Destructive Leading in Cambodia

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When ruthless and destructive leaders come to power, millions of lives are immediately put in danger. In tough and troublesome times, intelligent leaders come into play and easily influence individuals into doing terrible things. Pol Pot of Cambodia encouraged young children to be soldiers, forced people to work, and committed mass murder. The goal of the genocide in Cambodia was to get rid of old Cambodian society and reconstruct it starting from the beginning. Pol Pot’s socialized charismatic leadership ended with millions of innocent people left dead and an unavoidable question of what caused this genocide.
In the 1970’s, the Khmer Rouge, led by Pol Pot, started to grow significantly because of the war in Vietnam. Bombs aimed at Vietnamese soldiers kept entering Cambodia and the Cambodian leader at the time, Norodom Sihanouk, was doing nothing to help. Citizens found refuge in Pol Pot because he had motivation, intelligence, and charisma; three important characteristics of a leader. Pot was constructing an organized group, setting goals, and adapting to his situation, which defines Pot as a leader. Since Pot’s followers and army were growing so much, he felt he could take over Cambodia and become the sole leader. Once in power, Pol Pot planned to completely end Cambodia’s modern way of life and recreate an agricultural communist country. Pot lead his military to victory during the Cambodian civil war in 1975 and soon after became dictator. Pot’s journey to leadership was difficult, but eventually he persuaded enough people to follow him and successfully take over Cambodia.
Once dictator of Cambodia, or what he called the Republic of Kampuchea, Pot began to recreate the country; which he thought was best for everyone. To...

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...estructive way, Pol Pot exemplifies Craig and Kaiser’s socialized charismatic leader role.

Works Cited

“GENOCIDE - CAMBODIA.” GENOCIDE - CAMBODIA. Peace Pledge Union, n.d. Web. 01 Dec. 2013.
Kiernan, Ben. Blood and Soil: A World History of Genocide and Extermination from Sparta to Darfur. New Haven: Yale UP, 2007. Print.
Bartholomew Craig and Robert B. Kaiser (2011), Destructive leadership. The Oxford handbook of leadership (Michael G. Rumsey, ed.) Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Hinton, Alexander. “Democratic Kampuchea: Hierarchy/Egalitarianism and Pol Pot.” Democratic Kampuchea: Hierarchy/Egalitarianism and Pol Pot. Illinois University, n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2014.
“The History Place - Genocide in the 20th Century: Pol Pot in Cambodia 1975-1979.” The History Place - Genocide in the 20th Century: Pol Pot in Cambodia 1975-1979. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2014.

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