Complexity Theory and Al-Qaeda: Examining Complex Leadership

Abstract

Osama bin Laden is] a product of a new social structure.A new social feeling in the Muslim world.Where you have strong hostility not only against America, but also against many Arab and Muslim regimes who are allying to America ...And that's why if bin Laden was not there, you would have another bin Laden.You would have another name, with the same character, with the same role, of bin Laden now.That's why we call it a phenomena not a person.Interview with Saad Al-Fagih, PBS online, 2001 R ecent events in the world are forcing us to restructure our understanding of leadership and organization.The al-Qaeda organization and its pervasive presence in the world demonstrated first-hand the power of a flexible, moderately coupled network of individuals brought together by a common need and aligned behind an informal and emergent leader.Its structure, which resulted from bottom-up coordination of individuals who voluntarily came together based on common need rather than from top-down hierarchical control, clearly demonstrates the power of a networked system based on relationships and shared vision and mission.To understand this and other types of network organizations, traditional models of leadership and organizational theory may no longer be sufficient, and may perhaps even limit our ability to realize the capabilities and resilience of such organizational forms.