Patapan's research interests are in democratic theory and practice, political philosophy, political leadership, and comparative constitutionalism. He is a Professor in the Department of Politics and Public Policy, Griffith University, Australia. John and Haig were awarded the Australian Political Studies Association's Mayer Journal Article Prize for the paper judged to be the best published in the Australian Journal of Political Science in 2010. The award was given to the article, 'The Artless Art: Leadership and the Limits of Democratic Rhetoric' (45:3) which was drawn from a chapter in The Democratic Leader.