A Comparison of the Role of Leadership in Classical Revolutions and Contemporary Protest Movements in the Arab World

Revolution is one of the great social developments, the effects of which are very tangible and very effective in changing the political arrangement of the public space of societies. The main purpose of this study is a comparative study of the position of leadership in the classic revolutions and protest movements in the Middle East and North Africa called the Arab Spring with emphasis on the role of leadership. This article question is that “what is the difference between the classic revolutions and the recent uprisings of the Islamic-Arab countries of West Asia and North Africa in terms of the role of leadership in their formation and leadership?” The present study, which is descriptive-analytic in nature and the required data and information are collected in a library method using the teachings of revolutionary theories and political mobilization, as well as the teachings of charismatic leadership in Max Weber's views, is based on this hypothesis that due to the lack of a leadership component, the protest movements in the Middle East and North Africa could not be as effective in the political planning of their surrounding space as in the classic revolutions. The findings also show that the leadership model is an important and decisive element in the success and failure of a revolution, and the multiplicity of leadership, the weak social base of leaders, the instability of the leadership and their different interpretations in protest movements in the Middle East and North Africa have only led to crisis and constant instability in the political space of the countries involved.

A Comparison of the Role of Leadership in Classical Revolutions and Contemporary Protest Movements in the Arab World Keywords:

Revolution , Leadership , Protest Movement , West Asia , North Africa. , انقلاب , رهبری , جنبش اعتراضی , غرب آسیا , شمال آفریقا.