Feldman, Valenty, and their contributors present state-of-the-art evaluations of linkages between personality, motivation, decision making, leadership style, and behavior among political leaders across divergent cultures. Leading scholars in the field examine the application of theoretical approaches and research methods used to evaluate these important relationships. They effectively illustrate the concomitant role of cultural and political context, historical circumstance, environmental factors, and socialization agents affecting political leadership and performance.

Contributors evaluate methods currently in use by scholars in political science, psychology, political psychology, social psychology, and history, including psychodiagnostic and psychobiographical approaches, and the application of these methods in profiling the personalities of political leaders. Each chapter presents a unique case study evaluating a political leader or leaders including such major figures as Mao Zedong, Tony Blair, Seyyed Mohammed Khatami, Helmut Kohl, and Stalin, Yeltsin, and Putin.

OFER FELDMAN is Associate Professor of Social Psychology and Politics at Naruto University. He is the author, editor, or co-editor of seven books, including Politically Speaking (Praeger, 1998) and Beyond Public Speech and Symbols (Praeger, 2000).

LINDA O. VALENTY is Assistant Professor of Political Science at San Jose State University. She has authored journal articles and book chapters on political behavior, political psychology, public policy.