Loyola Marymount University is a top-ranked national university by U.S. News and World Report, which places LMU among the top six Jesuit universities in the country and in the top six private universities in California. Founded in 1911, LMU is a Catholic, Jesuit, and Marymount university with more than 7,100 undergraduate students and more than 3,000 graduate and law students. LMU offers 56 undergraduate majors and 56 minor programs, along with 46 master’s degree programs, three doctorate programs and 12 credential/authorization programs. LMU’s intercollegiate athletics teams compete in the West Coast Conference with 14 Division I varsity sports.

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Rains Career Service Award

Rains Excellence in Research Award 

Fritz B. Burns Distinguished Teaching Award 

The Washington Center : Advisory Board Member

The Center for the Study of Los Angeles : Advisory Board

Board of the Foundation for International Education : Chair

The Bogart Foundation: Vice President

Loyola Chair of Leadership Studies

Director of Institute for Leadership Studies

President of Global Policy Institute

Social desirability effects and support for a female American president

Presidential Primaries

In a fresh look at the presidency, Michael Genovese brings together leading scholars to shed light on ideological and constitutional assumptions about the presidency. While most scholarly writing is supposed to be "neutral," students frequently find themselves awash in conflicting viewpoints, making it difficult to assess hidden assumptions. In this contributed volume, authors examine the different approaches that drive the current debate concerning the presidency: liberal, conservative, moderate, constitutionalist, libertarian, and presidentialist (unitary executive). All chapters follow a consistent structure, encouraging students to compare ideas across chapters. Contributors also examine their approach in light of presidential-congressional relations, presidential power and accountability, the rule of law, as well as domestic and foreign policy. Making explicit what is often implicit, this engaging and unique examination of the presidency helps readers better understand presidential power and leadership.

Contending Approaches to the American Presidency

If we are to build tomorrow’s leaders, today, it would help if we knew what skills, temperaments, and specific competencies will be valuable as we face future needs. What will tomorrow look like? What key factors are we likely to confront tomorrow? If the past is prelude, the world of tomorrow will be characterized by rapid change, new technology, greater diversity, more globalization and the need for lifelong learning. This book will focus on leadership; what it is, how it works, and how complex, multi-layered and multi-dimensional it is. As a political scientist and presidential scholar, Michael Genovese incorporates a wide range of disciplinary perspectives and research on leadership in this book. Students, practitioners and leadership scholars will welcome this new book and its look to the future. Michael Genovese and Tom Cronin won the 2013 Leadership Book of the year award at ILA in Montral for their book LEADERSHIP MATTERS:Unleashing the Power of Paradox

Building Tomorrow's Leaders Today: On Becoming a Polymath Leader (LEADERSHIP: Research and Practice)

So you've gotten yourself elected president--now what? Help is here in the form of an imaginary memo from your former professor, who integrates the works of the great thinkers (Aristotle, Plato, Machiavelli, etc.) with contemporary scholarship to address the strengths, limitations, and possibilities of presidential leadership. Michael A. Genovese, a highly esteemed presidential scholar, culls numerous nuggets of wisdom about presidential leadership, including past presidents, condensing detailed and academically grounded insights into an engaging and entertaining read. All essential topics are covered, including: presidential character and personality; political institutions and opportunities; power versus leadership; and sources of and limits to presidential power. In-depth coverage of crisis management and wartime decision-making are unique strengths of the book. Chapters are brief and concise, making Memo to a New President far more interesting than supplements such as case studies or documents. Genovese's presentation allows readers to identify with the various constraints on America's chief executive and gives them an opportunity to apply their knowledge and preconceptions (often misconceptions) to the political realities that presidents routinely face. Students are left to grapple with a central question of the book: Is an effective presidency possible without undermining the essence of a democratic republic?

