This paper proposes an interactional theory to explain the rise of leaders by stressing the interplay between sociodemographic variables, psychological dynamics, and situational factors. The theory is applied to three large-scale empirical studies of revolutionary leaders, loyalist elites, and military personalities that reply on careful data collection and analysis. The theory is confirmed, as the findings demonstrate that the three elite groups share a large number of commonalities as well as some differences. Some leadership dynamics appear to be universal, oblivious to time, place, culture, national frontier, and the like.
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