For more than 25 years, Project Syndicate has been guided by a simple credo: All people deserve access to a broad range of views by the world's foremost leaders and thinkers on the issues, events, and forces shaping their lives. At a time of unprecedented uncertainty, that mission is more important than ever – and we remain committed to fulfilling it.
But there is no doubt that we, like so many other media organizations nowadays, are under growing strain. If you are in a position to support us, please subscribe now.
As a subscriber, you will enjoy unlimited access to our On Point suite of long reads, book reviews, and insider interviews; Big Picture topical collections; Say More contributor interviews; Opinion Has It podcast features; The Year Ahead magazine, the full PS archive, and much more. You will also directly support our mission of delivering the highest-quality commentary on the world's most pressing issues to as wide an audience as possible.
By helping us to build a truly open world of ideas, every PS subscriber makes a real difference. Thank you.
发自剑桥——世界上两大独裁国家都已预定在2012年实现权力交接。在中国，习近平将接替胡锦涛就任国家主席，俄罗斯总理普京则声明自己将从梅德韦杰夫手中重新接过总统宝座。而全球各民主国家的政治结局则难以逆料。法国总统萨科齐的连任之路困难重重，美国总统奥巴马也难言轻松。
在2008年美国总统大选上，媒体告诉我们奥巴马之所以获胜是因为他有“魅力”——某种能激发迷恋和忠诚的特殊力量。如果真是如此，那为什么仅仅四年之后连任就变得如此艰难？一位领导人是否会丧失自身的魅力？这些魅力是来自于其个人，追随者，还是当时的特定情况？对此学术研究认为：这三点都可能存在。
令人吃惊的是，魅力是难以事先测定的。最近有项调查认为我们对魅力领袖究竟是何人“所知甚少”。一位美国政治顾问迪克·莫里斯（Dick Morris）凭经验总结说：“魅力是政治特征中最难以捉摸的部分，因为它并不是任何实质性的存在；只有在一位候选人通过勤奋和某些巧妙的议题将其创造出来后，它才会出现于我们的观念之中。”同样，商业媒体也曾用“魅力”这个词来形容许多企业CEO，但当利润下跌时，这个标签也就无影无踪了。
We hope you're enjoying Project Syndicate.
To continue reading and receive unfettered access to all content, subscribe now.
Subscribe
orUnlock additional commentaries for FREE by registering.
Register
Already have an account? Log in