The key to the impact of international election support is credibility; credible elections are less likely to turn violent. So argues Inken von Borzyskowski in The Credibility Challenge, in which she provides an explanation of why and when election support can increase or reduce violence. Von Borzyskowski answers four major questions: Under what circumstances can election support influence election violence? How can election support shape the incentives of domestic actors to engage in or abstain from violence? Does support help reduce violence or increase it? And, which type of support—observation or technical assistance—is better in each instance? The Credibility Challenge pulls broad quantitative evidence and qualitative observations from Guyana, Liberia, Kenya, Sierra Leone, and Bangladesh to respond to these questions. Von Borzyskowski finds that international democracy aid matters for election credibility and violence; outside observers can exacerbate postelection violence if they cast doubt on election credibility; and technical assistance helps build electoral institutions, improves election credibility, and reduces violence. Her results advance research and policy on peacebuilding and democracy promotion in new and surprising ways.

The first true revision of the classic book from the bestselling author of The Leadership Challenge As the world falls deeper into economic downturns and warfare, the question of credibility (how leaders gain and lose it) is more important than ever. Building on their research from The Leadership Challenge, James Kouzes and Barry Posner explore in Credibility why leadership is above all a relationship, with credibility as the cornerstone, and why leaders must "Say what you mean and mean what you say." This first full revision of the book since its initial publication in 1993 features new case studies from around the world, fully updated data and research, and a streamlined format. Written by the premier leadership experts working today, Credibility: Reveals the six key disciplines that strengthen a leader's capacity for developing and sustaining credibility. Provides rich examples of real managers in action Includes updates to the applications and research This personal, inspiring, and genuine guide helps you understand the fundamental importance of credibility for building personal and organizational success.

From the authors of "The Leadership Challenge" comes a workbook to strengthen every leader's capacity for developing and sustaining credibility. Through practical individual activities, the reader will assemble a blueprint for implementing the principles of credibility in their everyday practice of leadership.

For many years, a silent and important war has been fought between two nations. On the one side, there’s Credibility Nation which is composed of humans who go about life and their business with credibility and servant leadership. On the other side, there’s Dubious Nation which is composed of humans who live and conduct their business with self-interest as their highest priority. Dubious Nation is on a winning streak and is vanquishing Credibility Nation a thousand times over. It’s shocking to see how many people are forgetting how important it is to live and transact business in a credible way. I believe that there’s still hope. There’s still a way for Credibility Nation to win. It definitely won’t be easy, and it won’t happen in a day, but we can do it. The path toward credibility starts with seeing and acknowledging that the world has changed. We used to live in a village economy where people did business with a handshake. That was a time when people exchanged goods and services for other goods and services without using money. In that kind of economy, when a proprietor's product didn’t live up to expectations, the villagers would either self-correct or ostracize. After the village economy, we transitioned to and are now in the industrial age. Didn't we leave the industrial age and move into the Internet age. Sort of. What we've done is to primarily use technology to extend the processes, rules, and approaches to business and life that were developed in the industrial age. The industrial age is a time where power and status are everything. The higher you rise on the corporate ladder, no matter what means you took to get there, the more successful and happier you become. The industrial age is dominated by self-satisfaction and self-interest. Today, we’re slowly transitioning to the global village. It is similar to the village economy with the big difference being our reach. We can now reach and need to be aware of millions of people from around the world. The keys to success and happiness in the global village are credibility and relationships. Since technology has enabled us to connect with more people, how we live and do business can easily be seen. Thus, presenting ourselves as credibly as we can allows others to want to get to know, like, and trust us. I wrote this book with the intention of enlightening humanity about what credibility truly is, how important it is as we move forward to the future, and how we can transform ourselves into credible humans. My hope is that this book will serve as a wake-up call, a reminder, and a blueprint for those who want to join me in this movement toward credibility. Now, take a look at yourself. Are you more in alignment with Credibility Nation than Dubious Nation? Or maybe, it’s the other way around. If you feel you're more dubious than credible, that’s okay. Don’t worry. There’s always room for change and transformation. There will always be people who will lend you a helping hand and guide you toward credibility. The doors of Credibility Nation will always be open to those who are willing and ready to transform themselves into better human beings. It’s up to you to take that first step. Will you take it? We need you to be the human you know in your heart you want to be. Please join me in this epic battle against Dubious Nation. The goal in my lifetime is to tip the scale.

