VOA新闻杂志2022--乌克兰危机显示出三种领导方式

Experts: Crisis in Ukraine Shows Three Ways of Leadership

Three heads of state playing big parts in the Ukraine crisis show three very different leadership styles, experts told VOA.

Samuel Hunter is a professor of industrial and organizational psychology¹ at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. He said, "It doesn't always happen that you have one of each."

For Hunter, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. President Joe Biden represent the three styles.

These three styles are: the ideologue, the charismatic leader and the pragmatist. Each term requires some explanation.

The ideologue

Putin is what some experts would call an ideological² leader.

Dr. Kenneth Dekleva is a psychiatrist³ and a scholar at the George H. W. Bush Foundation for U.S.-China Relations. He has studied Vladimir Putin for 20 years.

Before becoming Russia's president, Putin was a member of the KGB, the foreign intelligence and domestic security agency for the former Soviet⁴ Union.

"He's a ruthless, authoritarian⁵ leader who has carried out ruthless acts over the past two decades," Dekleva said.

Putin has developed the image of a physically⁶ fit man-of-action. He has released pictures of himself riding a horse, fishing, carrying a rifle and demonstrating martial⁷ arts.

"Putin represents a much more familiar and old-fashioned style of leadership in that he presents himself as uniquely strong and uniquely touched by destiny," says Michael Blake. He is a professor at the University of Washington.

Blake said the Putin image is of a man who can defeat others, using "cruelty," if necessary.

The experts said that one of Putin's goals is to return Russia to the powerful position it enjoyed as the Soviet Union, which collapsed⁸ in 1991.

"So, there's a bygone era that they either wish existed or hope to return to," Hunter said.

The charismatic leader

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has presented himself as a charismatic leader. He is a former actor and comedian⁹. He surprised many with his actions after Russia invaded his country on February 24.

Hunter said charismatic leaders seek to support "this sentiment of hope, that sentiment of change..." He is "appealing to the masses and a broad message," he said.

While Putin seems to be following an old-style plan, Zelenskyy is demonstrating a new one, Blake added.

Because of Zelenskyy's background, many underestimated him politically. He has urged his people to rise up against the Russian attack.

When the United States offered to rescue the Ukrainian leader and his family, Zelenskyy refused, reportedly saying: "The fight is here. I need ammunition¹⁰, not a ride."

"I think we assumed that Zelenskyy was a lightweight...that he would flee." But Dekleva added, "...he made a decision that resonates with the world."

The pragmatist

U.S. President Joe Biden has led the West's answer to the Russian attack on Ukraine. Hunter considers him an example of a pragmatic leader.

"Pragmatic leaders are all about problem-solving. They're often very rational, data driven, by the numbers. And in many ways, pragmatic leaders are boring," said the professor.

Blake added that Biden is less concerned with showing himself to be carrying out some destiny. Much of Biden's attention has been on taking careful measures to protect U.S. interests while staying away from the conflict itself.

The outcome

A major crisis can show or define a politician's leadership style.

During a crisis "you're under time pressure and stress," Hunter said. "All these things combined to make it much more difficult to self-regulate, and who you really are will emerge."

"We're in a very, very delicate, dangerous situation now where Putin is cornered...he's boxed in a corner. That's a dangerous Putin," Dekleva said.

"I think we have to be very careful and provide, diplomatically, what's called an off-ramp..."

An "off-ramp" is a term used to describe a reduction in tension and anger. The idea, Dekleva said, is to present ways to "save face and back off from this war."

Words in This Story

style –n. a way of behaving or of doing things

ruthless –adj. having no pity, cruel or without mercy

authoritarian –adj. expecting or requiring people to obey rules or laws : not allowing personal freedom

unique –adj. used to say that something or someone is unlike anything or anyone else

destiny –n. a power that is believed to control what happens in the future

comedian –n. a person who performs in front of a people and makes them laugh by telling jokes or funny stories or by acting¹¹ in a way that is funny; an actor who plays parts that make people laugh

sentiment –n. feeling; ways of thinking or opinions about things

resonate –v. to have meaning or importance for someone

rational –adj. based on facts or reason and not on emotions or feelings

delicate –adj. easily broken or damaged

1 psychology   

n.心理，心理学，心理状态

参考例句：

• She has a background in child psychology.她受过儿童心理学的教育。
• He studied philosophy and psychology at Cambridge.他在剑桥大学学习哲学和心理学。

2 ideological   

a.意识形态的

参考例句：

• He always tries to link his study with his ideological problems. 他总是把学习和自己的思想问题联系起来。
• He helped me enormously with advice on how to do ideological work. 他告诉我怎样做思想工作，对我有很大帮助。

3 psychiatrist   

n.精神病专家；精神病医师

参考例句：

• He went to a psychiatrist about his compulsive gambling.他去看精神科医生治疗不能自拔的赌瘾。
• The psychiatrist corrected him gently.精神病医师彬彬有礼地纠正他。

4 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

5 authoritarian   

n./adj.专制(的)，专制主义者，独裁主义者

参考例句：

• Foreign diplomats suspect him of authoritarian tendencies.各国外交官怀疑他有着独裁主义倾向。
• The authoritarian policy wasn't proved to be a success.独裁主义的政策证明并不成功。

6 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

7 martial   

adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的

参考例句：

• The sound of martial music is always inspiring.军乐声总是鼓舞人心的。
• The officer was convicted of desertion at a court martial.这名军官在军事法庭上被判犯了擅离职守罪。

8 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

9 comedian   

n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员

参考例句：

• The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
• The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。

10 ammunition   

n.军火，弹药

参考例句：

• A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
• They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。

11 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。