ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we discuss some of the broader theoretical arguments about personality and its impact on political behavior. We begin with some of the central questions about the role of personality in political behavior before turning to the study of personality in psychology and looking at some of the major scholars and approaches to personality from the psychological perspective. Next we present an overview of some of the ways in which personality in politics, and particularly personality factors relevant to political leadership, have been studied. Psychoanalytic, motivation, and authoritarianism theories are examined in addition to a number of leadership theories including Presidential Character, Leader Trait Analysis, and the Big Five.
