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Abstract
This paper focuses on the types of political leadership in the developing countries. Africa and
Latin American countries are highlighted as examples for the study (Egypt, Nigeria, Chile,
Swaziland, Cuba and Zimbabwe). This paper concludes that there are many types of leadership
in the developing countries, but presently, most of the developing countries slowly began to
choose the democratic type of leadership as a result of economic crisis, international pressures
and the increasing influence of globalization.

INTRODUCTION
After the Second World War, the countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America which are the
former colonies of the European Imperial Powers faced rapid decolonization. These countries
left with the colonial ruins have faced many problems including social, economic and political
restructuring. Many countries retain their traditional leadership while others followed democratic
types of leadership. But due to economic and political instabilities many countries faced military
coups and revolutions. Today most of the developing countries in spite of political and economic
problems choose the democratic type of leadership as a result of rapid democratization of world
politics.
Political leadership is investigated as a multidimensional phenomenon. The concept of political
leadership is difficult to define essentially, because it is dependent on institutional, cultural and
historical contexts and situations. Leadership refers to a social relation in which one actor
influences numerous supporters in a lasting and systematic way. Definitions of leadership
highlight actors abilities (e.g., talent, virtues), personality features, relational characteristics,
functions, and social status (aristocratic background) as bases for holding lasting influence over
followers.

Political leadership is typically discussed in the context of power structure and political
leadership skills. It is a leadership based on the support of the citizens and the structures of
governmental set up. It involves international diplomatic skills and adherence to constitutional
laws and statutes. But all these traits of political leadership may not be the same depending on
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the type of leadership, for example- the difference between the use of crude force by an
authoritarian/dictator and the use of constitutional force by a democratic leader.



Types of Leadership in developing countries

1. Patriarchal Leadership:
Patriarchal leadership is where authority is closely related to family and kinship groups,
especially men in those groups. Patriarchy is the core of all traditional systems where
authority is closely related to family and kinship groups. The male head of the clan, tribe, or
village acts in patriarchy as the head of a family and the group becomes the family. In some
traditional societies, the nation becomes the family and the national leader becomes the
patriarch or father of the whole nation. In such societies, who is the leader is more related to
an accident of birth than it is to qualifications or an electoral process.

Patriarchal societies are often referred to as pre modern but by looking closely at these
countries, we are likely to encounter modern appearances such as high-rise buildings modern
dress, and up-to-date technological developments. This is where Professor Hisham Sharabi
distinguishes between traditional patriarchy and what he termed as neopatriarchy. In modern
developing countries underneath the facade of modernity the society remains patriarchal, this
is called neopatriarchy.

2. Military Leadership

Military leadership refers to the intervention of military leaders in politics. Types of
military leadership in the developing countries-

i) Revolutionary military leadership:

Revolutionary military leadership refers to a type of military leadership where the
political leader took revolutionary steps in the socio-economic and political development
of his country. For example the leadership of Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt. In 1952,
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Nasser and his group of Free Officers took over the leadership of King Faoruk in order to
rid Egypt of corruption and to place it on the right path to create a more just society.
Nasser took a number of revolutionary steps for the development of Egypt which are:

(a) He passed the Agrarian Reform Act which abolishes feudalism in Egypt. This
act limited land ownership and redistributed land among the peasants.
(b) On July 1956, Nasser decided to nationalize the Suez Canal Company and
take sole control the canal. As a result in the late October of the same year,
Britain, France and Israel invaded Egypt. But Nasser was able to counter the
invasion by convincing both the USSR and the United States to oppose the
invasion of Egypt and demand the withdrawal of the invading forces. The
pressure was too strong to resist. Consequently, the three countries withdrew
from Egypt leaving Nasser in a much stronger position. By looking at this
instance he showed to the world that a Third World leader was able to stand
up to the former colonial powers.
(c) Nasser also took many modernization projects including education, health
care and infrastructures. One of his biggest accomplishments was the building
up of the Aswan High Dam on the Nile River which is the largest reservoir
dam in the world. It increases the cultivable land of Egypt by about 2 million
acres and its power output by tenfold. It also controlled the flooding that
plagued the countrys farmers.
(d) When he died of heart attack in 1970, millions of Egyptians paid their respects
and he is still remembered as a great revolutionary leader by his countrymen.

ii) Transitional Military Leadership:

