Charismatic Leadership in Islam: The Mahdi of the Sudan

In: Comparative studies in society and history, Band 14, Heft 2, S. 193-214

Abstract

It is generally acknowledged that the contemporary revival of Weber's concept of charismatic authority was prompted by its utility in explaining the revolutionary movements of the first half of the twentieth century. The more recent applications of the concept to the study of leadership in the emerging non-Western states, constituted yet another revival, testifying to the analytical power of Weber's conceptual scheme.