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Theory and Political Charisma

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 June 2009

Arthur Schweitzer
Affiliation:
Indiana University

Extract

Of the many contributions of Max Weber to the social sciences, his theory of charisma has received the greatest attention. It has been applied to Hitler and the Nazi Party, to Lenin and the Bolshevik Party, to presidents in democracy, and to rulers of dictatorial parties in newly formed nations. In addition, the scope of the term charisma has been widened considerably. Charisma should not be limited to supernatural powers but include any kind of human genius and creative activity. Nor need personal and institutional charisma always follow each other but can run concurrently during the reign of the charismatic leader.

Type
Charisma
Copyright
Copyright © Society for the Comparative Study of Society and History 1974

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References

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37 Ibid., p. 120.

38 Ibid., p. 127.

39 Ibid., p. 106.

40 Eruptive charismatic emotions take occasionally very strange forms. Witness the great enthusiasm of the politically active people in West Berlin for John F. Kennedy during his speech in 1963 as well as for General de Gaulle during his triumphal speaking tour in the major cities of West Germany in 1963.

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47 In Weber's treatment we find no systematic distinction between faith and providential charisma. It was Hitler who was compelled to regard them as different subtypes. See Schweitzer, Arthur, ‘Hitler's Charisma’, Historische Zeitschrift, forthcoming.Google Scholar

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