Local Political Leaders

The way local political leaders construct a vision for their localities, develop support and followers and effect action are shaped by factors both within and beyond the control of the leader. The constitutional setting within which local government is located, the political, organizational, and social contexts and the skills, capacities, and qualities of the leader, provide a framework which can be used to examine and understand local political leadership. The chapter explores how these factors combine to either help or hinder the development of effective local political leadership and help or hinder the leader in effecting local political action.