Kingmakers are often described as "Machiavellian" or "Svengali like", Dougie Smith is feared as a mysterious backroom "Tory Fixer"” in the UK in recent years but we hear very little about him. Steve Bannon and Dick Cheyney have been identified as "kingmakers" to two different USA Presidents. Richard Neville the Earl of Warwick, cousin to the Yorkist kings Edward IV and Richard III, was deemed "the kingmaker" during the 15th C. Wars of the Roses. The formidable intriguer and powerbroker Cardinal Richelieu exercised considerable power as the Chief Minister of Louis XIII of France.
- Emininence : Cardinal Richelieu and the Rise and Fall of France, 2013, Walker Books, Jean Vincent Blanchard, ISBN 0802717047
- The Powerbrokers, Kingmakers and Usurpers, 1990, Facts on File Inc, Rupert Matthews, ISBN 0816021562
- Days of Fire, Bush and Cheyney in the White House, 2013, Doubleday, Peter Baker, ISBN 0385525184
- The origins of the terms and names kingmaker, Machiavellian and Svengali and their use throughout ancient, modern and mediaeval history
- Sejanus, power behind the Roman Emperor Tiberius 14-37 AD and his demise in 31 AD
- Cardina Richelieu, Chief Minister to King Louis XIII (1610-1643) and his chief spymaster Amand, centralisation of the monarch’s power.
- Dougie Smith, Tory powerbroker and his role in succession of Tory PMs since David Camerons victory in 2010.
- Characteristics of powerbrokers from different centuries and contexts including Richard Neville the Earl of Warwick, Dick Cheyney and Steve Bannon, Catherine de Medici and Edith Wilson, wife of Woodrow Wilson.
By the end of this course, students should be able to:
- Gain an understanding of the operations of power within different forms of government and in different periods of history
- Discuss the consequences of "shared power" or "compromised power" in relation to responsibility or accountability in various periods of history
- Gain an understanding of differences between "public power" and "private/behind the scenes power" in different historical contexts
