticket items, and by influencing bureaucrats from national government agencies to approve the projects.

Reducing airline accident risk and saving lives: financial health, corporate governance, and aviation safety

PurposeThis study investigates the impact of financial health and corporate governance on aviation safety, aiming to fill a critical gap in existing research. The purpose of this study is to identify how these factors influence the safety records of airlines and provide insights for regulators, airlines and stakeholders to enhance aviation safety.Design/methodology/approachUsing a comprehensive international sample spanning 1950–2009 and later, this empirical analysis draws on diverse databases. The authors examine 372 airlines across 70 countries from 1990 to 2016. The research uses statistical models to analyze the relationship between financial indicators, corporate governance quality and aviation safety, addressing limitations of prior single-country studies.FindingsThe findings reveal a significant inverse relationship between financial health and accident propensity, with profitable airlines exhibiting lower accident rates. Additionally, airlines with higher corporate governance quality, characterized by qualified directors and stable leadership, experience fewer accidents. The study identifies key factors such as pilot errors, mechanical failures and adverse weather, contributing to approximately 75% of accidents, emphasizing the importance of organizational control.Practical implicationsThis research has crucial implications for aviation safety policies and practices. Regulators and international organizations, such as International Civil Aviation Organization and International Air Transport Association, should allocate resources to supervise financially vulnerable airlines and those with lower governance quality. Governments might consider incentivizing safety practices through tax deductibility for relevant expenses. Shareholders are encouraged to prioritize qualified, younger and less busy directors, recognizing their impact on safety performance.Originality/valueThis study contributes to existing literature by addressing methodological biases and offering a comprehensive international perspective. The identification of a link between financial health, corporate governance and accident rates in the aviation industry provides valuable insights. The research informs policymakers, regulators and industry stakeholders on effective strategies to improve safety by considering financial and governance factors under their control.

Comparative analysis of the structure of congenital malformations in newborns

Objective. To conduct an analytical assessment of the pattern of congenital malformations in newborns born in 2017 and 2021 in a hospital-based healthcare organization, taking into account the anamnesis of mothers as a possible cause of the formation of a malformation in the fetus.Materials and methods. A retrospective analysis of 90 developmental histories of newborns delivered between January and December 2017 (first group) and 100 histories of newborns born between January and December 2021 (second group) in the maternity hospital of the Gomel Regional Clinical Hospital was conducted.Results. The leading place among congenital malformations (CM) in the studied two groups is occupied by congenital heart defects (CHD) and defects of the urinary system. In the group of newborns with CM delivered in 2017, boys (60%) prevailed, in 2021 — girls (58%). Mothers of the children from the first comparison group were more likely to live in cities (77.7%). When analyzing the extragenital pathology of mothers, data were obtained that the mothers of the children of the first study group most often suffered from cardiovascular, endocrine diseases, diseases of the urinary system. In mothers of the children of the second comparison group, concomitant chronic diseases came out on top. The structure of maternal diseases during pregnancy is diverse, but the only statistically significant indicator was COVID-19 infection, which affected the mothers during pregnancy in 2021. The data on the diagnosis of CM in the fetus by ultrasound examination of a pregnant woman are statistically insignificant, it is impossible to draw a conclusion about the improvement or deterioration of the quality of early diagnosis of CM. The percentage of diagnosis of CM prenatally in 2017 and 2021 was 33.3 and 40%, respectively.Among CHD in percentage, the leading place in both groups is occupied by a defect of the interventricular septum ― 67.7 and 51%. In the structure of defects of the urinary system, a statistically significant defect is kidney dystopia in 2021 (28%). When analyzing malformations of the musculoskeletal system, all indicators were statistically insignificant. Conclusion. As a result of the analysis, it was found that the stable leadership among the CM belongs to the CHD and the CM of the urinary system. The frequency of diagnosis of CM in the fetus by ultrasound examination of pregnant women remains at a fairly low level. Chronic diseases of mother, diseases of the cardiovascular system, endocrine and urinary system, COVID-19 suffered by mother during pregnancy may be a possible cause of the formation of CM in the fetus.

Covid-19 pandemic? Mental health implications among nurses and Proposed interventions.