Memo to a New President: The Art and Science of Presidential Leadership

In its more than 200-year history, the office of the President of the United States has undergone a variety of dramatic changes. Because our founding fathers left the privileges and responsibilities of the job constitutionally vague and ill-defined, each occupant of the office-from George Washington to Bill Clinton-has tried to set the limits of presidential power as he has seen fit based on the domestic and international circumstances of the day as well as on his own ambition and abilities. In The Power of the American Presidency, Michael A. Genovese, one of the best known and respected scholars on the presidency, takes students on a journey through the personalities and politics of some of the most fascinating and at times powerful men in American history. Organized chronologically, the text offers an overview of the evolution and elasticity of presidential power by providing case studies of each president's personal characteristics and the defining historical events of each administration. From Abraham Lincoln, who stretched the boundaries of presidential power during the Civil War, to nearly forgotten presidents like Van Buren, Garfield, and Fillmore, who led weak administrations with limited power, Genovese presents the history of our country's highest office with insight, balanced judgment, and humor. The Power of the American Presidency will be widely used in undergraduate courses on the American Presidency as well as in courses on American history, American studies, and political science. It will also be of interest to anyone who wishes to gain a keener insight into the workings of the presidency.

The Power of the American Presidency: 1789-2000

In The Paradoxes of the American Presidency, two prize-winning presidential scholars, Thomas E. Cronin and Michael A. Genovese, explore the complex institution of the American presidency by presenting a series of paradoxes that shape and define the office. Rewritten and updated to reflect recent political events--including the controversial presidency of George W. Bush, the vice presidency of Dick Cheney, the presidency of Barack Obama, and the 2010 and 2012 elections--this must-read fourth edition incorporates findings from the latest scholarship, recent elections and court cases, and essential survey research.

The Paradoxes of the American Presidency

Over the past several years, the fields of Leadership Studies and of Women's Studies have grown tremendously.  This book, which is a series of case studies of women who have headed governments across the globe, will discuss the conditions and situations under which women rose to power and give a brief biography of each woman .   A special chapter on why no U.S. woman has risen to the top,  and a review of the political campaigns of Hillary Clinton, Michele Bachmann and others  will be included. This book will be of interest for courses in women and leadership, global politics and gender studies.

Women as Political Leaders: Studies in Gender and Governing (LEADERSHIP: Research and Practice)

This brief, thought-provoking text evaluates the performance of recent presidents from Johnson to Bush, finding that, overall, each has failed to live up to public expectations. Written by one of the top presidency scholars today, The Presidential Dilemma reflects on the idea that as our country’s problems grow, our politicians seem to shrink. Arguing that American presidents of the last 40 years have largely failed to meet the needs, expectations, and responsibilities placed upon them, the book discusses how presidents might better maximize their opportunities for leadership and suggests a distinctive theory of presidential politics: presidents, facing a system of multiple veto points, seek to maximize power and influence.  The third edition of Genovese’s stimulating book is thoroughly updated to reflect presidential development in recent years, and a new introduction brings his arguments current. As he demonstrates, the emergence of democracy as a new social and political paradigm undermined traditional authority and legitimacy. Subjects no longer automatically follow; now citizens must be persuaded. They may give to a leader their authority and power, or not. As Genovese notes, in a world of mass consumerism, those wishing to lead have precious little to offer by way of inducement.  Genovese’s goal is to examine the reasons why the performance of recent presidents has been underwhelming, discuss how they might maximize their opportunities for leadership, and ask a key question: Can presidents be both powerful and accountable? The book follows a clear format and tries to show why America’s officeholders have so rarely been leaders and how presidents can become leaders instead of mere officeholders.

The Presidential Dilemma: Revisiting Democratic Leadership in the American System

William Shakespeare, more than any other author, was able to capture the essence of human nature in all its manifestations. His political plays offer enduring insights into our humanity, our vanity, our noble and baser drives, what makes us great, and what makes us loathsome. He tells us about ourselves and about our world. This volume gleans valuable lessons from the writings of William Shakespeare and applies them to contemporary politics. Original chapters covering over a dozen different plays take up perennial political themes including power and leadership, corruption and virtue, war and peace, evil and liberty, persuasion and polarization, and empire and global overreach.Features of the text:

Shakespeare and Politics: What a Sixteenth-Century Playwright Can Tell Us about Twenty-First-Century Politics

