Transformational Leaders and Ideological Shifts

Author(s):  
Pradeep K. Chhibber ◽  
Rahul Verma

The role of leadership in Indian politics is not well understood. Often Indian politicians, in line with the thesis that India is a patronage democracy, are presented as transactional leaders who win votes and elections by promising voters private or club goods. Transactional leaders are important to help citizens navigate an opaque state and deeply hierarchical bureaucracy, but their ability to mobilize votes on the national canvas is overstated as is their impact on the party system. We show that leaders who succeed in projecting themselves as transformational politicians who offer clear and distinct ideological visions with respect to the politics of statism and the politics of recognition, have been responsible for the large shifts in India’s party system. Transformational leaders are important because they can hold the party organization, make cross-cutting coalitions, energize vote mobilizers and increase turnout for the party.

2019 ◽  
Vol 118 (11) ◽  
pp. 255-268
Author(s):  
Amit Kumar

Modern politics, particularly prevalent in the Western Democracies, is replete with instances wherein communication has come to play a pivotal role in the formation or dislodging a government. This is not to say that in traditional political scenario, the role of communication was any lesser. Far from it, communication has always characterized the build-up of events in politics. However, the significance of the same has increased manifold thanks to the advent of social media and complex nature of modern politics as well as due to rise of such concepts as political branding which has gained traction in the wake of proliferation of technology. The same holds true in the Indian political scenario as well. The last few years have redefined the role of communication and its tools in Indian politics, especially during a mega-political event like election. The last two general elections were testimonies to the same. The might of social media has been realized by even its staunchest critics. Along with it, the popular concept of permanent campaign has also characterized the phenomenon of political communication. This paper goes on to explore the underlying concept of political communication and how the same has come to influence the turn of events as well as the final outcome of an election.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Damir Kapidžić ◽  
Olivera Komar

Abstract This article examines the role of ethnicity and ethnic parties as stabilizing factors in Southeast European party systems. It compares two ethnically divided countries in Southeast Europe: Bosnia and Herzegovina, where ethnic identities that form the political cleavage are firm, and Montenegro, where they are malleable. Theoretically, it addresses the debate between scholars who either find stability or instability in East European post-communist party systems. The article traces the role of ethnicity in the formation and development of electoral contests and compares the two cases by utilizing measures of block volatility, based on analysis of official electoral data. We argue that party systems in ethnically diverse countries are stable at the subsystems level, but unstable within them. In BiH, firm ethnic identity stabilizes the party system by limiting competition between blocks, leading to closure. Malleable ethnic identity in Montenegro opens competition to non-ethnic parties seeking to bridge ethnic divisions, leading to more instability. We find that party system dynamics in ethnically divided new democracies depend on identity rigidity and cleavage salience, in addition to levels of heterogeneity.


1973 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 126-138
Author(s):  
Howard A. Scarrow

It is both humbling and encouraging to recall notions that Americans once entertained of the British political system. Critics of F.D.R. looked enviously at the British Parliament for its reputed ability to hold the executive firmly accountable for its actions. Somewhat later, observers on both sides of the Atlantic supposed that Britain was blessed with an absence of pressure groups. Would-be reformers of the American party system further implied that British voters cast their ballots according to the content of party programs, and that party cohesion was the result of discipline imposed by a centralized party organization able to deny renomination to recalcitrant M.P.'s. Careful analyses of intra-party workings, pressure-group activity, and voting behavior have now dispelled these and other mistaken impressions, and it seems likely that the contours of our understanding of these subjects have now been established. However, additional frontiers of knowledge of the British political system remain to be charted; one of these is government at the local level.


2015 ◽  
pp. 68-90
Author(s):  
L. S. Okuneva

In the article are considered criteria and possibilities of comparative analysis of the processes of political modernization of Brazil and Russia that unfolded there at the turn of the 1980s-1990s. The article deals with the features of the formation of civil society and political culture on the stage of a radical transformation of political structures in both countries (party system, the role of political leadership, etc.). Also the article investigates character of the differences in the development of the both countries at the beginning of the XXI century.


