What it takes to be a leader?

Abstract

Most accounts of revolution and large-scale change in socio-political institutions give primacy to changes in some underlying structural conditions – be it changes in the distribution of resources and power across and within groups as well as the threat of external forces. However, a window of change always does not result in successful mass movements. Similar underlying conditions often result in very different outcomes. Thus even when structural conditions are appropriate, the issue of how a mass movement is catalyzed and helps bring about institutional change depends a lot on the leadership capabilities. According to Dalton (1993), Gandhi’s effectiveness as a leader derived from both his activist base as well as his skill at recognizing the effectiveness of civil disobedience against the British and his choice of salt as a simple yet emotive symbol with mass appeal.