Each president brings to the White House a distinct set of personal characteristics and a preferred leadership style, but just how much have individual presidents shaped domestic policy? To understand and assess what factors determine one president s success and another s limited accomplishments, it is important to examine both the individual s leadership roles and the circumstances that shape opportunities for success. This book systematically examines the first terms of every president from FDR to Obama and assesses leadership style, the policy agenda, and the political opportunity facing each president. The success of each president in bringing about landmark legislation and other policy change is shown to hinge on the opportunities facing each president, his leadership style, and finally, his skill managing a variety of institutional and public relationships. Not all presidents are created equal, but some can implement strategies to overcome formidable obstacles, rising into the vaunted ranks of the Great Presidents. The second edition of this timely book adds chapters on George W. Bush and Barack Obama and focuses on the significant domestic policy challenges of their respective times. Tax cuts, education policy, and homeland security are featured for the Bush era, while health care reform, economic policy initiatives, immigration, and gun control are highlights for Obama. Both offer insights into contemporary presidential leadership in a highly partisan age. In addition, the authors have reconfigured the analytical framework of the book to take into account the dynamic opportunity structure that emerged during the George W. Bush administration.Questions the book addresses include:

The Presidency and Domestic Policy: Comparing Leadership Styles, FDR to Obama

Exceptional leaders can guide us through bursts of energy and activity that fundamentally alter the status quo. But other leaders guide us quietly, and still others lead as followers—or as students, citizens, and foot soldiers from every walk of life.  Most leadership books emphasize specific rules of the road or characteristics and signposts. Tom Cronin and Michael Genovese see leadership as more nuanced and filled with paradox--a realm in which rules only occasionally apply and “how to do it” prescriptions obscure more than they enlighten. Leadership Matters offers a different view of leadership—one that builds community, motivates self as well as others, and one that is creatively adaptive and synthesizing.Leaders are people with strong egos who are constantly learning and teaching. It is the leadership of teams, groups, and ideas that more often count than that from charismatic figureheads. Leadership is often a bottom-up rather than top-down phenomenon. Both context and agency matter. The best of leaders learn to read contexts, anticipate challenges and disruptions, and employ smart power. This book sets leaders on that path—to unleash the power of paradox.“This book is an absolute tour-de-force—one of the most wide-ranging, fascinating, intricate studies of leadership I have ever read.”—Doris Kearns Goodwin, Pulitzer Prize–winning author and presidential historian"...a real addition to the leadership canon." —Warren Bennis, Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California“A superb book" —J. Thomas Wren, Jepson School of Leadership, University of Richmond"...destined to become a classic.” —James O’Toole, former Executive Vice President, Aspen InstituteWinner of the 2013 Outstanding Leadership Book Award

Leadership Matters: Unleashing the Power of Paradox

The Watergate crisis continues to cast a long shadow over American politics. So many of the issues we confront today have their roots in the scandals of the Nixon administration. In this volume, a collection of essays by political scientists and historians from the United States and the United Kingdom, the contributors trace many of today's problems directly back to the Watergate crisis, and examine the legacy of Watergate for American politics today.

Watergate Remembered: The Legacy for American Politics (The Evolving American Presidency)

Presidential Prerogative

Leadership in an Age of Hyper-Change considers how the rapid changes of today will affect the leaders of tomorrow. Renowned Leadership scholar Michael A. Genovese argues that one of the key challenges for future leaders will be to effectively and constructively manage the ‘hyper-change’ taking place both within organizations and in the broader social and political spheres. Taking a Futures Studies approach to envision the state of leadership in the coming decades, Genovese also provides case studies of leaders who have already demonstrated the mind- and skill-sets necessary to successfully manage rapid change. 

Leadership in an Age of Hyper-Change (LEADERSHIP: Research and Practice)

This comprehensive case law book examines the evolution of judicial interpretation of the scope and limitations of presidential power. From interbranch struggles for power, to presidential selection, to campaign financing, to war powers, hardly an issue arises for the modern presidency that does not eventually find itself framed as a legal problem to be addressed by the courts.  Each section provides an introduction providing background and framework for students. Throughout, the analysis is informed by the view that court decisions are framed by legal arguments and constitute legal issuances and are also framed by politics, and have profound political consequences. Coinciding with a broader intellectual and disciplinary return to institutions and law as key to understanding the presidency and modern politics, this book will find special favor among scholars who teach courses on the presidency and related areas.

