A new monograph by a team of authors from MGIMO «Leader Against the Background of the Epoch. Traditions and Innovations of Modern Political Leadership in Western Countries» seems to be a very timely and well-executed scientific work at the intersection of history and political science. In the book, the authors consider the issues of national specifics of leadership and the fate of political leaders in Western Europe (UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy), in the US and Brazil, as well as in several states of the socialist camp (Albania, Romania). The chronological framework of the monograph covers most of the 20th century (mainly the period of World War II and the Cold War, although other eras are also touched upon) and the beginning of the 21st century. Some authors focus directly on the personalities of leaders, their business and personal qualities, while others direct their main efforts towards creating a complete picture of the era in which a particular leader acted. Genre and structural diversity found in the chapters does not interfere with accomplishing the main task, which is revealing of the specifics of leadership in Western countries against the backdrop of a specific historical era. The book may be of interest not only to specialists, but also to students (historians, political scientists) to study as additional literature. The author concludes that the monograph under review can be considered as a semantic continuation of the previously published book «Right-wing Populism: Global Trend and Regional Features», and therefore suggests a further continuation of the outlined series of collective works prepared and published by MGIMO academics.
political leadership; USA; Western Europe; socialist camp; Brazil; MGIMO.