With its abrupt and huge health and socio-economic consequences, the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has led to a uniquely demanding, intensely stressful, and even traumatic period. Healthcare workers (HCW), especially nurses, were exposed to mental health challenges during those challenging times. Review the current literature on mental health problems among nurses caring for COVID-19 patients. This is a narrative review and critical evaluation of relevant publications. Nurses experienced higher levels of stress, burnout, anxiety, depression, frustration, stigma, and depersonalization compared to other HCW. Factors that increased this symptomatology included concerns about infection or infection of family members, inadequate staff protective equipment, extended working hours, insufficient information, a reduced sense of security, and post-traumatic stress disorder. The factors that improved the psychopathology included a general positive attitude, job satisfaction, adequate information and education, harmonious group relationships, post-traumatic development, emotional intelligence, psychological counseling, mindfulness-based stress reduction, stable leadership, guidance, and moral and practical administrative support. Recent studies clearly show that nurses, especially women, are the most vulnerable subgroup among HCW and are particularly prone to mental health impacts during the COVID-19 pandemic. The documented mental health vulnerability of frontline nursing staff during the COVID-19 pandemic requires preventive nursing management actions to increase resilience and to develop relevant defense mechanisms.

Имидж ведущего учреждения культуры Дальнего Востока в социологических оценках

The article presents the results of the assessment of the state cultural institution’s image on the example of the Khabarovsk Regional Musical Theater, its external and internal context. They reflect the images of cultural institutions of the regional center that have been developed in public opinion, obtained through a pilot survey of the target audience – recipients of their services, their needs, preferences, expectations and requirements, as well as ratings of competitors on information portals. As a result of the study, it was found that the image is an important competitive advantage of cultural institutions and has a significant impact on their overall activities and success in the market. It is worth noting, that it is important for cultural institutions to pursue an effective policy on the formation and management of reputation and corporate image, using available technologies, tools, means and resources for this purpose. The analysis of the Khabarovsk Musical Theater's external image showed that it contributes to the stable leadership position that the Theater occupies in the market of cultural and leisure services of the Khabarovsk Territory. Therefore, in order to maintain and strengthen the image, it is necessary to continue to adhere to the current reputation concept, while taking into account the interest of the audience in the variety of cultural events held by the Theater. To strengthen the internal image of the Theater, the management of the institution needs to pay attention to the development of corporate culture and financial support for employees.

Strategic Managerial Shift at Retail Stores to Boost Positivity Among Employees in Post-Pandemic Scenario

Retail is one of the most severely impacted sectors by the COVID-19 pandemic. The end of a pandemic is no relief for managers as the recovery phase is all the more challenging. In the 'new normal,' consumers' reluctance to visit stores adds to retail store managers' global challenges. Store managers had to rethink their business plans to innovate for sustenance. The article demonstrates a novel approach to discovering the strategic shift of the managers of the retail stores for apparel to boost positivity from the employees' subjective perspective in the post-pandemic era. Dynamic, ingenious, and morally stable leadership styles help to draw insights for exploring the mechanism with which the managers of the retail stores of apparel brands induce positive organizational behavior—the links of the constructs of a theoretical model frame into hypotheses. The sample is of 300 employees in apparel retail stores. Structural equation modeling empirically validated the approaches. The findings revealed that only an ingenious leadership style could induce positivity among the current employees in apparel retail stores. The study will give valuable insights into the applications of store managers to implement novel strategic decisions in their leadership styles.

Proponents, Caretakers, and the Dynamics of Administrative Leadership Turnover in U.S. Executive Agencies

Administrative leader turnover adversely affects the organizational stability of U.S. federal executive agencies, as well as undermines presidents’ policy goals. An incentive compatibility theory of administrative leader turnover is proposed that distinguishes between proponent (policy priority) versus caretaker (non-policy priority) loyalist executive appointees. This theory predicts that the proponents’ tenure will be comparatively more stable since it reflects incentive compatibility for both the president and executive appointee compared to caretakers where such a relationship is lacking. The evidence comports with this logic by demonstrating that appointee loyalty results in a longer tenure in office when their agency constitutes a stated policy priority for the president at the time of agreed upon service compared to when this happens not to be the case. Responsive competence in executive administration requires incentive compatibility that benefits both the president and executive appointees for ensuring stable leadership of U.S. federal agencies.

