Last summer, I taught at a conference for Chinese high school students in Shanghai. In addition to the academic seminars, students and teachers came together to hear lectures from distinguished journalists, businesspeople, and professors. Though each talk was quite interesting, one of them stands out in my mind: a professor at the Harvard Business School gave a presentation on effective management techniques and the difference between formal authority and real authority. Never before had I thought of authority as a science, but his distinctions led me to better understand the formula for effective leadership.

In my new role as Editor in Chief of the HPR, I’ve frequently returned to the lessons learned from that lecture last August. I hope to continue publishing a high caliber magazine, and will rely on a talented corps of dedicated staff members to do so. My title does not guarantee anything —the students who work on this magazine do so voluntarily, and take on their articles in addition to a rigorous course load. President Eisenhower quipped, “Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it” and in that spirit, my greatest challenge as a leader will be to inspire the writers and editors of the HPR to devote themselves to making each issue better than the last.

Throughout the United States, citizens are also considering the qualities of good leadership, albeit on a national scale. Though the presidential candidates’ stances on issues ranging from health care to the Iraq war are undoubtedly important, the more decisive factor in the 2008 election may not be a policy issue. Instead, it seems that November will hold a battle to prove which candidate’s character is best suited to leadership. Whether it’s the audacity of hope, time spent in the Hanoi Hilton, or a 3 a.m. phone call, voters must decide which are the most relevant criteria for choosing a commander in chief.

When the HPR staff came together to brainstorm topics for our spring Covers section, we too turned to the presidential contest. At first it seemed impossible to write about any facet of domestic or international affairs without acknowledging the sea change that will occur in January 2009. The presidential election seemed so relevant, so determinant, and so germane to nearly every other political issue. But as the conversation progressed, we realized that our myopia was misguided. There is no question that the 44th President will play a major role in global and national politics, but he or she will not operate in a vacuum. So we asked ourselves: who else is out there? Beside the United States and its President, who are the major players?

Thus was the genesis of our spring 2008 Covers topic, “Who Will Lead the Free World?” Reading this issue, I think you will find yourself surprised at the many forms of global and national leadership—I know that I was.

–Rebecca Friedman ]]>