In this type of leadership, military leadership is first being formed and there is a
declination in this military leadership which shows the inevitability of the establishment
of democratic leadership in the future. In short, it is a leadership where there is a
transition from a military rule to a democratic and elected type of leadership. During this
transitional period the military leaders acted as temporary authorities; they do not cease
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to exist rather they pave the way for the future democratic form of government. For
instance the country of Nigeria:

(a) Nigeria is a former colony of Britain and achieved independence in 1960.
Since then, for all but ten years, the country has been ruled by military
regimes. One of the most notorious of those was the rule of General Sani
Abacha from 1993 to 1999. During his reign, the country was dragged
down by neglect, corruption, and mismanagement despite its billions in oil
revenues.
(b) On June 8
th
, 1988, General Sani Abacha died after suffering a heart attack.
The Commander of the countrys armed forces and Defence Minister,
General Abdulsalam Abubakar, took over as the new ruler. Under domestic
and international pressure, Abubakar begin a process to return the country
to civilian rule. He invited all exiles to return home to help in rebuilding the
country. He also released many political prisoners.
(c) On July 20, 1988, the new military leader of Nigeria released a plan to
return power to civilian rule. May 29, 1988 was set as the date for swearing
in a new civilian president.
(d) A new constitution was adopted, political parties were chartered, and local
elections were held on February 1999 with over 60 percent of the votes,
Olusegun Obasanjo was declared the winner. On May 29 1999, the world
watched as Obasanjo took over power from Abubakar. Nigeria had its
transition back to civilian rule. On the eve of inauguration, Abubakar urged
the new civilian rulers to seize the new opportunity to change a nation
wrecked by years of dictatorship.

iii) Conservative Military Leadership:

Conservative military leaders try to stay in power for as long as possible and they are
against any internal and external changes that might disrupt their leadership. For instance,
the leadership of General Augusto Pinochet of Chile. In 1970, Salvador Allende became
the president of Chile. Allende pursued a socialist policy, he nationalized many industries
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and took over the foreign-owned copper mines and other natural resources. Such actions
put him on a collision course with the United States whose company was severely
affected. One major U.S. company that was affected was International Telephone &
Telegraph (IT&T), which operated Chiles telephone system and owned copper mines
there. Allendes close relationship to Cuba and other communist countries further
angered the U.S. government.

Aided by training and financing from the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, a
faction of the Chilean military, led by General Augusto Pinochet, carried out a coup
detat on September 11 1973. Allende was overthrown and killed. In the process,
democracy came to an abrupt end, ironically with the help of the United States. A
military regime was set up and the constitution was suspended. Pinochets reign shows
that conservative military leaders try to remain in power for as long as possible-

(a) Under Pinochet, Chile became an international outlaw state. To suppress the
support of the previous government, he waged many campaign of terror that
included raids, executions, disappearances, imprisonment, and torture of his
opponents. In the four months following the coup, Amnesty International and the
United States Human Rights Commission reported that 250,000 people were
detained for political reasons. The government also halted the distribution of land
and reversed many of Allendes policy decisions. Pinochets actions strengthened
the opposition and labor uprisings and non-violent resistance by the Chilean
masses continued, as did international pressure.

(b) Under pressure, in 1980 Pinochet proposed a new constitution for the country.
It provided that Pinochet would remain president until 1989 or possibly 1997. The
proposed constitution allowed for the gradual return to some democratic forms of
governance, and restored a limited and appointed National Congress in 1990 and
an elected president in 1997. But when the country went into an economic
recession in the mid-1980s, opposition grew. Street protests, strikes and symbolic
resistance became commonplace. Consequently, Pinochet decided to hold a
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referendum on his presidency. The question voters were asked was whether
Pinochet should remain president until 1997. The voters turned out in large
numbers to defeat the proposition. Pinochet then made arrangements to step down
as president but to remain head of the armed forces until 1998. After that time, he
was to become senator for life.

In 1990, the people of Chile voted for Patricio Aylwin to be president and Chile
was on its way back to democracy after seventeen years of oppressive military
rule. Pinochet remained as the head of the military until 1998 when he became
senator for life.

3. Nonmilitary Leadership:
Nonmilitary leadership includes a monarchy, communist system, and a democratic system.

i) Monarchical Leadership:
A monarchy is a type of tyrannical regime in which all or most political power is
concentrated in the hands of a single ruler, the sovereign. The monarch is generally the
head of state and the chief executive. Historically, the sovereign and the state were seen
as an indivisible entity. However, modern constitutional monarchies bifurcate power: The
monarch remains head of state with a separate, usually elected, chief executive. This
system has facilitated the survival of the monarchy in largely ceremonial role, with a
clear division between the state and the monarchy. In monarchial systems, power is
typically hereditary, although some states elected sovereigns for life.

