Beyond Animal Charisma: A Sociological Approach to Charismatic Species

Abstract

Sociologists have been debating the nature of charisma since the discipline's inception. Recent debates in the sociology of charisma concern the role of social interaction and the place of organisations in the generation of charisma. As these debates have developed, the interdisciplinary field of conservation has begun to debate the concept of charismatic species. To date, literature from the conservation sciences has identified those species most likely to be identified as charismatic and those variables most frequently associated with charismatic species. However, little theorising has been done on the causes of charisma in charismatic species. This article uses the case of charismatic species to outline sociological arguments about charisma more generally. This theoretical exercise advances the literature in both sociology and conservation in several ways. For sociologists, the case of charismatic species shows that seemingly competitive models of charisma are in fact complementary. For those interested in the uses of charismatic species for conservation, this article demystifies charismatic species, demonstrating the ways in which they are historically and socially constructed.