CHARISMA (everything you wanted to know about what Max Weber says on the subject) (1986) (original) (raw)

Weber as an Analyst of Charisma

Despite the fact that Max Weber is the original and sole source of the social science concept of charisma (as distinct from the religious concept), and the fact that his discussion of charisma is highly precise, detailed, and widely applicable (Adair-Toteff, 2005; Turner 1993, 2003; Baehr, 2008, for discussions), the literature on charisma rarely uses the details of his ideal-type of charismatic authority, and is largely limited to ritual citation.

Charisma: From Weber to Contemporary Sociology

Sociological Inquiry, 1983

This paper critically examines sociological treatments of the concept of charisma. It demonstrates that the existence of diverse and conflicting views on charisma is due partly to sociologists' selection accentuations of the different types of charisma (magical, prophetic, and routinized) in Weber's writings. Reconsidering charisma as an expression of alienation, the paper also suggests a synthetic approach that may alleviate the conceptual anarchy surrounding it.

Becoming a God: Max Weber and the social construction of charisma

Journal of Classical Sociology, 2014

This article seeks to demonstrate that implicit within Weber’s writings on charisma are tools that can enable a processual, social constructionist understanding of charismatic formation. A corollary of this point is that Weber’s writings represent an historically crucial turning point in the progression from a Carlylian idea of leaders as inherently powerful to a non-essentialist, sociological perspective, and that Weber’s inspiration for this progression is best understood not through reference to his nineteenth-century forbearers in the social sciences, but rather in his contrast with the very few theological writers (namely Rudolph Sohm and the writers of the New Testament) who actually had employed charisma as a term prior to Weber’s famous appropriation of it. A reinterpretation and retranslation of Weber’s writings on charisma that gives priority to the social constructionist elements in his thought can provide tools for navigating through many of the interpretational controversies that have plagued charisma research.

Unrecognized Charisma Max Weber Studies 2012

Drawing on Max Weber's theories of charismatic leadership and succession, discussion is given to a number of leaders of recent religious organizations. It is argued that greater precision can be given to Weber's 'ideal types' by considering the specifically religious status that has been accorded to Charles Taze Rus-sell, Joseph Smith, L. Ron Hubbard, Swami Prabhupada and Sun Myung Moon respectively. They are not simply charismatic, but possess specific qualities associated with their religious status. The status they are accorded has further important implications regarding the criteria for choosing a successor, and for the nature of the succession that ensues.

Introduction to the Special Issue on 'Charisma'

Journal of Religion in Europe 12, 2019

The introduction to the special issue on ‘charisma’ offers a very brief overview of the development of the concept in the social sciences and various critiques and intersecting debates. It casts a close look at Max Weber’s sometimes contradictory use of the concept and the different ways he conceptualized it in his sociology of religion and his sociology of domination. It then examines alternative theoretical approaches to ‘charisma’ that emerge in the course of the twentieth century before outlining this special issue’s contribution to the conceptual debate and the individual articles’ operationalization of the term by viewing charisma as relational, communicative, procedural, as well as related to ideas, practices, and objects.

Max Weber, charisma and nationalist leadership

Nations and Nationalism, 2011

One of Max Weber's most well-known achievements was the formulation of three concepts of legitimate authority: traditional, legal-rational and charismatic. However, there are particular problems with the last of these, which is not historically grounded in the manner of the other two concepts. The charisma concept originated with Weber's sociology of religion, was pressed into service in prewar writing on the sociology of domination, shifted focus in his wartime political writings and changed meaning again in his postwar writing on basic sociological concepts. To use the concept in historical-political analysis, I argue, one must distinguish between a pre-modern and modern form of charismatic domination. I argue that doing this enables us to understand features of the leadership of colonial nationalist and fascist movements.

Max Weber, charisma and nationalist leadership1

Nations and Nationalism, 2011

One of Max Weber's most well-known achievements was the formulation of three concepts of legitimate authority: traditional, legal-rational and charismatic. However, there are particular problems with the last of these, which is not historically grounded in the manner of the other two concepts. The charisma concept originated with Weber's sociology of religion, was pressed into service in prewar writing on the sociology of domination, shifted focus in his wartime political writings and changed meaning again in his postwar writing on basic sociological concepts. To use the concept in historical-political analysis, I argue, one must distinguish between a pre-modern and modern form of charismatic domination. I argue that doing this enables us to understand features of the leadership of colonial nationalist and fascist movements.

Charisma and Democracy: Max Weber on the Riddle of Political Change in Modern Societies

Topoi: An International Review of Philosophy, 2021

The elite theory of Max Weber has recently been rediscovered by political scientists and political theorists who have sought to explore both the heuristic and the normative potential of plebiscitary leader democracy. Notwithstanding the merits of this wave of studies, this paper argues that attention should be shifted from Weber's context-specific defence of plebiscitary leadership in post-WWI Germany to his broader conception of charisma as an attempt to grasp the enigma of significant social and political change. Contemporary democratic theory, this paper contends, can fruitfully draw on Weber to sink into the antinomies and ambiguities of a transformative democratic politics.