Lider Kültü, Karizma ve Siyasal Meşruiyet: Weberyen Perspektiften Günümüz Popülizmi

Yıl 2025, Cilt: 8 Sayı: 3, 106 - 126, 29.12.2025

Muhammed Ramazan Demirci

https://doi.org/10.52848/ijls.1716325

Öz

Bu çalışma, Max Weber’in karizmatik otorite kavramına dayanarak, 2000 sonrası dönemde yükselen popülist liderlik biçimlerini incelemektedir. Donald Trump (ABD), Narendra Modi (Hindistan) ve Jair Bolsonaro (Brezilya) örnekleri üzerinden, çağdaş siyaset sahnesinde karizmatik otoritenin nasıl yeniden inşa edildiği, popülizmin bu otorite biçimini nasıl güçlendirdiği ve karizma temelli meşruiyet iddialarının demokratik kurumlarla nasıl ilişkilendiği ele alınmaktadır. Çalışma, söylem analizi ve karşılaştırmalı vaka yöntemiyle, liderlerin siyasal söylemleri ve pratiklerine odaklanmaktadır. Literatür taraması, Weberyen otorite tipolojileri, karizmatik liderlik, popülizm ve siyasal temsil krizine dair güncel uluslararası akademik kaynaklara dayanmaktadır.
Bulgular, günümüz popülist liderlerinin karizmatik otoriteyi kişiselleştirilmiş anlatılar, semboller ve imaj stratejileriyle yeniden inşa ettiğini göstermektedir. “Halk” ile “seçkinler” karşıtlığına dayalı popülist söylemler, meşruiyet iddialarını güçlendirmektedir. Karizma temelli meşruiyet, çoğunlukçu bir demokrasi anlayışıyla örtüşürken; hukuk devleti, kuvvetler ayrılığı ve kurumsal denetim gibi liberal normlarla yapısal bir gerilim içerisindedir.
Sonuç olarak, Weber’in bir yüzyıl önce ortaya koyduğu karizmatik otorite kavramı günümüz liderliğini anlamada güçlü bir çerçeve sunmaktadır; ancak dijital çağın medya teknolojileri ve ideolojik popülizmiyle birleştiğinde, liberal demokrasilere ciddi meydan okumalar getirmektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Karizmatik otorite , popülist liderlik , siyasal meşruiyet , Max Weber , temsil krizi

Leader Cult, Charisma, and Political Legitimacy: Contemporary Populism from a Weberian Perspective

Öz

This study explores the rise of populist leadership forms since the 2000s by drawing on Max Weber’s concept of charismatic authority. Through the cases of Donald Trump (USA), Narendra Modi (India), and Jair Bolsonaro (Brazil), it examines how charismatic authority is reconstructed in contemporary politics, how populism reinforces this authority type, and how charisma-based claims to legitimacy interact with democratic institutions. The study employs discourse analysis and comparative case study methods, focusing on political rhetoric and practices. The literature review is grounded in recent international scholarship on Weberian authority types, charismatic leadership, populism, and crises of political representation.
Findings suggest that today’s populist leaders reconstruct charismatic authority through personalized narratives, symbols, and image strategies. Populist discourse built on the antagonism between “the people” and “the elites” strengthens their claims to legitimacy. While charisma-based legitimacy aligns with a majoritarian understanding of democracy, it structurally conflicts with liberal democratic norms such as the rule of law, separation of powers, and institutional oversight.
The study argues that populist charismatic leadership is shaped not only by individual traits but also by systemic crises in political representation. This leadership style fosters direct mobilization while weakening democratic institutions and encouraging authoritarian tendencies.
In conclusion, Weber’s century-old concept of charismatic authority provides a powerful lens to understand contemporary populist leadership. However, in the digital era, where media technologies and ideological populism converge, this form of authority poses serious challenges to liberal democracies.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Charismatic authority , populist leadership , political legitimacy , Max Weber , crisis of representation

