ABSTRACT
Political scientists largely focus on the study of either democratic or autocratic leaders, hardly engaging in direct comparative analyses. Thus, research on political leadership across regime types is scarce. To bridge this long-standing research divide, this chapter proposes a focus on economic policy in the context of political leadership, since it is of central concern to both democratic and autocratic leaders. In doing so, this chapter first systematically compares the relationship between leaders and their institutional-structural environments in democracies and various types of authoritarian regimes, reflecting as well on the challenges of conducting cross-regime analyses of political leadership. It proceeds to analyze the relationship between political leaders and economic development, showing that economic policy provides a fertile angle for cross-regime analysis of leadership performances. By analyzing both theoretical and methodological research implications, this chapter opens new horizons for comprehensive international leadership research across varying political systems.
