Leadership in a post-truth era: A new narrative disorder?

Abstract

This essay, and the special issue it introduces, seeks to explore leadership in a post-truth age, focusing in particular on the types of narratives and counter-narratives that characterize it and at times dominate it. We first examine the factors that are often held responsible for the rise of post-truth in politics, including the rise of relativist and postmodernist ideas, dishonest leaders and bullshit artists, the digital revolution and social media, the 2008 economic crisis and collapse of public trust. We develop the idea that different historical periods are characterized by specific narrative ecologies, which, by analogy to natural ecologies, can be viewed as spaces where different types of narrative and counter-narrative emerge, interact, compete, adapt, develop and die. We single out some of the dominant narrative types that characterize post-truth narrative ecologies and highlight the ability of language to 'do things with words' that support both the production of 'fake news' and a type of narcissistic leadership that thrive in these narrative ecologies. We then examine more widely leadership in post-truth politics focusing on the resurgence of populist and demagogical types along with the narratives that have made these types highly effective in our times. These include nostalgic narratives idealizing a fictional past and conspiracy theories aimed at arousing fears about a dangerous future.

Moral Recovery and Ethical Leadership

“…When faced with decisions by leaders which did not prioritize public health and welfare, communities actively bonded together in order to protect themselves and implement initiatives which sought to heal the damage done by irresponsible leaders. Research on the possibility of Moral Recovery at a societal level may be possible through analyzing the extent of social movements which resist the rise of extremist political parties and institutional passivity toward racism, anti-migrant sentiment, sexism, and climate change denial (Foroughi et al 2019 ; Just and Muhr 2019 ). The response of organizations and leaders who have been disgraced or censured as a result of recent corporate scandals could be studied through the lens of Moral Recovery in order to deepen theoretical understandings of how the concept can be applied and understood in context.…”

Pemanfaatan Teknologi Pemilu Di Tengah Era Post Truth: Antara Efisiensi dan Kepercayaan

“…Implikasinya, politik elektoral AS dipenuhi oleh ujaran kebencian dan gesekan yang sengit antarpendukung calon. Tidak hanya itu, Trump kerap berusaha mengerdilkan keberadaan lembaga penyelenggara pemilu dan mendelegitimasi hasil pemilu melalui berbagai ungkapan kontroversial yang dilontarkan ke publik melalui media sosial (Foroughi et. al., 2019).…”

The truths and falsehoods of post-truth leaders

“…This would be a leadership that invites people into a parallel world that has little to do with factual reality. The editorial of a special issue on post-truth in this journal quite explicitly contrasts post-truth leaders with ‘leaders whose credibility rests on telling the truth and providing accurate representations of the world’ (Foroughi et al, 2019: 138). But who are these leaders who, along with their commitment to faithfully representing reality, are supposed to have been pushed out by the rise of figures such as Trump?…”