Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Havelian Presidency: A Study In Theory & Practice, Chelsea Johnson

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Despite former dissident and Czech president Václav Havel’s widespread influence, his presidency has not been seriously considered as a framework for how one should head a government. A reasoned and thorough examination of Havel’s presidency is conspicuously absent in the existing literature. Havel is known for and evaluated most in terms of his sweeping moral principles and philosophical treatises, but I wish to know whether his 13-year presidency passes the test of ideal world leadership that he provides so clearly in his written works and speeches. Specifically, I develop a set of ideal traits for world leadership and then examine …