POLITICAL AND

LEADERSHIP
STRUCTURES

Presented By Group 4
 POLITICAL AND LEADERSHIP STRUCTURES

Human beings are considered social

animals. Being such, they have a natural
tendency to join groups. However,
considering that individuals have
different interests, the tendency towards
conflict is as natural as the tendency to
join social groups.
 POLITICAL ORGANIZATION

BANDS AND TRIBES

Bands and tribes are considered as the
simplest political systems. They are often
perceived to be "acephalous" or without a
well-defined system of leadership.
 BAND
A band is typically formed by
several families living together
based on marriage ties, common
descendants, friendship affiliations,
and members usually have a
common interest, or enemy.
 TRIBES
A tribe is still considered an
acephalous political system,
even if it is more complex
than a band.
 CHIEFDOMS
Bands and tribes are
characterized by the
relatively informal poliical
structures that rule them.
 CHIEFDOMS
A chiefdom, on the other
hand, is defined as a
political organization that is
more defined.
 CHIEFDOMS
In a chiefdom, formal leadership exists
and authority rests solely on the
members of a select family. it is
composed of a number of communities
that is ruled by a permanent paramount
chief coming from this elite family.
Power is thus inherited in chiefdoms.
 CHIEFDOMS

Chiefdoms can either be

SIMPLE or COMPLEX
 CHIEFDOMS
A simple chiefdom is characterized by a
central village or community ruled by a
single family.
A complex chiefdom is composed of
several simple chiefdoms ruled by a
single paramount chief residing in a
single paramount center.
NATIONS AND STATES
The advent of modernity has
made the process of
consolidating different
individuals into one political
community more difficult and
complex.
NATIONS AND STATES
Scholars refer to nations as either
"imagined" or "abstract."
Benedict Anderson considers a nation as
imagined in the sense that nations can
exist as a state of mind, where the material
expressions seen in actual residence in a
physical territory becomes secondary to the
common imagined connections emanating
from a common history and identity.
 POLITICAL LEGITIMACY AND AUTHORITY

The task of organizing a political

community requires the
existence of leaders. Leaders, in
order to be effective, need to
possess authority that is
considered legitimate by the
members of the community.
 AUTHORITY VIS-À-VIS LEGITIMACY

Authority is the power to make binding

decisions and issue commands. t is
necessary for a leader to possess
authority.
Legitimacy is a moral and ethical concept
that bestows one who possesses power the
right to exercise such power since such is
perceived to be justified and proper.
 WEBER AND THE TYPES OF LEGITIMATE AUTHORITY

Max Weber identifies three types

of authority based on the source
of their legitimacy. There is
traditional authority whose
legitimacy is derived from well-
established customs, habits, and
social structures.
 WEBER AND THE TYPES OF LEGITIMATE AUTHORITY

Monarchical rule or the rule of elites in a

chiefdom are examples of leadership systems
that have traditional authority. Then there is
charismatic authority whose legitimacy
emanates from the charisma of the individual,
which for some can be seen as a "gift of grace,"
or the possession of "gravitas" or an authority
derived from a "higher power" such as those
that are associated with the divine right of
kings.
THANK YOU