Socialized Farmland Operation—An Institutional Interpretation of Farmland Scale Management

Farmland scale management is an important approach for developing countries to ensure food security in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. At present, the realization of farmland scale management through the path of farmland use rights trading encounters obstacles in practice; moreover, the new model of farmland scale management has rarely been systematically discussed. Considering the farmland trusteeship practice implemented in Shandong Province of China as the research case, this study discusses the essence and realization premise of the new farmland scale management model represented by farmland trusteeship based on case analysis. The conclusions are as follows. (1) The high cost generated from farmland scale management is the main obstacle to realize this model. (2) The process of realizing farmland scale management through farmland trusteeship is actually the process of meeting the requirements of the socialization of farmland use, the socialization of the farmland management process, and the socialization of farmland output. Thus, in the context of the existence of a large number of small and scattered farmers in China, the socialized farmland operation is the essence of farmland scale management. (3) Effective collective action is the premise of realizing socialized farmland operation. Undeniably, a lot more systematic explorations are further demanded to strengthen the irrigation management and infrastructures, promote and ensure stable village leadership, and comprehensively improve the ability of rural collective action to ensure the further strengthening of socialized farmland operation so as to realize stable farmland scale management, which will be pursued in the future.

Making Informal Water Distribution Work: Collective Agency and Self-Organization in Informal Areas of Xochimilco, Mexico City

Global environmental change can disproportionately impact vulnerable populations in informal settlements already struggling with diminished access to resources, conditions of poverty, and other inequalities. Simultaneously, climate variability is projected to increase global water scarcity and make “formal access” to water (i.e., through gray infrastructure sponsored by a centralized government) not only politically unlikely but also physically unfeasible. Cities will need alternative ways of delivering water to informal settlements that are reliable, sufficient, affordable, environmentally efficient, and fair. Using data from two informal settlements in the Xochimilco Municipality (Mexico City), we explore current informal arrangements for water access and delivery, and what roles are played by governments, water truck drivers, and residents. We found that self-organization through collective agency and community leadership were key for effective water delivery through private or public water trucks (<em>pipas</em>). One community showed stable leadership and strong collective agency, resulting in more “efficient” public water delivery and low levels of consumption of water from private sellers. In the other community, collective agency was hindered by lack of clear leadership and self-organization, causing residents to resort to individual action (i.e., buying more private water) rather than collectively organizing to gain sufficient public access to water. Our findings suggest that collective agency enables a positive feedback loop between water truck drivers and residents which allows efficient distribution with minimum public investment from the municipality. We argue that the explicit acknowledgement of the role of collective agency and its adequate compensation to create new agreements would create opportunities for more sustainable alternatives of water delivery in communities trapped in informal regimes of water distribution.

Gang intervention during COVID-19: A qualitative study of multidisciplinary teams and street outreach in Denver

Gang and violence intervention programs have become a staple in American cities. These programs often find themselves navigating turbulent political environments, a challenge that can be exacerbated during times of societal upheaval, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The current study examines how the pandemic impacted the forms and functions of the Gang Reduction Initiative of Denver (GRID). While GRID coordinates many strategies and collaborates with government and community groups across Denver, its centerpiece intervention entails multidisciplinary teams and street outreach, the focus of this qualitative study. We draw on 197 hours of field-based observation and 19 semi-structured interviews gathered as part of an evaluation of this intervention—initiated prior to the pandemic—to arrive at three key conclusions on the impact of COVID-19. First, upper-level administrative support can be a critical factor in agency efficacy and morale. City government's tenuous familiarity and ties with GRID was consequential to non-essential classification at the early stage of the pandemic. Second, agency leaders are crucial advocates for their agency, as GRID navigated many challenges without stable leadership and suffered as a result. Finally, interagency collaboration and relationships are slow to develop and easy to lose, made even more fragile in times of crisis. We discuss these findings in the context of large-scale federal investment in community violence intervention.

Макиавеллистический момент Европы: перспективы интеграционного проекта ЕС в условиях утраты глобального политического равновесия

The European integration project, after 70 years of the successful implementation, is now facing a significant number of difficulties caused by the process of globalization. The list of these difficulties includes: (1) the incompleteness of the process of formation of the European identity; (2) the deepening contradiction between two fundamental legal principles — transnational and national constitutionalism; (3) the growing asymmetry between the European regions; (4) dramatic disputes over migration issues; (5) the ideological confrontation between liberal and illiberal democracies. This situation, exacerbated by the challenges of globalization and officially defined today as the “existential crisis” of the EU, revealed certain significant flaws in the current integration model hung between confederalism and federalism. The shortcomings, such as weakened democratic legitimacy, ineffective decision-making and the absence of clear and stable European leadership, have resulted in the growing spread of Euroscepticism and rightwing populism, as well as the erosion of Europe’s mission in the world. The increasingly obvious threat of a loss of political balance in Europe makes it important to comprehend the potential directions and scope of changes in the EU integration project, to assess the hypothetically possible legal and institutional forms of the new integration model and their political implications. The author describes the current situation as a Machiavellian moment in Europe: under the conditions when the preservation of the status quo only reinforces the contradictions within the integration project, the European elites are faced with the necessity to make a clear choice between a confederal and a federal system in order to find a new legitimizing formula for this fading project, and it should be done as soon as possible.

