The Role of leaders in shaping urban movements: a study of community mobilisation in Lithuania

• eLABa: straipsnio tekstas

ENThis study explores the role of leaders in shaping post-communist urban community mobilisation. It analyses the motivation of 40 leaders in volunteering for the community. Building on Ganz's definition of “strategic capacity”, the Balsiai community organisation, in which the leader's role is most prominent, is scrutinised in detail. The findings show that community mobilisation is highly dependent on a devoted leader who sacrifices his/her own resources for the community's good. This study demonstrates that in countries with a weak participatory culture, a leader can play a crucial role in mobilising a community and challenging prevailing social norms and institutional structures.

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