Results by title

Harold D. Lasswell's pioneering work in the field of political sociology is distinguished by his insistence on studying major contemporary problems, his willingness to try new methods of inquiry, and—above all—his conviction that, to understand events on the political stage, one must also analyze the social and historical context. From the huge corpus of Lasswell's work, Dwaine Marvick has chosen representative selections that demonstrate the wide range of his interests, the intellectual framework of this thought, the characteristics of his style, and the diversity of his methods. The volume is organized around the five fields of central interest to Lasswell: elite analysis in an contextual perspective, developmental constructs, political communications research, the use of psychoanalysis to explain political behavior, and the role of intellectuals in policy-making processes.

First published in 1930, this classic study of personality types remains vital for the understanding of contemporary public figures. Lasswell's pioneering application of the concepts of clinical psychology to the understanding of powerbrokers in politics, business, and even the church offers insights into the careers of leaders as diverse as Adolf Hitler and Richard Nixon.