President Trump has a knack for getting Republicans to reverse their stances on important policy issues. Free trade is probably the best-known example. …
These trends can seem disconcerting, because they appear to reverse the idealized direction of influence in a democracy, where the views of citizens are supposed to guide their politicians. Leadership surely involves the art of persuasion, but should it really drive such mercurial shifts on core issues?
Political science research shows that this “follow the leader” dynamic is hardly limited to Trump. It occurs throughout history, on both sides of the aisle and in other countries. It happens even when party elites try to stop it. In general, the people who run our political parties — particularly the most prominent and charismatic figures — have the ability to reshape what voters in those parties think. CONT.
Alexander Agadjanian (UC Berkeley), Washington Post