Two Cheers for Democracy: How Emotions Drive Leadership Style

Not only in America, but around the globe democracy is under siege. In an era personified by Donald Trump, illiberal--increasingly hollow--democracies, and "strongman" dictatorships, it's time to take a closer look at the nature of the leaders who shape our world. The policies or positions that leaders adopt may change, but rarely their personalities. All of us have signature facial expressions that reveal the emotions we gravitate to most often over time. The difference is that in leading a country, the head of state's feelings can hold sway over events likely to impact every citizen's life and well-being. In Two Cheers for Democracy, the focus is on identifying emotional patterns that help to predict three key things about leaders: will they prove to be competent, compelling, and compassionate in executing their official duties? This book analyzes all 44 U.S. presidents to date and every U.S. presidential debate ever held, from 1960 to 2016, in addition to 79 foreign leaders. With results from the American Political Science Association's presidential greatness rankings, Gallup polls, and Freedom House's annual survey of countries' commitment to democracy as benchmarks, Two Cheers for Democracy takes seriously--in a unique way--the central question of today: what's the personality of the people leading us, and can we trust them to look out for the public good? Two Cheers for Democracy comes richly illustrated with photographs and charts, and includes an epilogue with a look at the likely 2020 Democratic front-runners for The White House.

"What's in a face? Quite a lot, as Dan Hill's facial coding analysis of U.S. and world leaders teems with surprises and insights into the past, present and future of political leadership." Steven E. Schier, co-author of The Trump Presidency: Outsider in the Oval Office

"Breathtaking in scope, Two Cheers for Democracy uses the science of facial emotions to assess which candidates win, which presidents succeed, and which world leaders champion democracy over dictatorship. It is packed with eye-opening insights that often turn conventional wisdom on its head." Ted Brader, author of Campaigning for Hearts and Minds: How emotional Apeals in Political Ads Work

"Dan Hill's book Two Cheers for Democracy can be a predicator of who will be the next President of the United States. In this age of instant social media, looking at the emotional intelligence of our leaders may be the key to the future." Mark K. Updegrove, Presidential Historian for ABC News

"Two Cheers for Democracy offers a fun and intriguing way to evaluate American presidents and other world leaders--by evaluating characteristic facial expressions. Hill matches those facial expressions to core psychological traits in order to identify what traits most exemplify democratic and authoritarian leaders, an area of increasingly pressing global concern. As we come to learn evermore clearly how much our unconscious processes shape our conscious choices and preferences, approaches such as Hill's deserve a wider hearing." Jonathan Weiler, co-author of Prius or Pickup? How the Answers to Four Simple Questions Explain America's Great Divide

"Two Cheers for Democracy offers an original and insightful analysis of the emotional requirements of political leadership, particularly at the presidential level. Tapping into his deep knowledge of American history and world affairs, author Dan Hill examines the role personality plays in political performance, and how personal traits and feelings connect to a politician's ultimate success or failure. Two Cheers for Democracy is an engaging and informative read." Alan Schroeder, author of Presidential Debates: Risky Business on the Campaign Trail