Home > Charisma and politics in post-colonial Africa
Charisma and politics in post-colonial Africa
Working paper number: 446 Author: Sishuwa Sishuwa Unit: CSSR
Abstract:
This paper examines the interaction between charisma and politics in Africa. Two broad groups of charismatic political leaders are discussed: those who came to the fore during the era of independence struggles and saw themselves as an embodiment of their nation states and having a transformative impact over the societies they led, and those who emerged largely in response to the failure of the first group or the discontent of post-colonial delivery, and sought political power to enhance their own personal interests. In both instances, the leaders emerged in a context of a crisis: the collapse of colonialism, the disintegration of the one-party state model and economic collapse
