Machiavelli’s observation on leaders’ challenge to balance power is just as relevant in our time – with renewed military, economic and cultural conflicts – as it was in 16th century Florence. China’s growth, Russia’s attack on Ukraine and the increasing political and economic salience of the Global South have made the importance of competent leadership in political governance an ever more relevant issue.

This anthology examines the challenges for leadership and statecraft in a progressively complex world and considers the question of how we can create political elites that are capable of safely guiding the West through the many challenges we face.

By ensuring that both our past and present are taken into consideration, world-leading researchers and writers investigate how ideas of leadership have developed through history to give us a greater understanding of statecraft – and of what skills and organisations are needed to run small states, large empires and everything in between.