Transformational political leadership and functional authority: Theory and practice

Political leadership is a concept which has been discussed throughout history. The questions such as how a leader is raised or what the impacts of the environmental factors are on his/her leadership style carry great importance in this field. Moreover, the sources of which he/she gains the legitimacy to rule is also one of the most significant theoretical problems of the area. In order to find a satisfactory answer on these questions, this thesis aims to deal with the Transformational Leadership Theory, a paradigm which has become increasingly popular in recent times. In this regard, Abraham H. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Theory and Max Weber's Ideal Authority Types are examined from the perspective of International Relations. Thereafter, Functional Authority, a new authority type that has been constructed in order to enhance the aforementioned ideal types, is defined. Also transformational and its supplementary theory Transactional Leadership's subtypes are elaborated and non-leader actors are explained by the Pseudo-transformational power-wielder concept. In the Practice section, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey and Dag Hammarsjöld, the 2nd Secretary-General of the United Nations are examined in the light of the analysis given in the theory section. These analyses are done to check the validity of the hypotheses that transformational leadership can be implemented with different methods and functional authority can be attained by various ways. The leadership process of these cases' transformational mentalities, and their actions are explained. Furthermore, Pol Pot, who ruled Cambodia between 1976-1979 and led his country to a devastation is selected as a case for "pseudo-transformational" power-wielder. His personal life, intellectual development, and pseudo-transformational mentality is explained in the practice section as the antithesis of transformational leadership. With its theory and practice sections combined, this study aspires to promote Transformational Leadership Theory and its supplementary theories in the field of International Relations. It also serves as a model to show the usage of Functional Authority, a new concept for the leadership theory. Keywords: Transformational leadership, Functional authority, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Dag Hammarskjöld, Pol Pot.