The Shining Path, or Sendero Luminoso, is peculiar among Latin American revolutions for a multitude of reasons, ranging from the intensity of its violent tactics to the group’s muddled Maoist ideology. Analyses of the group tend to label it a mystery or an enigma. The purpose of this thesis is to offer the charismatic nature of the authority wielded by Abimael Guzmán, the energetic leader of the group also known as Presidente Gonzalo, as an explanation for some of the Shining Path’s idiosyncrasies, particularly their relentlessly bloodthirsty rise and sharp decline. Although much of the previous literature on the Shining Path uses the word “charismatic” to describe Guzmán, very little work has analyzed the particular implications of the successful creation of a charismatic leader-follower dynamic as a key part of senderismo. Using the framework established by German sociologist Max Weber, this paper analyzes a number of major characteristics of charismatic leaders and applies them to Guzmán. Not only did he exhibit many of the typical features of a charismatic leader, but it may have been is successful development of this particular style of authority which led to both the bloodthirstiness of Sendero’s military arm and the group’s struggle to find an identity after Guzmán’s capture. The Shining Path followed the power arc expected of a charismatic leader-follower relationship, allowing Guzmán to exploit the peasant population to create chaos and fear in the Andes in his effort to bring about a “popular revolution.” The purpose of this paper is not to discredit other theories regarding Sendero, as it was largely a sui generis movement, but to argue several of its particular qualities can be attributed to the charismatic nature of Presidente Gonzalo’s authority.
After this examination of necessary republican components, I describe the institution of constitutional dictatorship, which I devised based on the ideas of Machiavelli and the legal theorist Carl Schmitt. I then use all the institutions and ideas discussed within the framework of a thought exercise to examine possible recommendations for action by a constitutional dictatorship operating in Afghanistan, which are to bolster the Afghan National Army and neutralize the corrupting influence of Afghanistan’s “gentlemen,” or selfishly-motivated partisan leaders. Although the recommendations attempt to be as close to feasible policy as possible, they are not written with the goal of actual implementation in mind due to their lack of empirical basis.
I conclude by examining possible domestic and strategic implications of these hypothetical recommendations. This portion is also not empirically-based, merely concluding the examination of the thought exercise. An appendix uses visual aids to demonstrate the composition of the resulting Afghan government.
Our thesis is a cross collaboration between international relations and industrial engineering. We used a combination of database logic, programming, and Microsoft Visual Studio to organize and analyze Middle Eastern politics. Not only does the final product show raw data entry, but it also can answer complex questions about Middle Eastern relations- queries so complex that Google can’t answer them. We organized and analyzed geopolitical data to make it more accessible and easy, hopefully you enjoy!
Our thesis is a cross collaboration between international relations and industrial engineering. We used a combination of database logic, programming, and Microsoft Visual Studio to organize and analyze Middle Eastern politics. Not only does the final product show raw data entry, but it also can answer complex questions about Middle Eastern relations- queries so complex that Google can’t answer them. We organized and analyzed geopolitical data to make it more accessible and easy, hopefully you enjoy!
Recent governments in France have failed to bring about meaningful labor reform, faced with opposition in the streets or within their own political party. The election of Emanuel Macron, viewed as a political outsider who had never held elected office created his own political party, En Marche, seemed like the catalyst to lasting economic reform. However, if high unemployment and slow economic growth to comparable economies have been concerns for France since the beginning of the 21st century, why were past governments unsuccessful in implementing legislative actions to address labor reform?
This paper will argue that the election of Macron and the establishment of En Marche was caused by a shift in power that allowed Macron enough support to sway the political landscape of France and implement labor market reform. This largely has to do with the power struggle between France’s Outsiders, “those without secure employment, Insiders, “those with secure employment” and the Upscale group, “employers, the upper middle class, and the business and financial community” (Rudea, 2007). However, the degree and preservation of Macron’s reform plans are threatened by Insiders who have been stripped of employee protections.