The Presidency and the Constitution: Cases and Controversies

"... this timely and fascinating book ... is a handbook for those interested in gaining perspective on the appearance of and actual corruption in the American system, and ... can be read cover to cover to great profit ... it will find its way into classrooms. Scholars will use it as a means to engage and extend many of its provocative findings. However it is used, the effort is well worth the time invested." - Presidential Studies Quarterly "This volume, edited by two well-respected professors of US politics, represents the fine effort of nearly a dozen scholars to tackle this challenging subject ... Several of the essays are especially illuminating ... an important contribution to the study of political corruption in the US. Recommended." - CHOICE

Corruption and American Politics

The most up-to-date reference of its kind, "Encyclopedia of the American Presidency, Revised Edition" is the definitive guide to the role of the president from the American Revolution through the present day. Offering a complete account of every presidential election in U.S. history, this fully revised A-to-Z encyclopedia will make a great first stop for students and general readers looking for information on the executive branch of the American government. Its comprehensive scope spans the relationship between the executive and the other branches of government, court cases, elections, political opponents, scandals, and more. A valuable resource that provides concise information, "Encyclopedia of the American Presidency, Revised Edition" contains approximately 700 entries and many wonderful black-and-white illustrations. It includes: George W. Bush; Commander in chief; Economic policy; Executive privilege; Impeachment; Iraq War; Thomas Jefferson; Military tribunals; Barack Obama; Oval office; The Secret Service; Veto power; and, White House.

Encyclopedia of the American Presidency

The American public hungers for a heroic leader. From John F. Kennedy to George W. Bush, every American president has left office either under a cloud or as a failed leader. Michael A. Genovese argues that presidents are set up for failure; it is not specific presidents but the presidency itself that is the problem.The presidency was designed to prevent tyranny through a system of separation of powers that inhibits presidents from exercising sufficient power to meet the demands and expectations that developed over time. Each new president dreams of success, only to be crushed by the paralytic weight of vetoes and roadblocks. As they fail to meet expectations, Americans turn on them, making their already precarious position much worse. Given the perilous nature of the office, Genovese examines the skills required to achieve success and the roles of power and persuasion. He also examines how globalization and the rapid pace of change contribute to the decline of presidential power.This accessible synthesis of scholarship is geared toward an audience that is hungry to unravel the dilemmas of presidential leadership. Students of the presidency will find it insightful; general readers will find it illuminating.

Presidential Leadership in an Age of Change (Presidential Briefings)

This book examines how presidents from Nixon to Obama have faced the challenges of global leadership in a dramatically changing world―one with more limited resources and an increasing number of threatening challengers.• Examines what challenges future U.S. presidents will have to deal with in our globalized world• Addresses the important question of what role can and should the United States play in the international arena• Explains why the office of president―once seen as one of the great engines of American power―now exhibits decline in presidential success and appears handcuffed and ineffective in creating change

The Post-Heroic Presidency: Leveraged Leadership in an Age of Limits, 2nd Edition

This workbook is designed to develop students' critical thinking and writing skills as applied to the field of American Government. The workbook consists of a series of questions that require short answers and students to do research to find answers and think critically.  Upon completing this workbook students will have a better factual knowledge of american government and politics, will have developed their writing and research skills, as well as find-tuned their critical thinking skills.

American Government 101: A Participatory/Critical Thinking Workbook

This workbook is designed to develop students' critical thinking and writing skills as applied to the field of political science. The workbook consists of a series of questions that require short answers and students to do research to find answers and think critically.  Upon completing this workbook students will have a better factual knowledge of american government and politics, will have developed their writing and research skills, as well as find-tuned their critical thinking skills.

