Ritual Labour and Contemporary Politics

Abstract

Rituals have had a long historical application and have been used as a powerful tool to demonstrate and communicate strength and dominance to allies and foes alike. In order to truly understand how modern political leaders create and utilize their charisma to elevate themselves in the eyes of the general public, historical ideas that connect kings with gods have to be properly analyzed and understood. The most important link between kings and politicians lies in the fact that both have used and continue to use ritual as a way of legitimising their respective roles. Political ritual under its various guises has the power to strongly engage the emotions of the spectators, and therefore create the powerful illusion that they are somehow connected with the charismatic political figure and are an integral part of the power structure itself.