Author(s):  
Thamer M. Maharmeh Thamer M. Maharmeh

The current study explored the relationship between leadership styles and employee engagement in the case of a Qatari public corporation. Survey research method was used in the research. In order to meet the research objectives, an online survey questionnaire was developed and distributed to a simple random sample of 294 employees. Descriptive and analytical statistical techniques available in SPSS were used to analyze the data of the 125 returned surveys. The results of the current study revealed that: (1) about 75% of the respondents are engaged in their work, (2) employees perceive their supervisors as transformational leaders rather than transactional leaders. Nonetheless, employees perceive their supervisors as neither pure transformational leaders nor pure transactional leaders, (3) there is strong and positive correlation between employee engagement and both transformational and transactional leadership styles. However, the correlation between transactional leadership and employee engagement was stronger than the correlation between transformational leadership and employee engagement. Based on that it is recommended to: (1) encourage supervisors to mix both transformational and transactional leadership styles by considering the situation and the nature of the task assigned to employees, (2) take action to develop leadership skills and behaviors, (3) show recognition for employee contributions and efforts, (4) strengthen the relationships between employees and their supervisors. In conclusion, it is important to develop strategies and practices to enhance employee engagement. One of the key factors in doing so is the development of leadership styles and behaviours.


Author(s):  
Tapio Raunio

This chapter examines the party system of the European Parliament (EP). In the early 1950s, members of the EP decided to form party-political groups instead of national blocs to counterbalance the dominance of national interests in the European Council. Since then, the party groups have gradually, but consistently, consolidated their positions in the EP. The chapter first considers the shape of the EP party system, the structure of the party groups, and the role of national parties within them. It then looks at the Spitzenkandidaten (lead candidates) initiative, whereby the Europarties put forward their own candidates for the Commission President in the 2014 elections. It also discusses coalition politics and parliamentary committees as well as electoral accountability in the EP and concludes with an overview of the state of research on the EP party system, emphasizing the need to understand how coalitions are formed in the committees and the plenary.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Usman Khalid ◽  
Rabia Mushtaq ◽  
Abdul Zahid Khan ◽  
Faisal Mahmood

Purpose This paper aims to evaluate how transformational leadership can increase job embeddedness in their employees that persuade them to stay in their organization and how this relationship is contingent upon the job characteristics. Design/methodology/approach Sample of 328 useable responses was available for analysis. Questionnaires were distributed to the employees who are working in different Pakistani organizations. Regression analysis was used to test for hypotheses. Findings The findings support that there is a significant impact of transformational leadership for shaping job embeddedness, and the results endorsed the role of job characteristics as a moderator in describing the relationship of transformational leadership and job embeddedness. Transformational leaders would motivate employees to work together in productive manners in challenging work settings. Originality/value This paper makes three key contributions to the literature on job design. First, this inquiry shows that a strong link does exist between transformational leadership in creating organizational job embeddedness. Second, it highlights how job characteristics of highly challenging work settings may shape employees’ job embeddedness. Third, this paper offers a novel perspective in leadership research by incorporating high challenging work setting (i.e. job characteristics) as moderator. Managers may get new insight by opting for transformational leaders' attributes and concentrating on high challenging work settings for creating embeddedness in employees to prolong their stay with the job and firm.


The Theosophical Society (est. 1875 in New York by H. P. Blavatsky, H. S. Olcott, and others) is increasingly becoming recognized for its influential role in shaping the alternative new religious and cultural landscape of the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and perhaps especially for being an early promoter of interest in Eastern religions and philosophies. Many scholars now point to the Theosophical Society’s early popularization of Eastern concepts in the West and that Blavatsky and Olcott were the first known Westerners to convert to Buddhism, but despite this increasing awareness many of the central questions relating to the early Theosophical Society and the East still remain largely unexplored. This volume is the first academic anthology specifically dedicated to a more detailed study of the early Theosophical Society and the East (1875–1900). In addition to locating and analyzing new historical material, this book explores how the Theosophists approached the East and how in so doing they were similar to and different from Orientalists at the time. It explores how Theosophists represented the East and engaged with the people they came into contact with. Major topics include Sanskrit, Buddhism, Hindu philosophy, Eastern masters, yoga, and how such subjects were written about in Theosophical journals and in modernist literature. The innovative studies in this volume also explore the close relation between Theosophy, Hindu reform movements, and Indian politics and thereby offer new insights into the role of modern esotericism, globalization, and cross-cultural dynamics in the nineteenth century.


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