Coming Soon!
Empathy in Politics and Leadership: The Key to Transforming Our World
Should we approach politics and leadership in a different way—would greater understanding and connection lead to trust, community and innovation?
Empathy has become a cliché of contemporary politics—often espoused by world leaders, but rarely understood. In truth the capacity to understand other worldviews is neither easy, nor comfortable. Seeing through others’ eyes requires strength, courage, integrity and an ability to reason across the harshest political divides. In a time of heightened marginalization, disconnection and polarization, empathy in our leaders and across society is vitally important.
Claire Yorke offers the first sustained account of empathy in politics and leadership, drawing on examples from across the world. Including model leaders like Nelson Mandela and Jacinda Ardern, as well as figures such as Donald Trump who mobilize very different forms of feeling, Yorke ask what distinguishes certain leaders from the rest, and examines why empathy is essential for a more human-centred politics.
Demonstrating empathy’s radical potential and disputing its connotations of weakness, this book shows how we can build a political ecosystem of belonging and engagement—and begin the necessary dialogue to find common ground.
Launching
UK - 14th October
North America - 12th November
Australia and New Zealand - early 2026
And available for pre-order from all good bookstores
Jon Alexander, author of Citizens
‘Elon Musk might think empathy is a weakness, but what becomes clear as you read this book is that’s because he doesn’t understand what empathy is. Claire Yorke offers a vital reset to the narrative of our times, in politics and beyond, showing that empathy is in fact a superpower—but not a simple one.’
Donna Hicks, author of Dignity
‘Anyone interested in understanding the threats to our shared existence on this planet should care about this topic.’
Jennifer Nadel, Co-Founder of Compassion in Politics
‘Incisive, powerfully written and inspiring: a must-read for anyone who wants to understand how to make the world better. Yorke brilliantly argues that empathy is the essential ingredient for the transformation of our political landscape.’
Emma Sky OBE, Director of the Yale International Leadership Center