Charismatic Mimicry: Innovation and Imitation in the Case of Volodymyr Zelensky

Abstract

Moving beyond frameworks of charisma scholarship that stress antagonism between charisma and establishment society, this article discerns and theoretically accounts for more mutualistic forms of influence between charismatic leaders and elite representatives of traditional or rational-legal institutions. Specifically, we combine contemporary work in the cultural sociology of charisma with Girard’s notion of mimesis to provide a theory of charismatic mimicry; we explain situations where, rather than opposing the charismatic leader, elites align themselves with the new sources of legitimacy being proffered by the charismatic leader. At times, these institutional elites even co-opt new charismatic protocols into their own vocabularies of leadership. We demonstrate the usefulness of our model for interpreting the case of the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and his encounters with European leaders.