Leadership in the context of politics has been greatly pondered upon and is an issue of grave importance because weak leadership crumbles the government whereas strong leadership leads to prosperity. A leader is someone who is able to mobilize and influence the masses in order to drive the whole nation towards accomplishing a set of goals. For a long time now, Pakistani leadership has been dominated by traditional authority where people enjoy power because they have inherited it, for example PPP. This leadership further trickles down in to the executive where power has mostly resided with the president due to constant amendments in the constitution.
However, a shift in this trend has been observed ever since the emergence of Imran Khan who has spurred a populist support and is generally considered a charismatic leader. His populist rhetoric as a voice of a common man advocating to institute reform in Pakistan’s cultural, economic and political life has influenced many. He has not only been able to sway them but also muster them as observed from the sit-ins in Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad. His power can be legitimized by his exceptional traits rather than any tradition,portrayal of an impeccable character, his education, involvement in activism, his vision and the charm of his career as a cricketer.
However his charisma can not be institutionalized after his demise, unlike that of Bhutto whose daughter inherited it. The question is, even if the party's ideologies survive, where will the leadership lie ? is it possible that Pakistan is still in the same position, any sort of revolutionary ideas are an illusion and that leadership is still manifested in traditional authority?
However, a shift in this trend has been observed ever since the emergence of Imran Khan who has spurred a populist support and is generally considered a charismatic leader. His populist rhetoric as a voice of a common man advocating to institute reform in Pakistan’s cultural, economic and political life has influenced many. He has not only been able to sway them but also muster them as observed from the sit-ins in Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad. His power can be legitimized by his exceptional traits rather than any tradition,portrayal of an impeccable character, his education, involvement in activism, his vision and the charm of his career as a cricketer.
However his charisma can not be institutionalized after his demise, unlike that of Bhutto whose daughter inherited it. The question is, even if the party's ideologies survive, where will the leadership lie ? is it possible that Pakistan is still in the same position, any sort of revolutionary ideas are an illusion and that leadership is still manifested in traditional authority?
3 comments:
I agree with your point that inherited leadership can not be institutionalized as PPP is still in the quest of their "true" leader, who not only create unity within party but also helps to rise again on political face of Pakistan
I do feel that Imran Khan is a highly admired leader in Pakistan. I think he possesses a great deal of charismatic authority and I believe that a country like Pakistan charisma is something that manages to to play a great role in gaining a leader support.
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