The leadership style of Fidel Castro: a decolonial perspective
The leadership style of Fidel Castro: a decolonial perspective
Leadership theory stands accused of being Western-centric. To address this, we investigate Fidel Castro's leadership through 32 semi-structured interviews with Cuban people. Narratives reveal his decolonial leadership as he led the Cuban Revolution, and then Cuba for over 50 years, resisting Western hegemony. Findings problematise the applicability of conceptions of charismatic–transformational leadership (CTL) to non-Western cultures. Benevolent paternalism emerged as a key additional aspect in the Cuban context. Western critiques of CTL as leader-centric and prone to hero-worship were not seen as problematic in the Cuban sample. We explain this with reference to the unifying effects of Castro's decolonial project.
Cuba, charismatic–transformational leadership, leadership, decolonial leadership, non-Western, Fidel Castro
Baden, Denise
daad83b9-c537-4d3c-bab6-548b841f23b5
Prakasam, Naveena
f9301fde-f469-41fc-9a80-9dca825a17de
Wilkinson, Stephen
159bfbae-a90d-48e9-b85d-5a082bc8891e
24 February 2025
Baden, Denise
daad83b9-c537-4d3c-bab6-548b841f23b5
Prakasam, Naveena
f9301fde-f469-41fc-9a80-9dca825a17de
Wilkinson, Stephen
159bfbae-a90d-48e9-b85d-5a082bc8891e
Baden, Denise, Prakasam, Naveena and Wilkinson, Stephen
(2025)
The leadership style of Fidel Castro: a decolonial perspective.
Bulletin of Latin American Research.
(doi:10.1111/blar.13620).
Abstract
Leadership theory stands accused of being Western-centric. To address this, we investigate Fidel Castro's leadership through 32 semi-structured interviews with Cuban people. Narratives reveal his decolonial leadership as he led the Cuban Revolution, and then Cuba for over 50 years, resisting Western hegemony. Findings problematise the applicability of conceptions of charismatic–transformational leadership (CTL) to non-Western cultures. Benevolent paternalism emerged as a key additional aspect in the Cuban context. Western critiques of CTL as leader-centric and prone to hero-worship were not seen as problematic in the Cuban sample. We explain this with reference to the unifying effects of Castro's decolonial project.
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Bull Latin American Res - 2025 - Baden - The Leadership Style of Fidel Castro A Decolonial Perspective
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Accepted/In Press date: 23 December 2024
Published date: 24 February 2025
Keywords:
Cuba, charismatic–transformational leadership, leadership, decolonial leadership, non-Western, Fidel Castro
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Local EPrints ID: 497551
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/497551
ISSN: 0261-3050
PURE UUID: eff93f3e-bccb-4f73-9855-6d7e986f6ec0
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Date deposited: 27 Jan 2025 17:53
Last modified: 22 Aug 2025 02:29
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Author:
Stephen Wilkinson
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