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THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING IMAGE: FROM COLD WAR TO GLOBALIST PRESIDENCY
Author(s) -
Barger Harold M.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
southeastern political review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1747-1346
pISSN - 0730-2177
DOI - 10.1111/j.1747-1346.1997.tb00785.x
Subject(s) - presidency , cold war , presidential system , political science , power (physics) , political economy , resizing , economic history , sociology , law , history , politics , economics , international trade , physics , quantum mechanics , european union
The modern American presidency was significantly strengthened because of the need for strong global leadership during World War II and the Cold War. The role of “leader of the free world” became a key element in shaping the public image of an all‐powerful presidency. In the post‐Cold War era, however, presidents exercise power in an increasingly complex environment that is far less conducive to confirming the high status the office previously was accorded in the public mind. This essay considers how popular images of presidential power largely shaped by the Cold War have become outmoded and irrelevant not only because of the end of an era, but also as a consequence of global economic change and emerging information‐knowledge technologies. The paper discusses the implications of these changes for presidential leadership.