Kaynakça

• Abts, K., & Rummens, S. (2007). Populism versus democracy. Political Studies, 55(2), 405–424. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9248.2007.00657.x
• Aydın-Düzgit, S., & Rumelili, B. (2019). Discourse analysis: Strengths and shortcomings. All Azimuth, 8(2), 285–305. https://doi.org/10.20991/allazimuth.477300
• Barbosa, R., & Casarões, G. (2023). Statecraft under God: Radical right populism meets Christian nationalism in Bolsonaro’s Brazil. Millennium, 50(3), 669–699. https://doi.org/10.1177/03058298221110922
• Bendix, R. (1977). Max Weber: An intellectual portrait. University of California Press.
• Bermeo, N. (2016). On democratic backsliding. Journal of Democracy, 27(1), 5–19. https://doi.org/10.1353/jod.2016.0012
• Chatterjee, P. (2004). The politics of the governed: Reflections on popular politics in most of the world. Columbia University Press. Chhibber, P. K., & Verma, R. (2018). Ideology and identity: The changing party systems of India. Oxford University Press.
• CIDOB. (2023). Populism reaches new heights in Narendra Modi’s India. https://www.cidob.org/en/publications/populism-reaches-new-heights-narendra-modis-india
• Collins, R. (1986). Weberian sociological theory. Cambridge University Press.
• Cunha, M. do N. (2023). “Brazil above everything. God above everyone.”: Political-religious fundamentalist expressions in digital media in times of ultra-right populism in Brazil. International Journal of Communication, 17, 2841–2863. https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/16817/4145
• Diamond, L. (2002). Elections without democracy: Thinking about hybrid regimes. Journal of Democracy, 13(2), 21–35. https://doi.org/10.1353/jod.2002.0025
• Duarte, A. (2023). Pandemic and crisis of democracy: Biopolitics, neoliberalism, and necropolitics in Bolsonaro's Brazil. Routledge.
• Dussel, E. (2008). Twenty theses on politics. Duke University Press.
• Eisenstadt, S. N. (1968). Max Weber on charisma and institution building. University of Chicago Press.
• Fairclough, N. (1992). Discourse and social change. Polity Press.
• Fairclough, N. (2010). Critical discourse analysis: The critical study of language (2nd ed.). Routledge.
• Fernandes, C. M., et al. (2021). Press x Government: The populist rhetoric of the COVID-19 pandemic on the social network Twitter. Brazilian Journalism Research, 17(3), 562–595. https://doi.org/10.25200/BJR.v17n3.2021.1416
• Freedom House. (2023). Freedom in the world 2023 – India. https://freedomhouse.org/country/india/freedom-world/2023 Gagnon, J.-P., Beausoleil, E., Son, K.-M., Arguelles, C., Chalaye, P., &
• Johnston, C. N. (2018). What is populism? Who is the populist? Democratic Theory, 5(2), 6–26. https://doi.org/10.3167/dt.2018.050201
• Gee, J. P. (2011). How to do discourse analysis: A toolkit (2nd ed.). Routledge.
• Gerbaudo, P. (2018). The digital party: Political organisation and online democracy. Pluto Press.
• Gerth, H. H., & Mills, C. W. (Eds.). (1991). From Max Weber: Essays in sociology. Routledge.
• Ginsburg, T., & Huq, A. Z. (2018). How to save a constitutional democracy. University of Chicago Press.
• Goldsmith, B., & Moen, L. J. K. (2024, June 4). Trump’s personality cult plays a part in his political appeal. Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/trumps-personality-cult-plays-a-part-in-his-political-appeal/
• Goodwin, M. (2016). UKIP and front national: Different paths to populism? In A. Martinelli (Ed.), Populism on the rise: Democracies under challenge? (pp. 33–46). ISPI.
• Hunter, W., & Power, T. J. (2019). Bolsonaro and Brazil’s illiberal backlash. Journal of Democracy, 30(1), 68–82. https://doi.org/10.1353/jod.2019.0005
• Ibn Khaldun. (1967). The Muqaddimah: An introduction to history (F. Rosenthal, Trans., N. J. Dawood, Ed.). Princeton University Press. (Original work published 1377)
• Inglehart, R., & Norris, P. (2016). Trump, Brexit, and the rise of populism: Economic have-nots and cultural backlash. Harvard Kennedy School Working Paper Series. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2818659
• Jaffrelot, C. (2021). Modi’s India: Hindu nationalism and the rise of ethnic democracy. Princeton University Press.
• Joosse, P., & Zelinsky, D. (2022). Berserk!: Anger and the charismatic populism of Donald Trump. Critical Sociology, 00(0), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1177/08969205211063131
• Jørgensen, M. W., & Phillips, L. (2002). Discourse analysis as theory and method. SAGE Publications.
• Kaarbo, J., & Beasley, R. K. (1999). A practical guide to the comparative case study method in political psychology. Political Psychology, 20(2), 369–391. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3792081
• Kalidasan, V. K. (2019, May 22). The politico-cultural elite are mere fodder for the right-wing. The Wire. https://m.thewire.in/article/politics/elections-2019-elite-right-wing
• Kellner, D. (2017). Donald Trump, media spectacle, and authoritarian populism. Fast Capitalism, 14(1), 75–87. https://doi.org/10.32855/fcapital.201701.013
• Kyle, J., & Mounk, Y. (2018). The populist harm to democracy: An empirical assessment. Tony Blair Institute for Global Change. https://institute.global/policy/populist-harm-democracy-empirical-assessment
• Laclau, E. (2005). On populist reason. Verso.
• Levitsky, S., & Way, L. A. (2010). Competitive authoritarianism: Hybrid regimes after the Cold War. Cambridge University Press.
• Levitsky, S., & Ziblatt, D. (2018). How democracies die. Crown Publishing Group.
