Leadership Structures

Bands is usually a very small, oftentimes nomadic group that is connected by family ties and is politically
independent. Moving from place to place, usually in search of food.

Bands are loosely allied by marriage, descent, friendship, and common interest. The primary integrating
mechanism is kinship – Bands are egalitarian (all families are essentially equal)
- equal leadership by gender
- positions based on skills
- often in conflicts with other members
- decisions made by community consensus
- subsidence from foraging ( hunting)

Some accounts suggest that women have strong political power because they performed economically
critical roles.

Tribes
- complex than a band
- hundreds of people and multiple communities
- they settle disputes to prevent disintegrating
- subsidence from pastoralism ( raising tending animals, farming)
- men had more political power and prestige than women
- political power stems from senior position within kin groups

Chiefdom
- having fulltime leader with real authority called Chief
- Statuses are based on kinship seniority
- performs a society-wide economic redistribution in a form of ritual gift giving
- in case of disputes the Chief act as arbitrator and judge

State
- Population (Plato said that an ideal State should have 5,000 citizens. Rousseau opined that an ideal
State should have a population 10,000. He thought that a small State is proportionately stronger than a
large one.” Aristotle avoided this mathematical precision and said that the population of a State should
be neither too small nor too large. )
- definite and fixed territory
- government (society is politically organized)
- Sovereignty of the State is expressed through the government which rules supreme in internal
and external spheres. Viewed internally, it means that the State is legally independent of
foreign domination.
Authority is the power to make binding decisions and issue commands. It is necessary for a leader to
possess authority. What makes authority binding worthy of obedience is its legitimacy

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.

Traditional authority – derived from well-established customs and social structures.

example: Monarchical rule, chiefdom rule

Charismatic authority – legitimacy emanates from the charisma of the individual or an authority divine
right of kings – it negates the standards provided by culture, tradition or by laws. Example: religion
leaders, popular icons, actors. Artist.

Bureaucratic Authority – authority draws its legitimacy from formal rules promulgated by the state
laws.

Questions
1. Discuss and differentiate band, tribe and chiefdom
2. Explain why bands, tribes, and chiefdom have ceased to exist in modern times.

Group Work
Identify 10 characteristics of a leader under the Tradition, Charismatic and Rational Authority