Leadership Styles in Saddam Hussein's Zabibah wal-Malik (2000) and Teater Oase's El-Jallad (2023): An Intertextual Analysis

Abstract

This study investigates the contrasting leadership styles represented in Saddam Hussein’s novel Zabibah wal-Malik (2000) and the drama script El-Jallad (2023) produced by Teater OASE, Universitas Sebelas Maret, which serves as an adaption of the novel. The king character in this novel is depicted as a wise leader oriented toward a formal-legal system, whereas the Hussein character in the drama script exhibits an absolute charismatic authority. This study employs a descriptive-analytical method with a qualitative approach. Data consist of dialogues representing leadership styles, collected from both primary sources. Analysis draws on Max Weber’s (1947) leadership theory and Julia Kristeva’s (1980) intertextuality theory, specifically the concept of transposition encompassing enunciative transposition, mosaic quotations, and ambivalence of meaning. Findings reveal two main conclusions: First, the King represent rational-legal leadership characterized by adherence to formal law, rejection of absolute power, and public serve orientation; second, the Hussein character represents charismatic authority marked by personal legitimacy claims, rejection of formal procedures, and the assertion that he himself constitutes the law. The intertextual relationship operates through sign-system transposition, demonstrating that the adaption process is not merely aesthetic but ideologically reconstructs the representation of leadership and power.