This ground-breaking and innovative book examines the influence of charisma on power, authority and nationalism. The authors both apply and challenge Max Weber’s concept of ‘charisma’ and integrate it into a broader discussion of other theoretical models. Using an interdisciplinary approach, leading international scholars draw on a diverse range of cases to analyse charisma in benign and malignant leaderships, as well as the relationship between the cult of the leader, the adulation of the masses and the extension of individual authority beyond sheer power. They discuss idiosyncratic authority and oratory, and they address how political, social and regional variations help explain concepts and policies which helped forge and reformulate nations, national identities and movements. The chapters on particular charismatic leaders cover Abraham Lincoln, Kemal Atatürk, Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Gamal Nasser, Jörg Haider and Nelson Mandela. Political Leadership, Nations and Charisma will appeal to readers who are interested in history, sociology, political communication and nationalism studies.

This book is unique in illuminating and comparing the charismatic role of two political leaders, Jawaharlal Nehru and David Ben-Gurion, along with assessments of many other 20th century political leaders. Its aim is to enrich our knowledge of an important dimension of global politics: charismatic leadership. The central role of political leaders in shaping the behavior of states has been universally recognized since the political systems of antiquity in East Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. With the massive increase of independent states since the end of World War II, from 55 initial members of the United Nations to more than 200 today, and especially the emergence of awesome weapons of mass destruction, the centrality of political leaders in the survival of the planet has grown exponentially. Both India and Israel have experienced the crucial role of charismatic leaders, Nehru and Ben Gurion, who dominated their states and societies for a near-identical formative period in their political independence, 1947-64 and 1948-63 respectively, as charismatic leaders. Their impact, Brecher shows, extended far beyond their states to both their geographic regions and global politics.

Accomplished political leaders have a clear strategy for turning political visions into reality. Through well-honed analytical, political, and emotional intelligence, leaders chart paths to promising futures that include economic growth, material prosperity, and human well-being. Alas, such leaders are rare in the developing world, where often institutions are weak and greed and corruption strong—and where responsible leadership therefore has the potential to effect the greatest change. In Transformative Political Leadership, Robert I. Rotberg focuses on the role of leadership in politics and argues that accomplished leaders demonstrate a particular set of skills. Through illustrative case studies of leaders who have performed ably in the developing world—among them Nelson Mandela in South Africa, Seretse Khama in Botswana, Lee Kuan Yew in Singapore, and Kemal Ataturk in Turkey—Rotberg examines how these leaders transformed their respective countries. The importance of capable leadership is woefully understudied in political science, and this book will be an important tool in exploring how leaders lead and how nations and institutions are built.

The book provides an insightful study of the Jewish theologian Martin Buber, and combines a review of the unconventional Zionism he proposed with a sensitivity to myth as the basis of an inclusive civil religion. The multifaceted nature of this work examines Buber’s embrace of myth, and his application of myth to both biblical studies and political theory. It pays special attention to the way Buber’s thinking about Zion applied to religious ethical issues such as ecology, education, ritual, and, as a continuing theme throughout the book, to the conflict between those Buber called Jews and Arabs in the land of Palestine.

The Routledge International Handbook of Charisma provides an unprecedented multidimensional and multidisciplinary comparative analysis of the phenomenon of charisma – first defined by Max Weber as the irrational bond between deified leader and submissive follower. It includes broad overviews of foundational theories and experiences of charisma and of associated key issues and themes. Contributors include 45 influential international scholars who approach the topic from different disciplinary perspectives and utilize examples from an array of historical and cultural settings. The Handbook presents up-to-date, concise, thought-provoking, innovative, and informative perspectives on charisma as it has been expressed in the past and as it continues to be manifested in the contemporary world by leaders ranging from shamans to presidents. It is designed to be essential reading for all students, researchers, and general readers interested in achieving a comprehensive understanding of the power and potential of charismatic authority in all its varieties, subtleties, dynamics, and current and potential directions.

How a preoccupation with charismatic leadership in African American culture has influenced literature from World War I to the present

Thoughts, and ways of thinking, give us our substance and personal essence, which make us so individualistic but, conversely, allow as to closely relate to each other. Our here and now, our reality or actuality is deeply rooted in our beliefs, hopes and plans for the future. That is the reason why it is never about bullshit, but is always about Hoping, Dreaming and our Imagination, as well as about the way how we negotiate and renegotiate our thoughts with those who create with us the here and now. This paper and future research are dedicated to the political world, which is increasingly becoming virtual, in a visionary leadership, created by each of us, in our own personal way.

Active at the time when the social sciences were founded, Max Weber's social theory contributed significantly to a wide range of fields and disciplines. Considering his prominence, it makes sense to take stock of the Weberian heritage and to explore the ways in which Weber's work and ideas have contributed to our understanding of the modern world. Using his work as a point of departure, The Oxford Handbook of Max Weber investigates the Weberian legacy today, identifying the enduring problems and themes associated with his thought that have contemporary significance: the nature of modern capitalism, neo-liberal global economic policy, nationalism, religion and secularization, threats to legality, the culture of modernity, bureaucratic rule and leadership, politics and ethics, the value of science, power and inequality. These problems are global in scope, and the Weberian approach has been used to address them in very different societies. Thus, the Handbook also features chapters on Europe, Turkey, Islam, Judaism, China, India, and international politics. The Handbook emphasizes the use and application of Weber's ideas. It offers a journey through the intellectual terrain that scholars continue to explore using the tools and perspectives of Weberian analysis. The essays explore how Weber's concepts, hypotheses, and perspectives have been applied in practice, and how they can be applied in the future in social inquiry, not only in Europe and North America, but globally. The volume is divided into six parts exploring, in turn: Capitalism in a Globalized World, Society and Social Structure, Politics and the State, Religion, Culture, and Science and Knowledge.

Turkmenistan is a country which is almost sealed off from the rest of the world but it has attracted foreign attention due to the eccentricities of its late president Saparmurat Niyazov Türkmenbaşy, whose ideological construction and dynamics of power have remained in place after his death. This book offers a thorough analysis of why this personality cult developed in Turkmenistan in a way that has not been seen in other newly developed Central Asian countries. In assessing the Türkmenbaşy phenomenon, this book explains the causes and origins of the personality cult by drawing a comparison with Qadhdhafi’s Libya. The author understands the Niyazov cult not as a discrete phenomenon but as a system deriving from specific historical functions and functioning in a determined social and historical context. Using accounts of the Türkmenbaşy and Qadhdhafi cults and the speeches and books written by these personalities, this book focuses on the institutional side of the personality cult. A fascinating analysis of the political situation in Turkmenistan under Saparmurat Niyazov, this book will be of interest to scholars of Political Science, Comparative Politics and, in particular, Central Asian Studies.