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Abstract(s)
Os grandes fenómenos da Política Internacional compreendem simultaneamente
uma dinâmica impessoal, sobretudo ligada a um conjunto de circunstâncias estruturais, e
uma dinâmica individual, protagonizada pelos líderes políticos, seus erros e triunfos. Esta
dinâmica individual é o principal objeto de estudo desta dissertação, no contexto da qual
nos referimos ao impacto do fator humano para refletir acerca da importância da liderança
política na condução de alguns processos políticos. Partindo da proposta metodológica de
Kenneth Waltz em Man, the State and War: A Theoretical Analysis acerca dos diferentes
níveis de análise nas Relações Internacionais, o fator humano constituirá a nossa lente de
análise sobre o processo que, entre 1985 e 1991, culminou simultaneamente no fim da
Guerra Fria, na demonstração do fracasso de uma ideologia e na queda de um império
septuagenário.
Centrada no papel desempenhado pelo último líder soviético, Mikhail
Gorbatchov, a nossa reflexão far-se-á principalmente com base num conjunto de
elementos ao nível da personalidade e das caraterísticas deste líder – o seu otimismo
inabalável, as suas convicções, a geração a que pertence e as conexões importantes que
estabeleceu ao longo da sua ascensão e carreira políticas com outros líderes. Entendemos
que estas caraterísticas são, entre outros fatores explicativos, uma das grandes chaves
interpretativas para entender como é que um regime totalitário pôde “produzir” um líder
capaz de implementar aquilo que começou por ser um plano para recuperar a pureza do
Marxismo-Leninismo e acabou por se transformar numa reforma de nível sistémico que,
afinal, culminou no desaparecimento da União Soviética.
O estudo desta liderança política e deste processo disruptivo não pretende, porém,
demonstrar que todos os líderes têm o mesmo impacto no decurso de todos os processos
políticos. Antes, pretende demonstrar que alguns líderes são a razão pela qual a História
se escreve de uma maneira ou de outra, por vezes oposta.
The great phenomena of International Politics comprise both an impersonal dynamic, mainly linked to a set of structural circumstances, and an individual dynamic, led by political leaders, their mistakes and triumphs. This individual dynamic is the main object of study of this dissertation, in the context of which we refer to the impact of the human factor to reflect on the importance of political leadership in conducting some political processes. Departing from Kenneth Waltz's methodological proposal in Man, the State and War: A Theoretical Analysis on the different levels of analysis in International Relations, the human factor constitutes our lens of analysis on the process that, between 1985 and 1991, culminated simultaneously in the end of the Cold War, in the demonstration of failure of an ideology and in the fall of a septuagenarian empire. Focused on the role played by the last soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbatchov, our reflection will mainly be based on a set of elements linked to this leader's personality and characteristics – his unshakable optimism, his beliefs, the generation to which he belongs and the connections he established throughout his political career with other leaders. It is our understanding that these characteristics are, among other explanatory factors, one of the great interpretive keys to understand how a totalitarian regime could “produce” a leader capable of implementing what started as a plan to recover the purity of Marxism- Leninism and eventually turned into a systemic-level reform, that later culminated in the demise of the Soviet Union. The study of this political leadership and this disruptive process does not aim, however, to demonstrate that all leaders have the same impact in the course of all political processes. Rather, it aims to demonstrate that some leaders are the reason why History is written in one way or another, sometimes opposite.
The great phenomena of International Politics comprise both an impersonal dynamic, mainly linked to a set of structural circumstances, and an individual dynamic, led by political leaders, their mistakes and triumphs. This individual dynamic is the main object of study of this dissertation, in the context of which we refer to the impact of the human factor to reflect on the importance of political leadership in conducting some political processes. Departing from Kenneth Waltz's methodological proposal in Man, the State and War: A Theoretical Analysis on the different levels of analysis in International Relations, the human factor constitutes our lens of analysis on the process that, between 1985 and 1991, culminated simultaneously in the end of the Cold War, in the demonstration of failure of an ideology and in the fall of a septuagenarian empire. Focused on the role played by the last soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbatchov, our reflection will mainly be based on a set of elements linked to this leader's personality and characteristics – his unshakable optimism, his beliefs, the generation to which he belongs and the connections he established throughout his political career with other leaders. It is our understanding that these characteristics are, among other explanatory factors, one of the great interpretive keys to understand how a totalitarian regime could “produce” a leader capable of implementing what started as a plan to recover the purity of Marxism- Leninism and eventually turned into a systemic-level reform, that later culminated in the demise of the Soviet Union. The study of this political leadership and this disruptive process does not aim, however, to demonstrate that all leaders have the same impact in the course of all political processes. Rather, it aims to demonstrate that some leaders are the reason why History is written in one way or another, sometimes opposite.