The Alchemy of Leadership (Paperback)

Paul Strangio

ISBN 10: 0522881793 / ISBN 13: 9780522881790

Published by Melbourne University Press, Carlton, 2026

About this Item

Paperback. For most of the twenty-first century, Australias national politics has been characterised by tumult and disruption: seven prime ministers; stagnation in key policy areas; dwindling support for the established parties; insurgencies on the left and right flanks; and declining public trust in government and the democratic system itself.The flux is occurring in the context of a global democratic winter, exemplified by the rise of strongman populists who foment and feed on public grievance. It is an era in which the power of leaders to make and unmake the world is vividly on display. Understanding those who govern us is an urgent task.In The Alchemy of Leadership, Paul Strangio examines the formative experiences, personality traits, world views and leadership styles of prime ministers of the last quarter century. How much of the instability of the period has been due to these individual office holders? Why has political leadership been so confounding?Strangios study reveals how a homegrown version of conservative populism was smuggled into mainstream politics from the beginning of the century, which had a catalytic effect on both major parties. The 2025 federal election represented a watershed in the repudiation of that kind of politics. The centre held Australias mostly unremarked democratic exceptionalism emerged resilient. Yet brave and judicious leadership will be vital if the country is to continue as a safe harbour when democracy is besieged globally. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9780522881790

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Alchemy of Leadership (Paperback)
• Publisher: Melbourne University Press, Carlton
• Publication Date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0522881793
• ISBN 13: 9780522881790
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

For most of the twenty-first century, Australia's national politics has been characterised by tumult and disruption: seven prime ministers; stagnation in key policy areas; dwindling support for the established parties; insurgencies on the left and right flanks; and declining public trust in government and the democratic system itself.

The flux is occurring in the context of a global democratic winter, exemplified by the rise of strongman populists who foment and feed on public grievance. It is an era in which the power of leaders to make and unmake the world is vividly on display. Understanding those who govern us is an urgent task.

In The Alchemy of Leadership, Paul Strangio examines the formative experiences, personality traits, world views and leadership styles of prime ministers of the last quarter century. How much of the instability of the period has been due to these individual office holders? Why has political leadership been so confounding?

Strangio's study reveals how a homegrown version of conservative populism was smuggled into mainstream politics from the beginning of the century, which had a catalytic effect on both major parties. The 2025 federal election represented a watershed in the repudiation of that kind of politics. The centre held - Australia's mostly unremarked democratic exceptionalism emerged resilient. Yet brave and judicious leadership will be vital if the country is to continue as a safe harbour when democracy is besieged globally.

About the Author

Paul Strangio is emeritus professor of politics in the School of Social Sciences at Monash University and specialises in political leadership and political parties. He is the author and editor of a dozen books, including Keeper of the Faith: A Biography of Jim Cairns (MUP, 2002); winner of the 2013 Australian Political Studies Association Henry Mayer Prize for the best book on Australian politics, Neither Power Nor Glory: 100 Years of Political Labor in Victoria (MUP, 2012); with Paul 't Hart and James Walter, Settling the Office: The Australian Prime Ministership from Federation to Reconstruction (The Miegunyah Press, 2016); and with Paul 't Hart and James Walter winner of the 2019 Australian Political Studies Association Henry Mayer Prize for the best book on Australian Politics, The Pivot of Power: Australian Prime Ministers and Political Leadership, 1949-2016 (The Miegunyah Press, 2017). One of the country's leading scholarly commentators on politics, Paul has written more than one hundred commentary pieces for publications, including the Age and the Conversation.