A cult of personality, or a cult of the leader,Mudde, Cas and Kaltwasser, Cristóbal Rovira (2017) Populism: A Very Short Introduction. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 63. is the result of an effort to create an idealized and heroic image of an admirable leader, often through unquestioning flattery and praise.
Historically, it has been developed through techniques such as the manipulation of the mass media, the dissemination of propaganda, the staging of spectacles, the manipulation of the arts, the instilling of patriotism, and government-organized demonstrations and rallies. A cult of personality is similar to apotheosis (deification), except that it is established through the use of modern social engineering techniques, and it is usually established by the state or the party in one-party states and dominant-party states. Cults of personality often accompany the leaders of totalitarian or authoritarian governments. They can also be found in some monarchies, theocracies, failed democracies, and liberal democracies.
Background
Throughout human history, monarchs and other heads of state were frequently treated with enormous reverence, and they were also thought to be endowed with superhuman qualities. Through the principle of the divine right of kings, notably in medieval Europe, rulers were said to hold office by the will of God or the will of the gods. Ancient Egypt, Imperial Japan, the Inca, the Aztecs, Tibet, Siam (now Thailand), and the Roman Empire are especially noted for their redefinition of monarchs as "god-kings." The Emperor of China also used the title Son of Heaven. Furthermore, the Imperial cult of ancient Rome identified emperors and some members of their families with the divinely sanctioned authority (auctoritas) of the Roman State.
The spread of democratic and secular ideas in Europe and North America in the 18th and 19th centuries made it increasingly difficult for monarchs to preserve this aura, though Napoleon III and Queen Victoria appreciated its perpetuation in their carte-de-visite portraits which proliferated, circulated and were collected in the 19th century.
The subsequent development of mass media, such as radio, enabled political leaders to project a positive image of themselves onto the masses as never before. It was under these circumstances in the 20th century that the most notorious personality cults arose. Frequently, these cults are a form of political religion.
The advent of the Internet and the World Wide Web in the 21st century has renewed the personality cult phenomenon. Disinformation via social media platforms and the twenty-four hour news cycle has enabled the widespread dissemination and acceptance of deceptive information and propaganda. As a result, personality cults have grown and remained popular in many places, corresponding with a marked rise in authoritarian government across the world.
The term "cult of personality" likely appeared in English around 1800–1850, along with the French and German versions of the term. It initially had no political connotations but was instead closely related to the Romanticist "cult of genius." The first known political use of the phrase appeared in a letter from Karl Marx to German political worker Wilhelm Blos dated to November 10, 1877:
Characteristics
There are various views about what constitutes a cult of personality in a leader. Historian Jan Plamper wrote that modern-day personality cults display five characteristics that set them apart from "their predecessors": The cults are secular and "anchored in popular sovereignty"; their objects are all males; they target the entire population, not only the well-to-do or just the ruling class; they use mass media; they exist where the mass media can be controlled enough to inhibit the introduction of "rival cults."
In his 2013 paper, "What is character and why it really does matter," Thomas A. Wright stated, "The cult of personality phenomenon refers to the idealized, even god-like, public image of an individual consciously shaped and molded through constant propaganda and media exposure. As a result, one is able to manipulate others based entirely on the influence of public personality ... the cult of personality perspective focuses on the often shallow, external images that many public figures cultivate to create an idealized and heroic image."
Adrian Teodor Popan defined a cult of personality as a "quantitatively exaggerated and qualitatively extravagant public demonstration of praise of the leader." He also identified three causal "necessary, but not sufficient, structural conditions and a path-dependent chain of events which, together, lead to the cult formation: a particular combination of patrimonialism and clientelism, lack of dissidence, and systematic falsification pervading the society's culture."
One underlying characteristic, as explained by John Pittman, is that the cult of personalities is patriarchal in nature. The idea of a cult of personality associated with the Marxist movements gains popular footing among the men in power, with the idea that they would be the "fathers of the people." By the end of the 1920s, the male features of the cults became more extreme. Pittman identifies that these features became roles, including the "formal role for a [male] 'great leader' as a cultural focus of the apparatus of the regime: reliance on top-down 'administrative measures' and a pyramidal structure of authority," which was created by a single ideal.
Role of mass media Writing in 2013, Thomas A. Wright observed that "[i]t is becoming evident that the charismatic leader, especially in politics, has increasingly become the product of media and self-exposure." Focusing on the media in the United States, Robert N. Bellah added, "It is hard to determine the extent to which the media reflect the cult of personality in American politics and to what extent they have created it. Surely they did not create it all alone, but just as surely they have contributed to it. In any case, American politics is dominated by the personalities of political leaders to an extent rare in the modern world ... in the personalized politics of recent years, the 'charisma' of the leader may be almost entirely a product of media exposure."
