Eva Sørensen
Roskilde University
Denmark

Approach the question of the future role of the state
from a governance research perspective
A state that seeks to govern through the mobilization of
public and private actors through interactive forms of
governance


Governance theory has introduced the concept of
meta-governance understood as ‘the governance of
governance’ to describe this new role
Meta-governance is exercised through the
institutional design and facilitation of interactive
governance arenas


Meta-governance theories tends to reduce public
leadership to a meta-management that aims to
ensure efficient and effective governance
In consequence they under-emphasize that metagovernance also involves the exercise of political
meta-leadership

Recent theories of political leadership can inspire
efforts to strengthen the political aspect of metagovernance
Explore how recent theories of political
leadership can contribute to developing
an analytical framework for studying
the role and functioning of political
leadership of interactive governance
processes
Purpose of lecture


Political leadership aims to lead a political
community
Robert C. Tucker: Leadership as Politics (1995).
Political leadership is a function rather than a position, and
the role as political leader is obtained through the ability to
serve this function rather than through formal authorization
Three leadership functions:
 Construction of a problem diagnosis that calls for political action
 Proposition of a strategy for dealing with the problems
 Mobilization of support for the problem definition and strategy
for solving it
 Joseph
(2009).
Masciulli et al: Political Leadership
 Adaptive political leadership: Reactions to changing
conditions that take the form of marginal
adjustments of existing problem definitions and
policies (reform)
 Innovative political leadership: Proactive
development of a new problem diagnoses and
strategies (revolution)
Radical political innovation is risky because it tends to
disregard contextual factors in the quest for a new
beginning
Two forms of political leadership

Political leadership is basically about story telling

Political story telling is a necessary element in
government as well as in interactive governance

Political leadership is not a prerogative of formally
authorized politicians, but can be performed by
other actors

Empirical studies must investigate how these
functions are carried out and by whom

Political leadership both involves adaptive and
innovative policy making
Important insights


Political leadership involves the mobilization of
the political community in formulating problem
diagnoses and political strategies – as well as in
realizing the strategies
Benefits of involving the political community in
policy making:
Contributes to a contextual and negotiated problem
understanding
Helps to develop and test new political solutions
Builds political ownership
 Political
ambitions
determine the space
for political leadership
Adaptive meta-politics
overlaps with metamanagement
Innovative meta-politics
is different from metamanagement
Innovative
political
leadership
Adaptive
political
leadership
Metamanagement
Overlap between the political and
managerial aspect of meta-governance




There is currently a happy marriage between adaptive
political leadership and meta-management
Politicians can either engage in adaptive policy making or
become marginalized – while seeing other actors take on
the role as innovative political leaders
Theories of meta-governance have consolidated the
marriage but should instead highlight the constitutive role
of political leadership in interactive governance
New experiments with interactive policy innovation in
Denmark indicate that politicians’ ability to serve as
innovative political leaders is promoted through new
interactive governance arenas (Agger & Sørensen, 2014)
Current conditions for
political leadership
Thank you for
listening