• Lührmann, A., & Lindberg, S. I. (2019). A third wave of autocratization is here: What is new about it? Democratization, 26(7), 1095–1113. https://doi.org/10.1080/13510347.2019.1582029
• Mair, P. (2023). Ruling the void: The hollowing of Western democracy. Verso.
• Mason, L. (2018). Uncivil agreement: How politics became our identity. University of Chicago Press.
• Melo, M. A., & Pereira, C. (2024). Why didn’t Brazilian democracy die? Latin American Politics and Society, 66(4), 133–152. https://doi.org/10.1017/lap.2024.4
• Mercieca, J. R. (2020). Demagogue for president: The rhetorical genius of Donald Trump. Texas A&M University Press.
• Mezzanotti, G., & Løland, O. J. (2023). From religious populism to civil religion: A discourse analysis of Bolsonaro’s and Lula’s inaugural and victory speeches. International Journal of Latin American Religions, 8(1), 279–304. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41603-023-00214-9
• Moffitt, B. (2016). The global rise of populism: Performance, political style, and representation. Stanford University Press.
• Mouffe, C. (2005). On the political. Routledge.
• Mouffe, C. (2018). For a left populism. Verso.
• Mounk, Y. (2018). The people vs. democracy: Why our freedom is in danger and how to save it. Harvard University Press.
• Mounk, Y., & Kyle, J. (2018, December 26). What populists do to democracies. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/12/hard-data-populism-bolsonaro-trump/578878/
• Mudde, C. (2004). The populist zeitgeist. Government and Opposition, 39(4), 541–563. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1477-7053.2004.00135.x
• Mudde, C. (2019). The far right today. Polity.
• Mudde, C., & Kaltwasser, C. R. (2017). Populism: A very short introduction. Oxford University Press.
• Müller, J.-W. (2016). What is populism? University of Pennsylvania Press.
• Norris, P., & Inglehart, R. (2019). Cultural backlash: Trump, Brexit, and authoritarian populism. Cambridge University Press.
• Ostiguy, P. (2017). Populism: A socio-cultural approach. In C. Rovira Kaltwasser, P. Taggart, P. Ochoa Espejo, & P. Ostiguy (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of populism (pp. 73–97). Oxford University Press.
• Ott, B. L. (2017). The age of Twitter: Donald J. Trump and the politics of debasement. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 34(1), 59–68. https://doi.org/10.1080/15295036.2016.1266686
• Panizza, F. (Ed.). (2005). Populism and the mirror of democracy. Verso.
• Pappas, T. S. (2019). Populism and liberal democracy: A comparative and theoretical analysis. Oxford University Press.
• Rai, S. (2023). Between the divine and digital: Parsing Modi’s charismatic avatar. Media, Culture & Society, 00(0), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1177/01634437231214200 Reporters Without Borders. (2022). Brazil. https://rsf.org/en/brazil
• Rivera, S. G. (2024, December 1). Are the “Trumps of the world” really like Trump? Latinoamérica 21. https://latinoamerica21.com/en/are-the-trumps-of-the-world-really-like-trump/
• Saleem, R. M. A. (2022). Civilizationist populism in South Asia: Turning India saffron. Populism & Politics, 9, 1–33. https://doi.org/10.55271/pp0009
• Sciences Po. (2019, July 4). Modi’s India: National-populism and ethnic democracy. https://www.sciencespo.fr/research/cogito/home/modi-india-national-populism-and-ethnic-democracy/?lang=en
• Serwer, A. (2020, March). Donald Trump’s cult of personality did this. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/03/donald-trump-menace-public-health/608449/
• Slater, D. (2003). Iron cage in an iron fist: Authoritarian institutions and the personalization of power in Malaysia. Comparative Politics, 36(1), 81–101. https://doi.org/10.2307/4150161
• Spektor, M. (2025). The coalition against democratic backsliding in Bolsonaro’s Brazil. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 712(1), 169–181. https://doi.org/10.1177/00027162241309487
• Street, J. (2018). What is Donald Trump? Forms of ‘celebrity’ in celebrity politics. Political Studies Review, 17(1), 3–13. https://doi.org/10.1177/1478929918772995
• The Guardian. (2024, April 19). ‘Messianic spell’: How Narendra Modi created a cult of personality. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/19/messianic-spell-how-narendra-modi-created-a-cult-personality
• Tudor, M. (2023). Why India’s democracy is dying. Journal of Democracy, 34(3), 121–132. https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/why-indias-democracy-is-dying/
• Urbinati, N. (2019). Political theory of populism. Annual Review of Political Science, 22, 111–127. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-polisci-050317-070753
• van Dijk, T. A. (1993). Principles of critical discourse analysis. Discourse & Society, 4(2), 249–283. https://doi.org/10.1177/0957926593004002006
• Vasudeva, F. (2025). Political deification and religious populism in Modi’s India. Populism, 8, 133–160. https://doi.org/10.1163/25888072-bja10073
• Weber, M. (1978). Economy and society: An outline of interpretive sociology (G. Roth & C. Wittich, Eds.). University of California Press.
• Weber, M. (1994). Weber: Political writings (P. Lassman & R. Speirs, Eds.). Cambridge University Press.
• Weyland, K. (2013). Latin America’s authoritarian drift: The threat from the populist left. Journal of Democracy, 24(3), 18–32. https://doi.org/10.1353/jod.2013.0045
• Wodak, R., & Meyer, M. (Eds.). (2016). Methods of critical discourse studies (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications.
• Zakaria, F. (1997). The rise of illiberal democracy. Foreign Affairs, 76(6), 22–43. https://doi.org/10.2307/20048274