Abstract: The subject of this research is the political leadership; the object is the divided into segments society, particularly the Democratic Republic of Nigeria. The author meticulously reviews the issues of political leadership within a divided society, concept of Arend Lijphart, and segmental differences. Leaning on the Lijphart’s concept of multicomponent societies, the article assesses the prospects of establishing democracy in Nigeria, as well as argues that the existing at the basic level segmental differences can be overcome through cooperation of the leaders of various groups. Using the formalized survey of Nigerian experts, the author analyzes the peculiarities of political leadership in a divided into segments society. According to A. Lijphart, one of the key issues ought to be resolved by the by the leaders in a multicomponent society is the integration of segments. Nigeria’s example is relevant due to the fact that the country remains to be a strongly segmented society. Summarizing the results of the conducted analysis, the following conclusions were made: the successes of democracy retain an ultimate level of instability; one of the key causes of the failure of democracy is the persistent segmentation (religious and ethnic) of society and the absence of strategically planned and sequential policy for solving this issue.

Abstract: The subject of this research is the political leadership; the object is the divided into segments society, particularly the Democratic Republic of Nigeria. The author meticulously reviews the issues of political leadership within a divided society, concept of Arend Lijphart, and segmental differences. Leaning on the Lijphart’s concept of multicomponent societies, the article assesses the prospects of establishing democracy in Nigeria, as well as argues that the existing at the basic level segmental differences can be overcome through cooperation of the leaders of various groups. Using the formalized survey of Nigerian experts, the author analyzes the peculiarities of political leadership in a divided into segments society. According to A. Lijphart, one of the key issues ought to be resolved by the by the leaders in a multicomponent society is the integration of segments. Nigeria’s example is relevant due to the fact that the country remains to be a strongly segmented society. Summarizing the results of the conducted analysis, the following conclusions were made: the successes of democracy retain an ultimate level of instability; one of the key causes of the failure of democracy is the persistent segmentation (religious and ethnic) of society and the absence of strategically planned and sequential policy for solving this issue.

Abstract: This article examines the main types of symbolic resources of the modern political leadership. Having analyzed the concept of the renowned American political scientist Murray Edelman alongside the works of other contemporary researchers, the author demonstrates the correlation between he manipulative, symbolic-ritual, and cognitive aspects of the democratic institutions and practices. The symbolic resources and mechanisms of political leadership are considered in detail. Particular attention is given to the analysis of the impact of globalization upon the symbolic mechanisms of the modern political leadership, as well as the question of targeted influence of the government and its representatives upon the public consciousness, using of symbolic forms. Theoretical-methodological foundation of this work consists in the theory of symbolic politics of M. Edelman, which critical analysis allowed determining the level of heuristic value of this theory for studying the modern political leadership. In the course of this analysis the author also referred to the sociological data of Levada Center and Russian Public Opinion Research Center, as well as attracted the empirical material from mass media. In conclusion, the author define the following resources of political leadership in modern society: language, ritual, environment and collective historical memory; while the mechanisms are the formation of identities and symbolic politics with regards to the national holidays. The author underlines the increasing influence of the global political processes upon the symbolic legitimation of leadership.