Studies in human and non-human primates indicate that basic socio-cognitive operations are inherently linked to the power of gaze in capturing reflexively the attention of an observer. Although monkey studies indicate that the automatic tendency to follow the gaze of a conspecific is modulated by the leader-follower social status, evidence for such effects in humans is meager. Here, we used a g...

Legitimacy is always considered an important concept among basic topics of political science; since it has been already posed as the prerequisite of acceptability for exercising of power in the societies through history. Accordingly, all of the political philosophies made efforts to establish an intellectual apparatus that enforces the fundamentals of governance, dealt to some extent with the i...

We present a theory of the state based on political leadership and reputational equilibria. A political leader first needs a reputation for reliably rewarding loyal supporters. Reputational expectations between political leaders and their supporters become the fundamental political laws on which the enforcement of all other constitutional laws may be based. Successful democratic development req...

This paper summarizes efforts at adapting a personality profiling framework to model behavior and choices of political and military leaders. This is part of a larger project to create a role-playing, decision-making game to allow you to play out scenarios of interest against other leaders. In this modeling exercise we implement the Hermann leader personality profile tool to create historic lead...

We analyze an agency model of political competition to examine whether con‡ict encourages hawkish behavior, and if such behavior can itself aggravate con‡ict. We consider situations of con‡ict between a state and an insurgent group, such as con‡ict over a piece of land. Negotiations are carried out on behalf of the state by a democratically elected leader whose ability and ideology are imperfec...

I investigate why a political leader (manager) may be reluctant to abandon her chosen project, when she is concerned both about social welfare and the electorate’s (shareholders’) beliefs about her ability. The quality of the project is correlated with her ability, and there is ex ante symmetric information. However, news regarding the project arrives gradually over time and is privately observ...