INTRODUCTION 129Mugabe. One thing led to another, and before I knew it, I had written
the basis of a book from which Chapter 9 is drawn.
In that chapter, I explore the unusual relationship between leaders
and followers in despotic regimes, and the self - destructive cycle that
characterizes them. I highlight the price paid in the form of human
suffering, the breakdown of the moral fabric of society, and the levers
used by such regimes to consolidate their power base. I review the role
of ideology, the illusion of solidarity, and the search for scapegoats. There
are many valuable lessons for contemporary leadership to be learned
from Shaka ’ s story. I end with a number of suggestions about how des-
potic leaders might be prevented from gaining power — and looking up
and ahead, the chapters in Part III of this book look at the sort of leaders
who walk into the offi ce every day determined to make the lives of their
people very, very happy.