The Profile of Political Leaders: Archetypes of Ascendancy

Authors: van Ginneken, Jaap
Demonstrates how our choices of political leaders are influenced by unexpected factors such as physiognomy or height
Offers a new perspective on leadership in a time when discursive power is becoming increasingly more important than coercive power
Provides an in-depth analysis of the leadership of key figures in international politics

By analysing a wide range of empirical research into leadership, this book provides a composite portrait of frequent characteristics, such as personality and demeanour, that influence both the success and popularity of political leaders. Through the lenses of mass psychology and collective behaviour sociology, the author offers fascinating observations on political leadership which reveal a coherent pattern. In our choice of and support for leaders, we still seem to be guided by unconscious or instinctive preferences. Evolutionary psychologists have labelled this ‘CALP’ for ‘Cognitive Ancestral Leadership Prototype’. Length, symmetry, face form, voice pitch, eye blinking and more turn out to play a role – even today - alongside personality and style. Each chapter of the book offers a case study to illustrate these observations, including Barack Obama, Ronald Reagan, Nicolas Sarkozy, and Boris Johnson. This book is accessibly written to appeal to students of politics, psychology and sociology, as well as the wider interested reader.

Number of Illustrations and Tables
2 b/w illustrations
Topics
Political Communication
Political Theory
Business Strategy/Leadership
Industrial and organisational psychology

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