For instance, Swaziland (Kingdom of Swaziland)

A small, landlocked sandwiched between the much larger states of Mozambique and
South Arica, casual observers have tended to look upon Swaziland as a people land of
traditional Africa that has been immune to the continents contemporary conflicts. In
Swaziland, King Mswati III exercised the powers of absolute constitutional monarchy, he
is the administrative head of Swaziland, and he appoints the Prime Minister and the
members of the Parliament. He is different from the constitutional monarchs in the
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United Kingdom, he enjoys absolute control over the administration of Swaziland and the
final authority rests in him. There are seven formal absolute monarchies left in the
worldBhutan, Brunei, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Swaziland, and Vatican City.
Furthermore, monarchs in countries such as Kuwait, Swaziland, and Tonga continue to
possess considerable political power and influence.

ii) Communist Leadership:
Communist leaders followed the communist ideologies; nationalization of industries,
development of agriculture, fighting corruption, bringing social welfare and
implementation of other socialist programmes are all part of their goals. Cubas
communist leader Fidel Castro can be given as an example for communist leadership
in the developing countries.
(a) On December 2
nd
1956, through the 26
th
July Revolutionary Movement, Fidel
Castro overthrew the corrupt and instable government of Fulgencio Batista. Soon
after assuming power, Castro begins to reform the economy. Decrees were passed
cutting rents down slashing electric rates and nationalizing landholdings of over
400 hectares.
(b) He nationalized the telephone, electric, oil, and sugar companies which were used
to be controlled by the U.S. corporate owners. This creates tensions with the
United States as well as Cubas small elite which included the business men and
plantation owners.
(c) The Cuban society under the Castro regime has done relatively well. Through a
state-supported agricultural system and ration program for basic nutrients, Cuba
became the first underdeveloped economy to wipe out hunger and malnutrition.
Cubas public health system is so advanced that the World Health Organization
recommended it as model for the world. Cuba was successful in wiping out
epidemics that infect most developing countries. Among Latin American
countries, Cuba ranked first in life expectancy, infant mortality rate, literacy and
the number of doctors per thousand people. In some even though Castros
government had to deal with the harsh embargo imposed by the U.S. government,
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it was able to move Cuba in a direction that serves its people, especially the poor
ones.
In the 1990s Cuba began to solve its anti-US rhetoric and actually change
its constitution to drop any references to Marxism-Leninism. Relations with the
United States remain cool and the embargo against Cuba remains in place.

iii) Democratic Leadership:
Democratic leaders are the representatives of the citizens, they are elected by the citizens
through a free and fair elections based on the universal adult franchise; powers rests in
the citizens as leaders are mere representatives of the citizens.
Zimbabwe is an example -
In the country of Zimbabwe, the citizens elect their leaders through free and fair
elections, leaders acted in accordance with the constitutional provisions of their country.
This Constitution is the supreme law of Zimbabwe, the executive authority of Zimbabwe
is vested in the President, the Prime Minister and the Cabinet. The President is the Head
of State and the Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces. The President is elected by
registered voters throughout Zimbabwe, he appoints all important ministers including the
Prime Minister.

CONCLUSION
The types of leadership in the developing countries are marked by traditional systems military
interventions and rapid democratizations. After the rapid decolonization process in the 1950s
most of the countries of Asia, African and Latin American countries faced many socio-political
and economic problems and this has continued till today. They chose many types of leadership to
suite their culture, society and economic problems. Some retained their traditional styles of
leadership while others choose the communist and democratic types of leadership. But presently,
most of the developing countries slowly began to choose the democratic type of leadership as a
result of economic crisis, international pressures and the increasing influence of globalization.
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Curtis, Michael et.al., Introduction to Comparative Government. Pearson Education, Inc, 2003.
(5
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ed.).

Masciulli, Joseph, Molchanov, Mikhail A. and Knight, W. Andy., Political Leadership in
Context. The Ashgate Research Companion to Political Leadership. Accessed on 1
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June, 2013
at 03:00 pm from http://www.ashgate.com/pdf/SamplePages/Ashgate_Research_Companion_to_
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