Shifts in the geographical and commodity structure of production and world export of high-technology industrial products with different R&amp;D intensity

The industrialisation of the world economy continues to develop not only at the expense of economically developed, but also at the expense of developing countries. This leads to a spatial regrouping of forces in the architecture of world industry at the regional and global levels. Changes can be traced both in production and in trade in products of hightechnology industries. The purpose of the study is to characterise modern processes in the global manufacturing industry, to show the changing role of regions in the world industry and world trade in products of knowledge- and technologyintensive (KTI) industries with varying degrees of research and development (R&amp;D) intensity, to identify the role of a new leading region, as well as the positions of China and other countries. In the course of the research, Asia’s stable leadership in the production and export of products of high-technology industries with varying degrees of R&amp;D intensity was established. It is shown that at present the Asia region is the leader, first of all, due to the industrial development of China, the share of which is about 30 % in the production of products of the world manufacturing industry. At the same time, the share of China in the manufacturing industry of the Asian region (the modern leader of the world industry) exceeds 50 % (as well as in the trade in industrial products of the countries of this region) already. China came out on top in the export of all groups of high-technology goods with varying degrees of R&amp;D intensity, including in the export of high-technology goods with high R&amp;D intensive (23 and 20 % of world exports, respectively). China is the leader in the production (26 %) and export (12 %) of high-technology goods with medium-high R&amp;D intensity also. The strengthening of the position of the Asian region in the world industry and world trade of knowledge- and technology-intensive goods in the second decade of the 21st century is revealed.

Trying out loud: Leadership development as experimentalism

Where does leadership development turn if its heroic ideals are no longer tenable? This study takes leadership practice, not the classroom, as its point of departure. Leadership studies have demonstrated the romance in leadership theory of an individual, stable, and coherent leadership figure, even if this figure does not connect to actual practices. In other streams of research, practice increasingly appears to be a resource for less presumptuous theorizing about leadership. These more situationally sensitive approaches call for equivalent leadership development practices, and extant literature in particular has escaped the confines of the executive management classroom to only a limited extent. While experiential learning has proved an efficient means of instigating and harvesting in-classroom experiences for subsequent reflection and learning, translating these experiences into (later) leadership practice has proved problematic. The mundanity of practice rarely corresponds to the theoretical exposés emanating from classrooms. Using a leadership development program (LDP) as our case, we explore accounts from managers carrying out in-practice experiments and analyze these processes in light of Dewey’s notion of experimentalism. Identifying a series of attributes associated with the experimental intervention, we illuminate some future avenues for situated leadership development as well as offer considerations for leadership development practice.

Identity Leadership, Employee Burnout and the Mediating Role of Team Identification: Evidence from the Global Identity Leadership Development Project.

Do leaders who build a sense of shared social identity in their teams thereby protect them from the adverse effects of workplace stress? This is a question that the present paper explores by testing the hypothesis that identity leadership contributes to stronger team identification among employees and, through this, is associated with reduced burnout. We tested this model with unique datasets from the Global Identity Leadership Development (GILD) project with participants from all inhabited continents. We compared two datasets from 2016/2017 (n = 5290; 20 countries) and 2020/2021 (n = 7294; 28 countries) and found very similar levels of identity leadership, team identification and burnout across the five years. An inspection of the 2020/2021 data at the onset of and later in the COVID-19 pandemic showed stable identity leadership levels and slightly higher levels of both burnout and team identification. Supporting our hypotheses, we found almost identical indirect effects (2016/2017, b = −0.132; 2020/2021, b = −0.133) across the five-year span in both datasets. Using a subset of n = 111 German participants surveyed over two waves, we found the indirect effect confirmed over time with identity leadership (at T1) predicting team identification and, in turn, burnout, three months later. Finally, we explored whether there could be a “too-much-of-a-good-thing” effect for identity leadership. Speaking against this, we found a u-shaped quadratic effect whereby ratings of identity leadership at the upper end of the distribution were related to even stronger team identification and a stronger indirect effect on reduced burnout.

