The Perils of Showmanship Politics and Leadership

Published on 29 Jul 2025

“When power is disconnected from, and incongruent to lived experiences and realities, then turmoil, poverty and suffering, and conflicts and violence follows.”

In The Perils of Showmanship Politics and Leadership, Dr Teo Lee Ken cautions against policy-making divorced from grounded research and lived realities. Drawing on thinkers like Edward Said and Michel Foucault, the essay explores how power and knowledge shape not just perceptions but policies — with real-world consequences. Using the Iran–Israel conflict as a case study, Teo stresses the dangers of decision-making driven by spectacle over substance, and highlights the ethical responsibility of leaders to be informed, grounded, and morally guided rather than performative.