Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

Visionary leaders have sought to use the modern state as the organization through which they could transform society. However, world historical forces largely beyond the control of such leaders have greatly affected their success in using the state to bring about intended social transformations, which constitute the core of their visions. Three such forces have affected the international and domestic environment leaders face, and have influenced their risk calculations as they decide whether to confront organizations in society resisting the leader's desired changes. Three hypotheses concerning these forces of social dislocation, the threat of war, and the opposition to change by leading world powers help explain the necessary conditions for a visionary leader's success. The cases of Lázaro Cárdenas of Mexico, Gamal Abdul Nasser of Egypt, and David Ben-Gurion of Israel illustrate the important influence that world historical forces have had on the success of leaders in realizing their visions

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Abdel-Fadil, M. (1975). Development, Income Distribution and Social Change in Rural Egypt 1952-1970: A Study in the Political Economy of Agrarian Transition Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Adams, R.H., Jr (1981). "Growth without development in rural Egypt: A local-level study of institutional and social change." Mimeo.

Azarya, V. , and N. Chazan (1987). "Disengagement from the state in Africa: Reflections on the experience of Ghana and Guinea." Comparative Studies in Society and History 29: 106-131.

Baker, R.W. (1978). Egypt's Uncertain Revolution under Nasser and Sadat Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press.

Ben Gurion, D. , and I. Ben Zvi (1979). Eretz Israel in the Past and in the Present Jerusalem: Yad Izhak Ben Zvi (Hebrew).

Binder, L. (1978). In a Moment of Enthusiasm: Political Power and the Second Stratum in Egypt Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Friedrich, P. (1977). "The legitimacy of a cacique." In Friends, Followers, and Factions: A Reader in Political Clientelism , (S. Schmidt, L. Guasti, C. Lande, and J.C. Scott, eds), pp. 264-279. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Grindle, M.S. (1977). Bureaucrats, Politicians, and Peasants in Mexico: A Case Study in Public Policy Berkeley: University of California Press.

Hamilton, N. (1982). The Limits of State Autonomy: Post-Revolutionary Mexico Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

10.

Hansen, R.D. (1971). The Politics of Mexican Development Baltimore, Md: Johns Hopkins University Press.

11.

Kimmerling, B. (1983). Zionism and Territory: The Socio-Territorial Dimensions of Zionist Politics Berkeley, Calif: Institute of International Studies.

12.

Lamborn, A.C. (1983). "Power and the politics of extraction." International Studies Quarterly 27 : 125-146.

13.

Marwick, A. (1974). War and Social Change in the Twentieth Century: A Comparative Study of Britain, France, Germany, Russia and the United States London: Macmillan.

14.

Medding, P.Y. (1972). Mapai in Israel Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

15.

Migdal, J.S. ( 1988). Strong Societies and Weak States: State-Society Relations and State Capabilities in the Third World Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press (forthcoming).

16.

Mousnier, R. (1970). "The Fronde." In Precondition of Revolution in Early Modern Europe (R. Foster and J.P. Greene, eds), pp. 131-159. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.

17.

Nasser, G.A. (1955). Egypt's Liberation: The Philosophy of Revolution Washington, DC: Public Affairs Press.

18.

Nettl, J.P. (1968). "The state as a conceptual variable." World Politics 20: 559-592.

19.

Nisbet, R.A. (1980). History of the Idea of Progress New York: Basic Books.

20.

Poggi, G. (1978). The Development of the Modern State: A Sociological Introduction Stanford, Calif: Stanford University Press.

21.

Reynolds, C.W. (1970). The Mexican Economy. New Haven, Conn: Yale University Press.

22.

Richelieu, C. (1964). "Political testament." In The Thirty Years' War: Problems of Motive, Extent and Effect (T.K. Rabb, ed.), pp. 76-80. Boston: D.C. Heath.

23.

Sacher, H.M. (1981). A History of Israel: From the Rise of Zionism to Our Time New York: Knopf.

24.

Shapiro, Y. (1976). The Formative Years of the Israeli Labour Party Beverly Hills, Calif: Sage.

25.

Vatikiotis, P.J. (1980). The History of Egypt, 2nded. Baltimore, Md: Johns Hopkins University Press.

26.

Vernon, R. (1965). The Dilemma of Mexico's Development: The Roles of the Private and Public Sectors Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press.

27.

Waterbury, J. (1983). The Egypt of Nasser and Sadat: The Political Economy of Two Regimes Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Vision and Practice: The Leader,the State,and the Transformation of Society

Abstract

Get full access to this article

References