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Summary
The historical problem of political leadership (Paolo Pombeni)
This introductory essay uses Weberian theory to analyse the phenomenon of political leadership, defined as the assumption by an individual of a 'power of guidance' over a collective subject. The concept of leadership has always been associated with a view of history as progress and liberation, and it has numerous features in common with 'religion' understood as a message of salvation, of liberation and of the 'promised land'. The essay then briefly illustrates the concrete cases of leadership analysed in this single issue; cases selected because their paradigmatic nature stimulates reflection on numerous and diverse aspects of the mechanisms by which political leadership is constructed.