Learn how you can tackle everyday leadership challenges regardless of your title, position, or authority with this insightful resource A book about leadership for people who are not in formal or hierarchical leadership positions, Everyday People, Extraordinary Leadership provides readers with a comprehensive and practical approach to addressing leadership challenges, no matter the setting or circumstance. Esteemed scholars and sought-after consultants Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner adapt their trademark The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership® framework to today’s more horizontal workplace, showing people that leadership is not about where you are in the organization; it’s about how you behave and what you do. Everyday People, Extraordinary Leadership draws on the authors’ deep well of research and practical experience to cover key subjects: The essence of making a difference in any role, setting, or situation The difference between positions of authority and leadership The importance of self-development in leadership development This book is perfectly applicable and accessible for anyone who wants to improve their own leadership potential and who isn’t yet in an official leadership role. Everyday People, Extraordinary Leadership offers authoritative new insights, original case studies and examples, and practical guidance for those individuals who want to make a difference. You supply the will, and this book will supply the way.

Why do national governments implement devolution given the high risk that it will encourage peripheral parties to demand ever more devolved powers? The aim of Challenging the State is to answer this question through a comparative analysis of devolution in four European countries: Belgium, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

Explore the powerful synergy between your credibility with students and your collective efficacy as a member of a team. When you increase your credibility with students, student motivation rises. And when you partner with other teachers to achieve this, students learn more. This one-stop resource illuminates the connection between teacher credibility and collective efficacy and offers specific actions educators can take to improve both. It includes: Tips for becoming more trustworthy, competent, and responsive in the eyes of students Tools for teams to use to polish their collective effectiveness through better communication and problem-solving Coaching videos that challenge teachers to improve teacher practice and grow professionally

How do state parties react to the challenge of peripheral parties demanding political power to be devolved to their culturally distinct territories? Is devolution the best response to these demands? Why do national governments implement devolution given the high risk that devolution will encourage peripheral parties to demand ever more devolved powers? The aim of this book is to answer these questions through a comparative analysis of devolution in four European countries: Belgium, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom. The author argues that electoral competition between state and peripheral parties pushes some state parties to prefer devolution at some particular point in time. Devolution is an electoral strategy adopted in order to make it more difficult in the long term for peripheral parties to increase their electoral support by claiming the monopoly of representation of the peripheral territory and the people in it. The strategy of devolution is preferred over short-term tactics of convergence towards the peripheral programmatic agenda because the pro-periphery tactics of state parties in unitary centralised states are not credible in the eyes of voters. The price that state parties pay for making their electoral tactics credible is the 'entrenchment' of the devolution programmatic agenda in the electoral arena. The final implication of this argument is that in democratic systems devolution is not a decision to protect the state from the secessionist threat. It is, instead, a decision by state parties to protect their needed electoral majorities. Comparative Politics is a series for students, teachers, and researchers of political science that deals with contemporary government and politics. Global in scope, books in the series are characterised by a stress on comparative analysis and strong methodological rigour. The series is published in association with the European Consortium for Political Research. For more information visit: www.ecprnet.eu. The Comparative Politics series is edited by Professor David M. Farrell, School of Politics and International Relations, University College Dublin, Kenneth Carty, Professor of Political Science, University of British Columbia, and Professor Dirk Berg-Schlosser, Institute of Political Science, Philipps University, Marburg.

The first true revision of the classic book from the bestselling author of The Leadership Challenge As the world falls deeper into economic downturns and warfare, the question of credibility (how leaders gain and lose it) is more important than ever. Building on their research from The Leadership Challenge, James Kouzes and Barry Posner explore in Credibility why leadership is above all a relationship, with credibility as the cornerstone, and why leaders must "Say what you mean and mean what you say." This first full revision of the book since its initial publication in 1993 features new case studies from around the world, fully updated data and research, and a streamlined format. Written by the premier leadership experts working today, Credibility: Reveals the six key disciplines that strengthen a leader's capacity for developing and sustaining credibility. Provides rich examples of real managers in action Includes updates to the applications and research This personal, inspiring, and genuine guide helps you understand the fundamental importance of credibility for building personal and organizational success.