TL;DRAbstract
In order to accomplish what they did, Gorbachev and Yeltsin had to overcome many obstacles to change. Doing so required them to exercise leadership, which I define as a process of stretching social constraints in the pursuit of social goals. Those constraints are of several kinds: (1) organizations, institutions, and processes that structure politics and administration; (2) the material interests of individuals and groups; and (3) the identities, ideologies, and cultures of individuals and groups. Typically, in an established or entrenched system, these constraints reinforce each other. Ideologies and cultures come to justify the institutions and processes that structure both political life and the distribution of tangible rewards across the population. Those institutions and processes ensure the continuation of policies that cater to prevailing identities and that reproduce existing patterns of social and political inequality.
Chat with Paper
AI Agents for this Paper
In order to accomplish what they did, Gorbachev and Yeltsin had to overcome many obstacles to change. Doing so required them to exercise leadership, which I define as a process of stretching social constraints in the pursuit of social goals. Those constraints are of several kinds: (1) organizations, institutions, and processes that structure politics and administration; (2) the material interests of individuals and groups; and (3) the identities, ideologies, and cultures of individuals and groups. Typically, in an established or entrenched system, these constraints reinforce each other. Ideologies and cultures come to justify the institutions and processes that structure both political life and the distribution of tangible rewards across the population. Those institutions and processes ensure the continuation of policies that cater to prevailing identities and that reproduce existing patterns of social and political inequality.
Keywords
Chat
Click to start Chat