The crises with Russia and Ukraine keep escalating. Threats of invasion and all-out war have the world on edge. Neither discussions between President Biden and President Putin, NATO troops being sent to the area, nor the United Kingdom and Germany imposing sanctions against Russian banks and energy projects seems to be having an impact. As of this writing, Russia has amassed over 150,000 troops on the Ukrainian border and has started what some are calling an invasion by sending forces into eastern Ukraine, the seat of rebel-held territory. How scary have things gotten in Ukraine? Scary enough that a 79-year-old Ukrainian woman has decided to learn to fire an AK-47 assault rifle . . . just in case. When political brinkmanship of this nature occurs, the citizens are often the victims caught in the crossfire, not the leaders themselves. With that in mind, let’s turn our attention to a sociological analysis of leadership and, in the process, learn more about the people making these life-or-death decisions.
Leaders are individuals or groups who help facilitate, guide, and be the representative voice of their members. Some political leaders have a long history of participation in government, and some don’t. For example, Joe Biden was a member of Congress and vice president of the United States before being elected the 46th president of the United States. Russian Vladimir Putin started as a KGB intelligence officer before transitioning to politics, eventually becoming prime minister and then president. The leader of the Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is a comedian. He’s not just a funny guy. He is an actor and comedian who appeared in the popular Ukrainian television show Servant of the People, before being elected by the Ukrainian people to the position of president in 2019.
Some leaders are transactional leaders, a leader who acts like a manager by keeping the group functioning smoothly. In the United States, Dwight Eisenhower and George H.W. Bush were examples of transactional leaders because they weren’t about making radical change but maintaining a steady status quo. Many would argue that President Biden falls into the category of a transactional leader as well. On the other hand, a transformational leader is one who causes individuals, groups, and social systems to change. The fact that in 2020 President Putin was able to change the Russian constitution to allow him to remain president for life and at the same time make over 200 amendments to the Russian constitution is a good indication of his role as a transformational leader.
From a sociological perspective, there are three leadership styles. The first is laissez-faire, a leader that takes a hands-off approach to leadership. Leaders with this style tend to rely very heavily on their experts to get the job done without a lot of interference or handholding. Looking back historically, many political analysts identify former U.S. President Ronald Reagan as a laissez-faire leader.
