Demagoguery, Charismatic Leadership, and the Force of Habit. Issue 3 (27th May 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Roberts-Miller, Patricia
• Is Part Of: Rhetoric Society quarterly. Volume 49:Issue 3(2019)
• Page Start: 233
• Page End: 247
• Publication Date: 2019-05-27
• Subjects: charismatic leadership -- compliance-gaining -- culture of demagoguery -- demagoguery -- outcomes-based ethics -- persuasion; Rhetoric -- Periodicals; 808.005
• DOI: 10.1080/02773945.2019.1610638
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0277-3945

Abstract

Abstract : This essay argues that scholars who focus on demagogues rather than demagoguery are mistakenly making charismatic leadership a necessary quality of demagoguery. Instead of focusing on demagogues, we should focus on the conditions that nurture demagoguery. This essay makes the case that charismatic leadership is not necessary for demagoguery but an almost inevitable method of gaining compliance in a culture that promotes outcomes-based ethics.