Political Science 101: A Participatory/Critical Thinking Workbook

This book features a lively debate between two prominent scholars—Michael A. Genovese and David Gray Adler—on the critical issue of whether the Constitution, written in the 18th Century, remains adequate to the national security challenges of our time. The question of  the scope of the president’s constitutional authority—if any—to initiate war on behalf of the American people, long the subject of heated debate in the corridors of power and the groves of academe, has become an issue of surpassin

The War Power in an Age of Terrorism: Debating Presidential Power

Michael A. Genovese received a Ph.D. from the University of Southern California in 1979. He holds the Loyola Chair of Leadership Studies, and is Professor of Political Science,  Director of the Institute for Leadership Studies, and President of the Global Policy Institute  at Loyola Marymount University. In 2006, he was made a Fellow at the Queens College, Oxford University. And in 2017 Professor Genovese was awarded the American Political Science Association’s Distinguished Teaching Award, only the fifth time in the APSA’s history that this award has been given out.

Professor Genovese has written over fifty books, including How Trump Governs: The Trumping of American Politics, Leadership Matters (with Thomas E. Cronin, named OUTSTANDING LEADERSHIP BOOK OF THE YEAR by the International Leadership Association); The Paradoxes of the American Presidency (with Thomas E. Cronin and Meena Bose); The Encyclopedia of the American Presidency (winner of the New York Public Library, “Best of Reference” work of 2004), and Memo to a New President: The Art and Science of Presidential Leadership. His articles and reviews have appeared in the American Political Science Review, The Times Literary Supplement, Public Opinion Quarterly, Presidential Studies Quarterly, White House Studies, The Journal of Leadership Studies, and elsewhere.

Genovese has won over a dozen teaching awards, including the Fritz B. Burns Distinguished Teaching Award (1995), the Rains Excellence in Research Award (2011), and the Rains Career Service Award (2019).  Professor Genovese frequently appears as a commentator on local, national, and international television and radio (e.g., CNN, NPR, CBS). He is also Associate Editor of the journal, White House Studies, is on the Editorial Board of the International Leadership Journal, has lectured for the United States Embassy abroad, and is editor of Palgrave Macmillan Publishing’s, “The Evolving American Presidency” book series. Professor Genovese has been The Washington Center’s “scholar-in-residence” at three Democratic national political conventions, and the 2008 presidential inauguration, and served as scholar-in-residence at the 2012 Republican National Convention. He is currently on the Advisory Boards of The Washington Center, and The Center for the Study of Los Angeles, and is the Chair of the Board of the Foundation. During the presidency of George H.W. Bush, Genovese served as a consultant on crisis management at the Department of Defense.

American Politics

The American Presidency

Law and Presidential Power

British Politics

ILS Director Michael Genovese appeared on CNN Newsroom to discuss the US Strike which killed Iranian Commander Soleimani

ILS Director Michael Genovese appeared on CNN Newsroom to discuss House Democrats releasing key testimony transcripts.

ILS Director Michael Genovese appeared on CNN International to discuss the Trump Whistleblower and his written testimony.

ILS Director Michael Genovese appeared on CNN International to discuss the Vindman testimony.

ILS Director Michael Genovese appeared on CBS Los Angeles to discuss Katie Hill's congressional seat.

ILS Chair Michael Genovese appeared on CNN Newsroom to discuss President Trump, health care reform, and the Russia investigation.

2016 Presidential Election and Marijuana: How Ted Cruz, Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio Answer The Weed Question

LMU Prof. Michael Genovese Weighs In On Controversy Surrounding Executive Order on Immigration

Voters warm to Congress candidates despite scandal, legal woes

Grimm choice: Tax fraud trial could dog NY re-election campaign

Professor of Political Science and International Relations, President of Global Policy Institute at LMU, Loyola Chair of Leadership Studies, Director of Institute for Leadership Studies

Loyola Marymount professor Michael Genovese, director of the Institute for Leadership Studies, offers a brief analysis of what the 2010 election results mean...

LMU Professor Michael Genovese on the 2010 Election Aftermath

Amy Johnson speaks with Prof. Michael Genovese, of Loyola Marymount University, about the start of the U.S. involvement in the region. Official Site: http://...

Expert Explains History Of Western Involvement In Middle East Conflict

Prof. Michael Genovese, who teaches political science at Loyola Marymount University, touched on how far our nation has come in just 50 years since passing t...

Nation Marks 50th Anniversary Of Civil Rights Act

In this short video leadership experts and members of the International Leadership Association Michael Genovese and Tom Cronin talk about their book Leadersh...

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