This timely volume brings together research on leadership and social movements, exploring the psychological and social processes at the intersection of crowd psychology and leadership studies.
Featuring perspectives from around the globe, the book examines collective action, social movements and change, identity construction, repression, and power. It includes case studies of leadership and crowd behaviour from various countries, including political rallies in Turkey, the Capitol Assault in the US, Indigenous movements in Australia, identity construction of Tibetans in exile, resistance in Iran, community leadership in Ghana, and riots in Greece. The chapters examine the mutual influence between leaders and crowds in the pursuit of social change or stability. The book takes a unique angle to dissect how leadership–followership dynamics evolve during pivotal crowd events and social movements worldwide.
The book is a novel exploration that illustrates how leaders shape the course of history and how crowds, in turn, redefine the landscape of power. It will be highly relevant for academics and students in the fields of social and political psychology, as well as political science, sociology, and communication studies. The book will also be of interest to policymakers and activists and anyone interested in understanding the interplay between leadership and crowds.
Edited by:
Mete Sefa Uysal,
Sara Vestergren,
Yasemin Gulsum Acar
Imprint: Routledge
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions:
Height: 234mm,
Width: 156mm,
Weight: 453g
ISBN: 9781032827148
ISBN 10: 1032827149
Pages: 178
Publication Date: 26 September 2025
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Primary
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming
Table of Contents · Chapter 1. Introduction: Towards an Integration of Approaches to Crowds and Leaders Mete Sefa Uysal, Yasemin Gülsüm Acar, & Sara Vestergren o Global context, relevance, and contributions of the volume o Bridging theoretical divides o Chapters in the volume · Chapter 2. ‘Le Bon in Exarcheia’: Cultural Pathology in Media Constructions of Political Crowd Action in Greece Nikos Bozatzis & Evangelos Ntontis o Introduction o Crowd theories: The context o Gustave Le Bon’s theory of crowd psychology o Gustave Le Bon as a cultural theorist cum orientalist o Cultural pathology in accounts of Greek (political) crowd action o The study o Discussion · Chapter 3. Tibetan Identities in Exile: The Role of Dalai Lama Pallavi Ramanathan & Purnima Singh o Introduction o The Dalai Lama and Tibetan refugees o Entrepreneurs of identity o Nation and national identities o Methodology o Method o Results and analysis o Discussion and conclusion · Chapter 4. ‘Green’ and ‘Women, Life Freedom’ Movements in the Islamic Republic: Khamenei’s Speeches, Strategy, and Ideological Foundation for Crisis Management Tabassom Fanaian o Introduction: Islamic Republic ‘and’ Iran o Theory and framework o Literature review o Methodology o Analysis o Procedure o Findings: Construction, structure, and foundation o Discussion o Conclusion · Chapter 5. The Role of Historical Narratives in Mobilisation around the Voice Referendum in Australia Christina Maxwell, Hema Preya Selvanathan, & Olivia Evans o Introduction o Historical context and the fight for Indigenous recognition o Historical narratives o Leaders of the ‘Yes’ campaign o Leader of the ‘Progressive No’ campaign o Comparative analysis of the ‘Yes’ and ‘Progressive No’ campaigns o The potential effects of historical narratives o Reflecting on the lessons from the Voice campaigns o Conclusion · Chapter 6. Community Leadership in New Obuasi, Ghana: Countering State Impotence with Indigenous Forms of Governance Gyasiwa Arhin o Introduction o Understanding the context of New Obuasi o The lynching of Major Mahama o Reason for visiting New Obuasi o Theoretical background: Legal pluralism, legitimacy, and social norms o Understanding the norms in New Obuasi o Legal pluralism: Structure and functions of the New Obuasi community leadership o Legal culture, consciousness, and mobilisation: An example of how residents of New Obuasi ‘shop’ to solve their issues o Conclusion o Positionality · Chapter 7. Who represents ‘the people’ in 2023 Turkey? The Political Utilisation of Crowds at Political Rallies Yasemin Uluşahin, Ege Akpınar, Yasemin Gülsüm Acar, Selin Tekin, Mesut Ayvacık, Elif Sandal-Önal, & Meral Gezici-Yalçın o Conceptual framework o Crowds and rallies in 2023 Turkey o Our aims o Overview of approaches o A note on reflexivity o Ethnography o Analysis of Speeches o Conclusions · Chapter 8. The Psychology of Crowds and Leadership in the 2021 Capitol Insurrection Carina Hoerst, Stephen Reicher, John Drury, S. Alexander Haslam, Fergus Neville, Evangelos Ntontis, & Sara Vestergren o Introduction o Understanding crowds and leadership: Two strands of classical crowd psychology o Crowd behaviour and leadership in contemporary theory o January 6th – Applying contemporary psychology of crowds and leadership to the event o Conclusion · Chapter 9. Conclusion: The future of leadership and crowds in collective mobilisation Yasemin Gülsüm Acar, Sara Vestergren, & Mete Sefa Uysal o What have we learned? o Future directions for research
Mete Sefa Uysal is a lecturer in the Department of Psychology at the University of Exeter, UK. He was awarded the British Academy Newton International Fellowship in 2022 and the American Psychological Association's Peace Psychology Early Career Award in 2023. His research focuses on collective action, leadership, violence, social identity, climate activism, and intergroup relations. Sara Vestergren is a lecturer in the School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences at the University of Reading, UK. Her research interests and expertise include crowds, collective action, social identity, and climate action. Sara’s research has a particular focus on outcomes of participation in crowds and collective action. Yasemin Gülsüm Acar is a lecturer in the School of Psychology & Neuroscience at the University of St Andrews, UK. Yasemin’s research interests include outcomes of collective action, crowds, political solidarity, social identity, and intergroup conflict.