China’s International Talent Policy (ITP): The Changes and Driving Forces, 1978-2020

ABSTRACT This article explores the development of China’s international talent policy (ITP) during 1978–2020. An analytical framework is constructed to track the profound changes of ITP and examine the main driving forces for these changes. Four main phases of ITP development are identified through analyzing significant changes in the four core components of China’s ITP, including guiding frameworks, hierarchy of goals, policy instruments, and governance institutions. The driving forces mainly include crises and policy problems, the authoritative CCP leadership, and government responses to crises/problems. It is concluded that the stable and authoritative leadership in a centralized government is the key to profound policy changes without fundamentally shifting the ultimate policy goal, but lacking societal forces can be problematic especially when the government role becomes weakened.

Using an implementation science approach to build leader facilitation capability in healthcare: a novel approach for enhancing action learning set facilitation

PurposeThe study describes the implementation of a novel strategy, entitled the Action Learning Set Facilitation Model, to develop internal facilitation capability to lead change. The Model incorporated the Novice-Experienced-Expert pathway, a facilitation development approach underpinning the integrated-Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services Implementation Framework, with action learning methodology.Design/methodology/approachA mixed-methods descriptive approach reports the results of 22 interviews, 182 Action Learning Sets and 159 post program survey data sets to explore facilitator experiences, strengths and potential application of the Model.FindingsAt program completion, five novice (of 174) and one experienced (of 27) facilitator transitioned to the next facilitation level. The three groups of facilitators described positive change in confidence and facilitation skill, and experience of action learning sets. Inconsistencies between self-report competence and observed practice amongst novices was reported. Novices had decreasing exposure to the Model due to factors related to ongoing organisational change. Internal facilitators were considered trusted and credible facilitators.Research limitations/implicationsThere are practical and resource implications in investing in internal facilitation capability, noting proposed and real benefits of similar development programs may be compromised during, or as a consequence of organisational change. Further research describing application of the facilitation model, strategies to enhance multisystemic support for programs and evaluation support are suggested.Practical implicationsThe Action Learning Set Facilitation Model offers promise in developing internal facilitation capability supporting change in organisations. Critical success factors include building broad scale internal capability, stable leadership and longitudinal support to embed practice.Originality/valueThis is the first application of the facilitation component of the integrated-Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services implementation framework embedded to action learning sets as an implementation science strategy for leader development supporting organisational change.

Nursing home leaders' perceptions of a research partnership.

Background/objectivePartnerships between healthcare providers and researchers may accelerate the translation of interventions into widespread practice by testing them under real-world conditions, but depend on provider’s willingness to engage with researchers and ability to fully implement an intervention.AimTo understand nursing home leader’s motivations for participating in a research study and perceptions of the process and value.MethodsAfter a feasibility study of tuned lighting in a nursing home, we conducted semi-structured telephone interviews with six facility leaders. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and independently coded by four investigators.ResultsThree themes emerged: (1) The importance of the nursing home’s culture and context: the facility had stable leadership, clear processes for prioritizing and implementing new initiatives, and an established interest in the study’s topic. (2) The importance of leader’s belief in the value of the intervention: leaders perceived research generally and the intervention specifically as positively impacting their facility and residents. (3) The importance of ongoing collaboration and flexibility throughout the study period: leaders served as champions to catalyze the project and overcome implementation barriers.ConclusionNursing home leader’s perspectives about their participation in a feasibility study underscore the importance of establishing strong researcher–provider partnerships, understanding the environment in which the intervention will be implemented, and employing pragmatic methods that allow for flexibility in response to real-world implementation barriers. We recommend eliciting qualitative information to understand the environment in which an intervention will be implemented and to engage opinion leaders who can inform the protocol and champion its success.

Nancy Beck Young. Two Suns of the Southwest: Lyndon Johnson, Barry Goldwater, and the 1964 Battle between Liberalism and Conservatism.

Nancy Beck Young is not the first historian to recognize the 1964 presidential election as a watershed in the history of modern American politics. The contest between Barry Goldwater and Lyndon Johnson has been central to just about every study of partisan realignment, liberalism, or modern conservatism published during the past three decades. Goldwater’s status as a prophet of the New Right, despite the irony of his massive rejection at the polls in 1964, is well known and well chronicled. At the same time, scholars (and a host of liberal partisans) have long contemplated the tragic ironies of Johnson’s tenure in the White House: millions of voters rejected the conservative Goldwater in 1964, favoring instead Johnson’s vision for a “Great Society,” not to mention what many assumed was a safer, less reckless option for stable world leadership. Within a few years, however, Johnson’s untenable commitment to the mistake of the...