Abstract

This introductory essay uses Weberian theory to analyse the phenomenon of political leadership, defined as the assumption by an individual of a "power of guidance" over a collective subject. The concept of leadership has always been associated with a view of history as progress and liberation, and it has numerous features in common with "religion" understood as a message of salvation, of liberation and of the "promised land". The essay then briefly illustrates the concrete cases of leadership analysed in this single issue; cases selected because their paradigmatic nature stimulates reflection on numerous and diverse aspects of the mechanisms by which political leadership is constructed.