Political Style: The Artistry of Power Book

Before reading this book I was never clear why I was so fond of following political events. I had no fundamental schema for understanding political affairs, the actors or the parties involved. Reading this book convinced me that it was less about power itself than about style. Style is what captivates a reader's attention and now that I am equipped with the five categories of political style is far more interesting to read current events.

The five styles include the royalist, the republican, the bureaucratic, the revolutionary and the power hungry or realist style. I will give an example of each one because Hariman himself does. The Royalist views power as inherited and dynastic, even if it is not legitimate. Accounts of the late Shah of Iran or the Emperor of Ethiopia, Hailie Selassie, reveal the inspiration, founding and decline of dynastic rule. Cicero is the primary example of Republican rule, valuing arguments and textual support. Bureaucratic rule is described by Kafka in his accounts of The Trial and The Castle. Revolutionary power is concentrated in the hands of Lenin and Rosa Luxemburg. Cesar Borgia, rounding out our list, is the representative of the now common sense understanding of politics as a struggle for power, the Realist approach.