Purpose
Jan Plamper argues while Napoleon III made some innovations in France, it was Benito Mussolini in Italy in the 1920s who originated the model of dictator-as-cult-figure that was emulated by Hitler, Stalin and the others, using the propaganda powers of a totalitarian state.
Pierre du Bois de Dunilac argues that the Stalin cult was elaborately constructed to legitimize his rule. Many deliberate distortions and falsehoods were used. See abstract in The Kremlin refused access to archival records that might reveal the truth, and key documents were destroyed. Photographs were altered, and documents were invented. People who knew Stalin were forced to provide "official" accounts to meet the ideological demands of the cult, especially as Stalin himself presented it in 1938 in Short Course on the History of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks), which became the official history.
Historian David L. Hoffmann states, "The Stalin cult was a central element of Stalinism, and as such it was one of the most salient features of Soviet rule ... Many scholars of Stalinism cite the cult as integral to Stalin's power or as evidence of Stalin's megalomania."
In Latin America, Cas Mudde and Cristóbal Rovira Kaltwasser link the "cult of the leader" to the concept of the caudillo, a strong leader "who exercises a power that is independent of any office and free of any constraint." These populist strongmen are portrayed as "masculine and potentially violent" and enhance their authority through the use of the cult of personality. Mudde and Kaltwasser trace the linkage back to Juan Perón of Argentina.
States and systems with personality cults
Argentina
Juan Perón, who was elected three times as President of Argentina, and his second wife, Eva "Evita" Perón, were immensely popular among many of the Argentine people, and to this day they are still considered icons by the leading Justicialist Party. In contrast, both academics and detractors often considered him a demagogue and a dictator. Perón sympathized with the Axis powers when he was a colonel and Minister of War and even served as a diplomatic envoy to Fascist Italy. During his regime, he kept close ties with Francoist Spain.
He ferociously persecuted dissenters and potential political rivals, as political arrests were common during his first two terms. He eroded the republican principles of the country as a way to stay in power and forced statewide censorship on most media. Following his election, he built a personality cult around both himself and his wife so pervasive it is still a part of Argentina's current political life.Politics and Education in Argentina, 1946–1962, by Mónica Esti Rein; trans by Martha Grenzeback. Published by M. E. Sharpe, Armonk, NY/London, 1998, pp. 79–80.
During Perón's regime, schools were forced to read Evita's biography, La Razón de mi Vida, union and government jobs were only given to those who could prove themselves to be fervent Peronists; newspapers were censored, and television and radio networks were nationalized, with only state media being allowed. He often showed contempt for any opponents, regularly characterizing them as traitors and agents of foreign powers. Those who did not fall in line or were perceived as a threat to Perón's political power were subject to losing their jobs, threats, violence, and harassment.
Perón dismissed over 20,000 university professors and faculty members from all major public education institutions. Universities were then intervened in, the faculty was pressured to get in line, and those who resisted were blacklisted, dismissed or exiled. Numerous prominent cultural and intellectual figures were imprisoned. Thousands of artists, scientists, writers and academics left the country and migrated to North America or Europe. Union leaders and political rivals were arrested and tortured for years and were only released after Perón was deposed.
Azerbaijan Heydars cult of personality began in 1993 when he took power in post-Soviet Azerbaijan.
Bangladesh
Mujibism initially began as the political ideology of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman ("Mujib," 1920-1975), who led Bangladesh's secession from Pakistan in 1971. From 2008 onwards, Mujib's daughter, Sheikh Hasina, gradually converted Mujibism into a cult of personality around her father. After being pushed to the sidelines by two successive military dictators Ziaur Rehman (who founded the Bangladesh Nationalist Party) and Hussain Muhammad Ershad (who founded the National Party)—the figure of the late Mujib returned to dominate public consciousness from 2008 under the Awami League government led by Hasina.
Hasina has been criticized for overemphasizing the role of her father and of the Awami League in securing Bangladeshi independence at the cost of sidelining other prominent figures and political parties of the time. Hasina had amended the constitution to make the presence of Mujib's portrait mandatory in every school, government office and diplomatic mission in the country and made it illegal to criticize Mujib, his ideals or his deeds, especially the one-party BAKSAL regime (1972–75) headed by him, through writing, speech or electronic media. Many events commemorating the birth centenary of Bangabandhu ('Friend of Bengal' in Bengali, the honorific unofficial title given to Mujib in his lifetime) were launched by the Hasina administration, including an official biopic in collaboration with the Indian government.