Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

Political leadership concerns those who play the decisive roles in institutions that determine “who gets what, when, how” ( Lasswell 1977 ). It is best understood in terms of process (the means by which an individual or group persuades followers to accede to the leadership's purposes) rather than of status (those in specific roles). While power relations, and hence politics, exist in the smallest of groups, and leadership can be studied at every level – from the work group to global forums – political leadership is usually analyzed in a broad societal context in relation to processes of governance. When the perpetual revolution of capitalism swept away the given authoritative roles and relatively static structures of traditional societies, leadership became an issue: Who should exercise it? In what manner? How was legitimacy to be recognized? Complex modern societies demand high levels of organization and bureaucratic management (promoting the sociological analysis of emergent structures) on the one hand, and the reflexive achievement of individual identity (promoting individualistic theories of psychology) on the other. Both imperatives have influenced the study of leadership. Some social scientists understand leadership as a necessary social function within group and institutions, while others interpret it in terms of individual characteristics that seed the drive for power and ... log in or subscribe to read full text